My husband is 62 years old and has a DX of Dementia. It has been a rough 2 years, and I don't really talk about it much. But I do read everything I can and then I know what to expect.
welcome macantin. there is a wealth of info in back posts if you look thru the past pages. or you can start a new topic if you have questions. we are a huge group of new comers like yourself and some of us veterans now decades into the disease. if nothing else the support and knowing others here care is worth coming for.
Welcome, macantin. I'm a newbie too and have already benefited so much from the information and help here. I sure understand not wanting to talk about it but I know that when I'm ready, I now have a place of support and understanding. And it's support based on real experience with a spouse, which seems to me one of the most difficult and least-addressed challenges of this horrible disease.
Thank-you everyone ! My family has wanted me to join a support group, but I know I could never get through one meeting without a total meltdown. So I just do a lot of reading and research on the computer.
I am so glad that you found us! I am sorry that you are going through this but if you have to go through it this is the best place to be! The help is enormous and the people are wonderful. We are all going through the same things together, no one else will ever totally understand like these people do.
welcome macantin. If you want to know just anything, type it in the search bar this place is a wealth of information. Keep coming back we are here for you.
Welcome macantin - so sorry you need to be here but you will learn you are not alone. There are so many things you can get help with just ask and someone has been there or is there now. My journey has ended and still this group helps with the "after." It is my place to go everyday.
Yes, I'm sorry I have to be here, but also glad to read advice and ideas from other people. I'm 57 and my husband is 62. He was diagnosed 2 years ago with early onset dementia. There have been signs for at least 2 years prior to DX. He's probably at moderate decline right now, he's changed, he can be difficult and moody but I just try to keep him calm.
Each of us probably visits other sites as well, but you have definitely come to the single best site for spouse caregivers. As you said, here you can read and learn from others, bring up any particular issues you want to get input on anytime you want to do so, and via a search of previous discussions you can learn all sorts of helpful information. As other have said, sorry to have you here but you'll learn a lot.
macantin - you have the same age difference as we do. My husband was 59 when diagnosed and I was 54 - right around the same as you. 2006 I was seeing the changes but it took 2 years to force him to the doctor. With his family history knew what it would be, didn't want to face it so delayed.
Welcome macantin. I know how you feel about support groups. I tried attending an EOAD group once and it didn't work for me. This site is wonderful because you don't have to save your questions/support/etc until the 2nd Monday of the month :) There is always someone available to provide support and wisdom. And the posters here have a combined knowledge base that is orders of magnitude beyond any other resource I've encountered. (BTW, I am 53 and my DH is 61, my youngest son is a senior in high school)
Welcome macantin I am new too! Since I found this site , I do not miss a day on it. It has become my AD companion. I have already learned a lot (mostly of the strength and love of the spouses on this site) . Keep reading and posting. That is how we all help each other .
Dear Mary22033, How difficult this must be for you to have a son still in high school and dealing with EOAD. We have 3 sons and they are all grown with families of their own. They have been wonderful and fully supportive during the past 2 years with all the details of Social Security and Medicare to deal with. We've had the DX for 2 years now, and I think I just finally accepted it. I've been very terrified and so afraid of the future. There has been no one on either side of our families that has had this disease, so it was all new to me. So I read a lot and try to educate myself on EOAD. And there is so much information on this site, it's a tremendous help !
Welcome to my website. I started this website in 2007 because I couldn't find anyone who would talk about how I felt - I thought I was the only one feeling the way I did about what Alzheimer's Disease was doing to my marriage. I needed a place that dealt with my unique issues as a spouse of an Alzheimer patient. This site is now a place of comfort for spouses/partners who are trying to cope with the Alzheimer's/dementia of their husband/wife/partner. The issues we face in dealing with a spouse/partner with this disease are so different from the issues faced by children and grandchildren caregivers. We discuss all of those issues here - loss of intimacy; social contact; conversation; anger; resentment; stress; and pain of living with the stranger that Alzheimer's Disease has put in place of our beloved spouse/partner.
The message boards are only part of this website. Please be sure to log onto the home page - www.thealzheimerspouse.com - and read all of the resources on the left side. I recommend starting with "Newly Diagnosed/New Member" and "Understanding the Dementia Experience".
There are 4 sections for EOAD (early onset AD- now called YOUNG onset)members - two of which focus on the young teens whose parents have EOAD There is a great section on informative videos, and another excellent resource - Early Onset Dementia - A Practical Guide. You can go to the top of this page, click on "search", and type in EOAD, making sure the "topic" circle is filled in. All of the EOAD discussions will come up - there are about a dozen of them.
Do not miss the "previous blog" section. It is there you will find a huge array of topics with which you can relate. There is a "search" feature on the home page that allows you to look up different topics that may have been explored in a previous blog. Log onto the home page daily for new blogs; news updates; important information.
Thank-you joang, I have been reading this site for 2 years, it has helped me with so much. The very first thing I remember reading was to see an Elder Lawyer. and I did that and many of your other suggestions. Thank, Melanie
Welcome Macantin, Glad that you found this wonderful support site...sad for you that you have joined us in this journey. I am also a fairly "newbie", but I have profited from a wealth of information and truly caring members.