Alzheimer's Disease Support Group
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia and characterized by progressive cognitive deterioration with declining activities of daily living and neuropsychiatric symptoms or behavioral changes. An early symptom is memory loss (amnesia), usually manifesting as minor forgetfulness that becomes pronounced with illness progression, with relative...
So we put the new lock on the door and Rollie can't figure out how to open it. I find I feel a bit more relaxed now not having to check his whereabouts every 5 seconds. But he keeps tugging on the door knob, trying and trying. It's kind of sad, really. He is very angry about something today, he has a scowl on his face and actually was carrying the fire place poker around. He was herding the dogs, trying to keep them all close to his body. The dogs were pretty good sports about it and seemed to just be putting up him. I asked him who he was going to use the poker on and he said, 'a piece of corn'. For the past 1/2 hour he has been standing beside with his hand on my shoulder, not saying a word, a bit creepy actually. I am trying not to be unnerved by it but I must admit is bizarre. Not that he hasn't done of all these before, it's just that he hasn't necessarily done them all in one morning.
I think you have discovered what most caregivers discover- that those who spend the least amount of time with them like to dictate to those of us who spend the most amount of time with them what we should do. They aren't there as many hours as we are and yet feel like they should be the ones calling the shots. I would start with the husband and try to get him to convince the rest of the family that she needs a little more meds. ALZ DO NOT get better, just worse (the same for any other dementia). It simply becomes a matter of managing them with meds. Biting is NOT ok. Do you work independently? Or do you work for a service? Tell the company you are working for that she bites. If you are working independently, perhaps contact the ALZ association in your area and ask for their advice. Biting can cause YOU health problems.