Dementia Support Group

Miss Daphn this is the place to come and share the people here understand! They pray for you too! Many blessed friendships are made here too!. My Dad Journeyed home to be with Jesus April 3 2009 and wow the emotions you go through. Dad in the Begining (and I believe he had it earlier) was diagnosed with
Sundowners, Dementia. Dad only had his hallucions at night time. There is Medicine for that Aricept(for those early stages) Namenda for those with advanced stages. There is also the exelon patch too!(to help with memory) Don't let them stop the dosage cold turkey!Everyone is Special and Different as their are so many types.
Their are so many wonderful people here!
My dad and I had songs that we sang together and these songs I sing now help me get through the times when I miss him.
God Bless Always.....Facing......†

My mother was examined by a psychologist and a neurologist. One said that she had Lewy bodies, the other said she had Fronto Temporal dementia, and in the end they said they just didn't know what kind of dementia she had and that it was too early to tell. I have looked them up and she does seem to have characteristics of both. I did not know that you could have combined illness. The doctors never said anything about that.

glad to have you aboard but sorry for your circumstances. hope you find some help and comfort here as i have. i just joined about a week ago myself. my mom is 86 and has dementia with hallucinations. she has recently been prescribed the excelon patch but we were told not to expect any improvement as it is mainly to slow the progression of the disease. when she sees people in the yard or trying to get in the house, i have found that distracting her with something else or just assuring her that she is safe and that we will protect her works pretty good. as far as asking the same questions repeatedly, the night wandering etc., these are fairly harmless to her but it almost made me crazy. one thing i found is that patience can be learned. it just takes some time and a lot of trial and error. one more thing; i haven't seen anyone mention the book , " the 36 hour day". i hope it's ok to recommend books. this has been the bible for me and my sister. it covers almost every aspect of living with and caring for an alzheimer's or dementia patient. i don't know where to get it but i'm sure you could find it online. i got mine from a clinic down here. good luck.

Yes Daphne, I have read the same book, The 36 Hour Day. It answers many questions and is very informative.
And yes, we have also dealt with the delusions. My MIL said the neighbor is trying to rape her. She said my husband (her son) terrorized her and stole her car. She was visiting us last month for my son's graduation, and she thought she was here for my daughter's funeral (my daughter is alive and well). That's just to mention a few of her delusions. It goes on and on.
I hope you find the support you need here.
BeBe

First, I want to thank everyone for their support. For the time being things have calmed down somewhat with the medication my mother is on, but I am afraid to let my guard down because I can never be sure if the madness will return. I will look into that book "The 36 hour day." I guess I need all the help I can get.

Welcome Daphne..This is the absolute correct place for you. As you have heard, you are not alone. Sharing and venting help me tremendously. Outsiders will support you to a point, but don't know exactly what you are dealing with as these people do.

Please feel free to vent and much as you want and stay strong!
Lisa

So did the meds work on the halunciations? If so what were they?
I am so tired one day it is good and the next the people are back... Her med doctor won't treat her and no doctor of psycolist will see here because she is on medicare? What to do??

Yes, the meds have seemed to work on the hallucinations. I asked my mom recently if she has seen any of those "people" that she was seeing before and she said that she no. It took the medication awhile to work, she has been on it since April, but she has been calmer and more sensible. Haloperidol is a psychotropic med that she has been taking for the hallucinations, paranoia, and wild behavior and it has helped a lot. She is still very delusional, but at least she is under control and is not longer seeing things. This medicine can have a side affect of producing Parkinson-like tremors, and she is also taking Benzatropine which prevents this. However the Benzatropine has a side affect of producing a bad taste in the mouth which my mom complains about. She is also taking Paroxetine for depression. These are all medicines that I get for $4.00 at Wal-mart and they work just fine. My mom also takes Aricept for her memory.

Your mom should be able to get treatment if she has medicare. That’s all that my mom had. She had no secondary insurance going into the hospital, so the hospital financial department signed her up on medicade which acts as her secondary. Medicare and Medicade paid for all the hospital bills and helps to pay for the medicine. It’s just a matter of finding the right doctors and the right hospital. I had contacted a number of local resources before hand that told me where I could go for quality treatment with the coverage my mom had. I don’t know how it is where you live, but one of the places where my mom could get treatment at a reasonable cost is in association with The National Association of Community Health Centers. The link to their website is http://www.nachc.com/. You might want to start there and see what they could recommend for getting treatment for your mom. You may also want to consider getting your mom on medicade is she does not have secondary insurance or can’t afford it. Hope that helps.

Hi, I'm also new and reading this sounded very similiar. I have watched my Mom, who lives with me, deteriorate so rapidly. There are times I know she doesn't know who I am (her only child) or who my kids or husband are. It's so sad, but makes me so angry that I don't have any patience towar her. She is also extremely hard of hearing and wears 2 hearing aids. Mom had a hard childhood, losing both her parents within 6 weeks when she was 14, being shuttled between family until she met and married Dad, But Dad's been gone for almost 30 years and she's been with me. Enabling me to work while she watched the kids, pitched in doing the cooking so I didn't have to when I came home from work, adores my husband and he her. Now that I have been forced to retire do to unemployment, I have seen a different side of the Mom she is now and I'm so angry that I can't seem to have any patience with her sometimes. Yet at times, she Mom again, to the point now that the kids see the difference. Yet, thank good, she has very few physical problems. I'm sorry, I'm ranting and venting when I wanted to give you a sympathetic ear. I know what you're going through

Daphne - Welcome to our gang ! We share experiences - highs and lows. Vent our frustrations and feelings.

Dementia and Alzheimer's are such confusing things. No two people are exactly the same but we all experience some of the
same problems.

It is comforting to find others who are walking in our shoes. Please post often.