Alzheimer's disease

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• August 9, 2008 9:11 a.m.

  Has anyone had the situation where one side of he family is trying to get a diagnosis on a family member so they have control over the individual's finances and health decisions?

  - Judith

• July 20, 2008 5:30 a.m.

  I am taking care of my AD mother in law with Parkinsons too, and she has lived with me for 13 years. She was diagnosed 6 years ago but I suspect her doctor knew for quite some time prior but did not dare to tell her--she thrived on denial and was a bit contrary. Anyway, I just want to say that I get a routine and stick with it and have a lot of recipes I use with her that are all fruit/vegetable/whole grain and antioxident type foods. I feed her all pureed foods for the last two years and I think what Dr. Schneider said in this blog (page 4 today but that might change) is very very important to all of us, and for all of us to not wait to get AD but rather eat as many fruits, vegetables and whole grains every day as possible plus exercise . My mother in law ate more meat than anyone I ever met. Not many vegetables but did like some fruit. What we all eat causes many diseases--read THE CHINA STUDY and prepare to live a healthier life! I also suspect, and people may not believe this and certainly I am unable to prove this, that some of the people diagnosed with AD may have in fact eaten Mad Cow Diseased meat--variant Cruetzfeld Jacobs Disease, which has an incubation period of 8 or more years. If your relative is young or middle aged and the disease progresses rapidly I would think a brain autopsy should be done--but the insurance companies won't pay for that. A meat and dairy diet is a diet promoting diseases. Genetics is minor in comparison. Take good care!

  - Kathy

• July 12, 2008 11:36 p.m.

  My husband was diagnosed with AD in 2006- he was 53. He did not except or his mind would not let him hear the doctor and to this day still thinks it was just lots of stress at work that caused his forgetfullness etc. I told no one for a long time - I had one son entering his senor year of H.S. and really wanted him to be a able to choose a college without the burden of wanting to stay close to home for me. Thankfully he graduated and will soon begin is Soph year. My youngest son is now as senior -- my prayer is that my husband can maintain enough for my younger son to also find his school -- So -- my husband does not accept it and I have never told my children -- They just think Dad is goofy sometimes, although they suspect something - they have never asked - if they do I will tell them - but what do I do about my husband -- he has never once asked about his medicine- Has anyone NOt told their spouse?? He is now 55 and I am 49. any help is appreciated

  - LynnT

• July 11, 2008 7:28 p.m.

  My cousin who is 37 with children and a husband is away in the military has been recently diagnosed with Alz. Any suggestions on how to help her with acceptance,and what to do first any help would be greatly appreciated.

  - Janine

• June 26, 2008 7:30 p.m.

  I 'AM TRYING TO FIND OUT AS A WIFE IN THE STATE OF MINNESOTA IF I CAN GET PAID TO TAKE CARE OF MY HUSBAND,WHO HAS ALZ,DOES ANYBODY KNOW?

  - SUE

• June 23, 2008 1:20 p.m.

  To all of you caregivers who are looking for activities for memory treatment and brain exercises. I developed and designed Memory Jogging Puzzles and Memory Treatment Playing Cards with themes by Norman Rockwell & The Saturday Evening Post Covers. Together these are a great kit. I have tested these products in Memory Treatment Centers and the response has been amazing. The residents love the images, doing the puzzles and playing the matching cards. They reminisce, laugh and their memory is jogged. It has been a fascinating experience for me and very gratifying to see their responses. http://www.memoryjoggingpuzzles.com karen@memoryjoggingpuzzles.com

  - karen

• June 9, 2008 2:17 p.m.

  I'm Carol Marak and was a caregiver for my dad living with Alzheimer's disease. While it was difficult losing my dad each day to the dreadful disease, it was worse for him. Because of my challenges and wanting to help mom and dad, I've developed a website call WorkingCaregiver.com and blog on Alzheimers, working caregivers, and how best to find care for aging parents. Thank you for being here for families dealing with this disease. Carol Marak - www.WorkingCaregiver.com

  - Carol with WorkingCaregiver.com

• June 6, 2008 12:08 p.m.

