Dementia Support Group

Thanks for sharing, it helps us understand what our loved ones are going through.

I really enjoyed reading this too. Made me sad, made me smile, just a good little life lesson! God Bless you through this journey andyour hubby too.

How wonderful that you shared with us.!! Please feel free to ramble as much as you want. It does help you and us for what our loved ones are going through.! My mom the other day said something she has never said to me before. I told her I would be over on Friday to perm her hair. She looked at me and said "You are so full of it.!" I don't know if she really thinks of me like that or what.!! I just had to laugh it off.
For another funny for you all.
My mom had put some make up on that was a least 6 shades darker then her skin. I asked her if she enjoyed putting make up on. She said Yes, I was going to even put on sparkley eye shadow but did not want to look like a S@lt! She has never in her life talked like this. I laughed so hard after I left her house.
Blessings and Prayers to all who can have a sense of humor as well try to understand some of what this is all about.

Hi all I'm very new to all of this.Mom was just diagnosed with this awful disease but we have known for awhile that something was up.Well now it's official she has Dementia.We are waiting for the Cat scan results to confirm the diagnosis but all the symptoms are there and her Dr.told us that she has it.
I wanted to comment on the e-mail from replaceco,it's very nice to see that you can still find humor in such a tragedy.My Mom is in the shock stage rite now,she has been taking Namenda twice a day for about 4 days now.So we are hoping that she can take this med.w/o to much trouble.
I've read where there have been good results and also very bad reactions
to this medication,we are hoping for the better ofcourse.Anyway just wanted to introduce myself and to say that I am glad I have found this support grp.I have a feeling I'm gonna need it.

Welcome and pop over the the Alzheimer's board as well. Since they are so similar you will find it helpful, too.

So sorry about your mom - it is the beginning of a long, sad journey.

I can fully relate. Whenever my mom can't find something she thinks that it has been stolen, only the people she that accuses of stealing it don't exist. My mom is in denial of her condition and I have always wondered if she knows somewhere deep down that the things she says and does are irrational, and that the things she sees aren't real.

I want to thank you for posting here,replacecongressnow. You have given us some valuable insight into the world of dementia. And I think it is so cool that at 108 you are so Internet savvy. My 77 year old mom is totally intimidated by technology. I wish that she were as hip and rational as you.

Thanks for sharing. What a wonderful sense of humor. I see my Mom going through some of that. So do we, when something is missing we automatically think Mom took it or misplaced it. I try to think if I was Mom where would I put this and the scary thing is it works. God bless you and your family

Hello Replacecongressnow,

Thanks for sharing. I read your concerns and what I can share with you foremost is a blessing. May God Bless and protect you!
I have never known closehand the seemingly unmerciful ravages dementia brings until this year when My Mother was diagnosed with dementia last December when she became ill and was admitted to a hospital. During the hospital stay and especially upon her release from her stay there she was noticibly "different". She had a rapid progression of dementia because of her illness but before that we all saw over the last couple of years a decline in her short term memory. I for one was in total denial that this might be happening and threw away any thought that something was becoming really wrong; I just plain did not want to believe it. I think my Mom knew about her problem but she was able to pass it off in conversation and with humor. I and other family members could tell she was struggling with memory but Mom would usually be able to cover it by saying something funny or changing the subject. None of us had the heart to confront her that she may be "slipping". Before she became ill last December, she was living independently shopping and driving herself around getting to where she needed to be. Now as of just over 2 weeks ago she is comfortably living in her new home where she is getting 24/7 care in a facility. She does not remember or talk about the home she lived in for the past 40 years but talks about going home, mentioning her childhood home and wanting to be with her Mama and Daddy. She does not have a clue that my sister and I drover all over creation looking for just the right place. We had a family meeting with my other siblings last month (September) where we came to a consensus that she will soon need to be placed into a home. The few days before her placement date, my sister and I carefully and quietly washed and labeled her clothing, packing them in bags and packed the car with her clothes and her wheel chair. The morning of placement, my two sisters and I took Mom for a nice ride to see the beautiful changing colors of fall; then just showed up at the home of our choice where she had been accepted just a few days earlier. She was at first resistant about getting out of the car but went along when we said, "remember that we had this appointment for your blood work?" This new doctor is waiting to see you...... still a little reisistant, and also a little mad, we took her right up to her room. While the nurses were attending to her and the doctor was in doing her pre-admission check up, we were putting her clothes in her closet. After the next morning's report that she was having a bad morning, she has not really had any rememberance about her home or how she got to this home; has now eased into community life and getting wonderful care from a team of experts who know just how to handle sundown syndrome, they are an expert and most qualified, skilled, caring and loving team of professionals who watch, talk to, soothe, bathe, take care of her incontinenance in a swift, most professional manner. They have helped her ease into her new "normal" surroundings and she has adapted beautifully. It is harder for us, her children who love her make the change we must make with her "new normal". It has been a journey that so far has seemed to me a beautiful road where God I trust is in control of everything. He has helped keep my heart His, He has helped keep my emotions on the level for the most part, It has been a hard & bumpy road but He has made it smooth in that we all trust and know that He will never be far.
For you to be able to be this cognizant in realizing that your thinking ability might be slipping or that your thought processes are indeed changing I see as a blessing. It is also a blessing that your sense of humor too has been key in that you and your husband have been able to laugh along the way. Don't lose your laughter. Being as "aware" as you are about the changes, you have this gift of being able to have a little time and also you can be a part of plan making process regarding your future as this as you are aware will continue and progress. There is no cure for dementia. You are able to make plans about your future. The fact that you are being honest about your shortfalls in the way of how you used to function I think is very positive and also healthy. God bless you on your journey. May God continue to allow you to adapt to your changes and may He also give you the courage and strength to let go little by little of what you think is important to hold onto but which you might not be able to. It is truly inspiring to hear how you are managing in this struggle. It might be good to know that you have permission to let go of what you cannot keep and to let go of what you cannot change but to just accept and enjoy today.

Great Thread
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Thanks yesindeed! Amazing post.