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• Housecall
• Alzheimer's caregiving
• Living with cancer

• September 3, 2009 12:36 p.m.

  My dear friend from HS is doing a memmory walk for her mom who has Alzheimer's. Please help her reach her goal. donate what ever you can. we must come up with a cure for this. http://memorywalk09.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=302500&supid=262253889

  - Maureen

• August 26, 2009 5:47 p.m.

  I need suggestions on how to deal with my Dad's smoking. They just moved into a retirement center last week. Their is a "smoking area" however my Dad is not wanting (or forgets) to go their. What suggestions can I give my Mom on how to correct or redirect this behavior. I need input before they get kicked out!

  - Susan

• August 22, 2009 9:26 p.m.

  Good comments re the use of social media and how it can help both the person with Alzheimers and their family and friends. http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2002/07/53815 has an interesting article on how blogging and other activities to keep alzheimers patients to keep active minds is helping slow down the progress of the disease for them. http://www.alzheimerssupport.net/

  - AlzheimersSupport

• August 13, 2009 1:25 p.m.

  My 60-year old husband has started leaving things in weird places and is using strange words for familiar objects. Can't get through many sentences without messing them up in some way. Most alarming is what he does at night. I am jarred awake most nights by frantic movement, sheets on and off, getting up and down, slapping himself and strange jibberish talk. He never remembers when he wakes up. Could this be Alzheimer's?

  - Anne

• August 12, 2009 10:02 a.m.

  I have lost 5 close family members with ALZ. All in 2 generations. So I live in fear of developing it myself. But one of my favorite memories is of my father. My mother who didn't drive loved to shop. So I would pick up my parents, drop Mom off and take leisurely drives with Dad. It was something he and I did when I was a young child. Dad was always a junk food fan. This one particular day. I asked my father if he would like chips, ice cream, candy or cookies. He answered yes. So I bought him all the above. I still don't know how he was able to consume it all. A half hour late we picked up my mother. At this point my father loudly requested, "Let's go for lunch, I haven't eaten in days...." He ate a full lunch.

  - Patti

• August 7, 2009 6:23 p.m.

  My father probably has multi-infarct dementia and Alzheimer's. Lately my mother cannot get him to get up in the morning. It may be 2pm before he decides to get up. Then after he gets up, he may eat and then goes to his recliner where he goes horizontal. He is sleeping most of the day and he sleeps all night long as well. What is going on here?

  - Mary Ann in NC

• August 5, 2009 3:33 p.m.

  I tried to turn off cable news not wanting to listen to Micheal Jackson's death on TV 24/7. My mother turned it on every 15 minutes - and every time she did she was SHOCKED that Micheal Jackson had died. Fror 2 weeks I listened to story after story about MJ and my mother hearing the news for the first time every 15 minutes. It actually got very funny.

  - Joanne

• August 5, 2009 7:48 a.m.

  I´d like to Know if there are any contraindication to the association memantine and sertraline. Thanks

  - Filomena

• July 25, 2009 12:08 p.m.

  Mom is "stage 7" according to most recent book I have read. Today can't hold head up (which occurs and is expected) but she will not respond to us, open eyes, speak, her BP was elevated upon waking this a.m.; Nursing Home gave her med to lower and it is now ok, but she still is non responsive -- any suggestions -- is this part of it or something else--anyone's thoughts

  - Frustrated

• July 22, 2009 10:26 a.m.

  My mother will only get dressed and showered if her caregiver tells her there is a man coming over - any man will do the trick, a plumber, the landlord, a neighbor, or a delivery man. Once my mother is dressed she has forgotten about the visitor who wasn't coming and when one actually does, she is ready and delighted.

  - Corrine

• July 15, 2009 12:20 p.m.

  Joanne, your story made me laugh. My mother calls me often an leaves my name and my phone # on the voice mail. I explained to her that she needs to leave her name and phone number when leaving a message. But then I asked her what her phone number was and she repeated my number and I realized - who cares. As long as she's not calling 911 and knows my number, we're OK! Karen Marshall

  - No name given

• July 13, 2009 7:39 p.m.

  JULY 13 2009 I AM CAREING FOR MY DEAR COMPANION, OF 12 YEARS, WITH IN-HOME HELP. HE IS 87 AND HAS VASCULAR DEMENTIA. I AM 12 YEARS YOUNGER AND AM STILL ABLE TO DO A LOT FOR HIM, BUT QUICKLY REALIZED I COULD NOT DO IT MYSELF. WHILE I DO SOMETIMES GET "OUT OF SORTS" THERE ARE THE LIGHTER MOMENTS WHEN HE MAKES ME LAUGH. RECENTLY WHEN HE HAD CALLED MY NAME ABOUT 100 TIMES IN ABOUT AN HOUR, I SAID I WAS GOING TO CHANGE MY NAME. HE SAID, VERY SERIOUSLY, WHAT ARE YOU CHANGING IT TO SO I KNOW WHAT TO CALL YOU.

  - JOANNE HALE

• July 13, 2009 11:12 a.m.

  My mother loves to talk on the phone, especially at the end of the day when she can call me up to 10 times w/in 15 minutes. I use to get very frustrated but now I laugh and mentioned that nothing new has happened since we last spoke, 2 minutes earlier - gently reminding her of her last call. Being able to laugh about this and have fun w/ my mother is a gift that I won't have forever.