  My name is Kathy Hatfield and I am the primary caregiver for my 79 year old Dad who has Alzheimer's disease and lives with me in North Carolina. I am writing a daily blog on my caregiver website that shows the lighter side of caring for someone with dementia. There is also lots of information about dementia and caregiving, as well as a LIVE CHAT every Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time for caregivers who need support, but cannot attend a “live” support group. Please pass this link along to anyone you feel would enjoy it. www.KnowItAlz.com Thanks, Kathy

  - Kathy Hatfield - www.KnowItAlz.com

• June 5, 2008 1:46 p.m.

  I have a dear female friend who just turned 55. I have noticed profound changes in her behavior in the last 3 years. She's an RN, but has not worked for the last 4 years. A few of the things I have noticed: 1. Doesn't understand how a credit card or debit works. 2. Walked out of a store with unpaid for items. 3. Doesn't know how to write a check any longer. 4. Doesn't understand what a sales tax is and why she must pay it. 5. Panics when she is home alone. 6. Calls friends & relatives literally every 1-2 minutes if she can't reach them on the phone. 7. Doesn't understand how to use recorded message phone prompts ~ she gets very confused & panics if she has to 'press 1' for so and so; 'press 2' for this or that, etc. 8. Can't remember where she has put packages she has just taken into the house (within 15 mins. or less time) 9. Panic when she was boarding a plane by herself. Called me to pick her back up at the airport, because she was too frightened to fly. She's flown many times by herself before. 10. Starts talking about things that have nothing to do with the present conversation. Repeats sentences over & over. Should I talk to my friend's husband &/or children? We have been their closest friends for over 16 years, however, I do not want to cause alarm. Could there be a dementia problem? I'd appreciate ANY guidance anyone can give me...I'm at a lose as what to do....

  - B.J. from FL

• May 28, 2008 9:53 p.m.

  Don, If you did not have mood swings you would be a superman. I took care of my wife for over nine years before she passed away. She passed on Dec. 8th 2007 and I still have mood swings. Do not be concerned it think it is normal. I have just started to live a semi-normal life now. I went to see my Grand Daughters over the long weekend. I missed their first eight years of their life because I could not leave my wife. It is part of caring with some with early on set. Let me know if I can help more.

  - Nosnarfu9

• May 28, 2008 9:06 a.m.

  I'm hoping that someone here has some input to help with our delemma with my Dad. He's 87 and although Mom says he doesn't have Alzheimers, that it's dementia, the symptoms are more on the Alzheimers side and we sense that Mom is in denial. Dad has become a bit promiscuous in the past months. There was on incident where he was a bit to friendly with his "touchy feely" with a visitor and most recently while sitting in an office and at home visiting with relatives he was sitting in his chair and would expose himself and start playing with himself. Recently I was present when one of these episodes happened. Mom said Dad's Dr. gave him some medicine for his behavior, but in checking out the medication on the internet we found that it was a tranquilizer type medication. Mom said that he hadn't done this for quite some time, but then again she has missed other times when someone else has seen him expose himself - and she thinks he did this because he didn't take his pill that day. Based on the information Mom had previously given me on Dad's status, I thought a few days vacation would be good for them. I booked them on a flight and have flown here to fly them back home with me. Now I have very strong concerns not only with Dad wandering off, but exposing himself in public and playing with himself. I have about a week to come up with a medication to modify this behavior or else thier trip will have to be cancelled. HELP!!! Any suggestions??? Mjk

  - Mjk

• May 26, 2008 11:17 p.m.

  May26 2008 I have ben careing for my wife going on 3years.Ihave mood swings that i am concerend about

  - Don

• May 26, 2008 4:26 p.m.

  An excellant book and source for anyone with dementia or dealing as a caretaker is "The 36 hour day" by Nancy Mace. I used this with my Mom and my sisters, it was SO helpful.

  - Marcia

• April 20, 2008 10:57 a.m.

  I know that everyone on this page is dealing with, but I don't know what to do anymore. It has taken my family and pretty much torn us apart. It is affecting everyone differently. I am going to start going to counseling for myself and hopefully to help everyone in my family. Any suggestions on how to handle this with your children. Mine are 20 and 23 and I feel like I have put to much on them with talking about this. I know how hard it is for me I can't imagine how hard it is for them. Everyone says take it day by day. But sometimes that day is really hard. jm29

  - jm29

• April 15, 2008 5:57 p.m.

  To jm29 - Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. How nice that a stranger can say something and it mean so much. It sounds like we do have a lot in common with this disease. I hope your children know all about this disease. I think the more they know, the more they will be a help to you. I wish so much I would have learned everything I could have about this disease so I could have been there for my Dad and step Mom more. I just had no idea all that was going to happen and how fast. My step Mom always made everything seem fine. Everytime I would call and check on my Dad. She is a wonderful person. She just took care of my Dad and didn't want any of us kids to know just how bad things were. I miss my Dad so much, I had been missing for a while. Again thank you for your kind words. Good luck with everything and may God be with you every step.

  - Charlene Milligan

• April 10, 2008 12:19 p.m.

  I just wanted to give my deepest sympathies to Charlene. Your post really hit close to home. We have alot in common with this disease. My husband has been diagnosed with AD and is only 55 years old. He will be 56 May 4th. We have 2 daughters and he has 2 children from a previous marriage. My step-daughter lives out of state. I think that they are aware of the progression of this disease. My step-daughter is a nurse. Right now we are in the early stages of AD. We first noticed something wrong about 4 years ago. Right now we are all hanging in there. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.

  - jm29

• April 3, 2008 7:57 p.m.

  Well last time I wrote anything on this site was just March 17th. Now I'm writing to say my wonderful Dad passed away yesterday. I can't not believe how fast this horrific disease had totally consumed my Dad and now he is gone after only 3 years. Sunday my Dad did not sleep at all, he hardley slept any days, and then finally fell asleep about 7am on Monday. My step Mom tried to wake him up about 7 that night and he wouldn't wake up. She called 911. She called me around mid night and said they were putting my Dad on a ventalater until I got there. He lives in another state. I got there around 4pm the next day. My Dad was so small. This young 57 year old man looked 100 years old. All his organs were starting to fail. We told them the doctor that we were ready to take him off the ventalater, the doctor told us he wanted to wait until the next day because he wanted another brain test done. We were all so upset, no matter what we said they made us wait. So we sat with my dad all night and talked to him and told him how much we loved him. They finally took him off ventalater at 10am and he was gone at 10:23 yesterday. My Dad is a doner and everything that is still good will go to someone in need. My Dads brain will be donated for research for this dignity robbing disease. It has to be stopped. Thanks for listening, I will still visit this site offten. Good luck everyone and may God be with you all.

  - Charlene Milligan

• March 26, 2008 8:53 p.m.

  Gordon and Kathy L, Neither one of you of ever taken care of a early on-set person or anyone with AL have You? My wife died on December 8, 2007 of early on set. Do not try and write about it until you have gone through it. You can not do it justice.

  - Nosnarfu9

• March 25, 2008 4:33 p.m.

  I just read a book about Alzheimr's disease and found it very helpful. It is called "Communicting for Care". It is a quick read.

  - Gordon

• March 20, 2008 1:18 p.m.

  If you know anyone who is looking for engaging activities to keep their minds active, I hope you will tell them about "Brain Aerobics Weekly" (www.brainaerobicsweekly.com) which is written for people who are family caregivers, working with people with mild to moderate dementia or who just want to keep their brains active. It offers a variety of exercises and materials in a light-hearted way and includes information on adapting the activities for people with dementia. I have also begun publishing online the Wiser Now Alzheimer's Disease Caregiver tips at www.wisernowalz.com for which I was known in the 1990s. This publication is works well for individuals, staff and support groups. It is difficult to get the word out to ordinary folks, so I would be grateful if you would check out the samples and let me know if you have suggestions for reaching others. You can learn more about me at www.wisernow.com, which is my main website with lots of informations and resources.

  - Kathy Laurenhue

• March 18, 2008 7:27 a.m.

  My name is Kathy, and I am the primary caregiver for my 79 year old Dad who has Alzheimer's disease and lives with me in North Carolina. I am writing a daily blog on my Alzheimer's caregiver website that shows the lighter side of caring for someone with dementia. I have also added over 100 pages of resources for caregivers that I have gathered over the three years Dad has lived here. Please pass this link along to anyone you feel would enjoy or benefit from it. http://www.KnowItAlz.com Thanks, Kathy

  - Kathy Hatfield

• March 17, 2008 10:48 a.m.

  My Dad is 57 and was diagnois with this horrific disease barley 3 years ago. I am horrified of what the disease has done to my wonderful Dad. He was a strong man at 240 pounds and now is a frail 104 pouunds. He does not know who I am and does not talk. He is unable to do anything for himself anymore. He just constantly walks around mumbeling. My heart is broke seeing my Dad like this. Everthing is happening so fast. I was very nieve when I learned of my Dads illness. I thought that he would still live a normal life just maybe not rememeber things and maybe one day not know who I was, but I cound not be more wrong. My Dad seems to already be in the final stages of this disease and it's only been 3 years. I am feeling so guilty for not learning more about this disease 3 years ago so that I could have spent more time with my Dad. He lives in another state so I only seen him once or twice a year. If I would have known, I could have better handled this, maybe. I'm scared and I miss my Dad.

  - Charlene Milligan

• March 12, 2008 9:56 p.m.

  Hi Ang, My wife of 37 years died on Dec. 8, 2007 of early on set. At first the symptoms were not bad. In 1996 she stopped driving. In 2000 I thought something was wrong with her never thinking about early on set. On night I asked her what a orange was and she said something to eat. I then asked her what it was and she could not tell me. I knew we had a problem. As the the AD progressed she forgot how to talk, did not know anyone this was in early 2002. She started wetting the bed in early 2003. That is about the same time she could not feed herself. I hired my son in July of 2002 to be home with her while I was at work. We hired a Hospic to moniter her in March of 2005. She was totally helpless by that time. She could not feed, use the bathroom, or bath herself. My son did a great job with her. In Oct 2007 I quit work because I knew not one person could talk care of her properly. My son came seven days a week until she died. It is a terrible way for a person to die.

  - Nosnarfu9

• March 11, 2008 10:47 a.m.

  I did not realize i would run out of room. i have spent the morning reading all the comments here. this site is wonderful. i would gues my mother-n-law has been sick close to 10 years or more now. like i said she has not been diagnosed with early onset A.D but has the signs. can someone tell me some of the late stage symptoms. i am curious to compare her behavior and symtoms to moderate or late stage symptoms. also, we are trying to get an appointment for her but we do not have the support of my father n law or is she admitting to the problems she has. thanks for listening.

  - Ang

• March 11, 2008 8:21 a.m.

  My mother in law is 63 years old and for years has had all the signs of dimentia. I don't even know where to start with my story because it is pretty complicated. My mother-n-law use to be a very confident career oriented woman who treaseured her best friends and family. In her early 50's she up and quit her career and has held a couple entry level positions since then but never able to keep them. She has withdrawn socially from her children, grandchildren, and friends. She has no emotions toward the recent loss of her parents. She has all the symptoms of early onset alzheimers BUT here is the scary thing.... She has not been to any doctors, she is not healthy and my father n law will not take her to a doctor. He has moved her to a different town away from her sons. I love her so much and want to help her. My husband ( her son) and I don't even live in the same state. I am desperate for any ideas or thoughts that could help our situation.

  - Ang