  - No name given

• July 10, 2009 11:20 p.m.

  Jaime: When my mom was in the last stages of dementia, with severe memory loss and addled behavior, she was surprisingly focused and lucid while talking on the phone.

  - Bruce Small

• July 10, 2009 8:21 a.m.

  My name is Kathy and I am the full time caregiver for my eighty year-old Dad who has Alzheimer's and lives with me in North Carolina. When my Mom died in 2004 and Dad moved in with me, I had no idea what to do. But day by day, I found ways to cope, and even enjoy having my Dad with me. So I started writing a blog at www.KnowItAlz.com, which shows the "lighter" side of caring for someone with dementia. After a while, I added over 100 pages of helpful information and tips for caregivers. We even have a Chat room so caregivers can communicate with each other from home. Please pass this link along to anyone you feel would enjoy it. Thanks! Kathy Hatfield

  - Kathy Hatfield

• July 6, 2009 1:43 p.m.

  When my grandmother got Alzheimer's she also developed a taste for sushi AND soy sauce! Taking her to eat sushi was the only time she wanted to go out to eat. I think she loved to eat sushi b/c she could eat with her hands w/o anyone saying anything. I remember one time, she rolled up her sleeves and ate with gusto as soy sauce was dripping down her arms. I pointed out to her that rivers of soy sauce were flowing down her arms and she was making a mess. She looked at me and said ' I'm old and I'll eat anyway I want to and who are you?!'

  - Charlene

• July 1, 2009 11:01 a.m.

  I lost my Dad few years back. He suffered from AD. It's been more than 8 years. To be honest, I still haven't recovered from the trauma. We did everything that could have been done. He was treated with Exelon, which was not effective for him. He was a construction engineer by profession and mathematics was his passion. So I don't agree to the point of view that an idle mind causes AD. The most traumatic moment was when he stopped recognizing the family members. The strong family ties in India makes you to stay close to the near and dear one during the last moments. I was the caregiver for the last several months of his life. My mother was the caregiver for 2/3 years. I want to do something for the patients suffering from AD.

  - Tarun from India

• June 30, 2009 9:57 p.m.

  I'm an Activities Director at an Alzheimer's facility. I have been doing this for about 6 months, so I am just learning. One of our residents claps her hands LOUDLY unless I am personally with her, talking to her or giving her attention. Her clapping is making us all crazy. She continues this clapping even when she is involved in group activities. any suggestions?

  - Mary

• June 29, 2009 11:51 a.m.

  I'm a doctor and saw a patient last week. She's an older woman who is always brought in by her loving, caring daughter. I noticed my patient was reading a book when I entered the exam room. I asked what the book was and the daughter told me it was a book her mother has been reading for the last year - at this point she has read it 5 times. Each time she finished it, she started it over b/c she couldn't remember she had just read it. When I asked my patient about the book, she only said that she really loved the book. I think this is the only meaningful aspect anyway - she knew she really loved the book and was spending her time with something that brought her pleasure. When I came home that night, I told the story to my wife who asked me what the book was. I had to admit I couldn't remember! And still can't, which makes me wonder..............

  - Mike

• June 26, 2009 9:01 a.m.

  My mother has recently gone on zoloft (she is in a nursing home and I just got her off of an antipsychotic), She is sucking on her fingers, my hands, and anything else she can get in h er mouth. Is this common side effect? Can anyone suggest a better med for anxiety and sleeplessness?

  - Barb

• June 19, 2009 4:37 p.m.

  last weekend i was playing a card game w/ the woman i take care of. she has Alz but is very sweet and also has a sense of humor, although her memory is very bad and she's very inactive. her daughter was visiting us with her family so 7 of us we sitting around the table playing cards. my patient could not focus and really wanted to call to her daughter. we all explained that her daughter was sitting right next to her but she wouldn't let go of her need to call her daughter. finally her daughter took her cell phone out from her pocket and called her mother. they carried on a short conversation while sitting less than a foot from each other. the daughter said she was playing cards w/ a group of people her mother said good-bye and they both hung up. the card game was now able to continue. but first we said that mother and daughter had just had a conversation while sitting next to each other! the woman I work for thought that was the funniest thing ever and couldn't believe she had done that!but b/c we accepted her and went with he wishes it was easy and in the end a laugh for all. I take care of a very good woman who does get frustrated easily but she is able to see the silliness in things and that makes it a lot easier for me to be there for her! my sister does the same job for another lady but the mood is very sober and the lady is fading a lot faster. i see more activity and more laughter helps us ALL

  - Jaime

• June 19, 2009 4:14 p.m.

  Finally a story that is uplifting for the family, the caregiver and the patient. Yes this is a very sad disease but if we don't find the humor we will not be decent caregivers. Finding the lighter moments is not mean - it's honest and liberating. I laugh with my father and sometimes at the wacky things this disease makes him to. We still share a sense of humor and I'm able to be with him. He's not the same person but he still has a twinkle in his eyes and can laugh out loud like when I pointed out that he tried to blow out the battery operated candles! His humor is honest - he has now admitted to me that he never liked my cooking and is pleased he can't remember a lot of people - like his first wife b/c she wasn't very nice (he requested I not bring up her name and explain who she was-he likes not knowing!) My dad is a funny guy and I want to have good times w/ him for as long as I can. Our activities have changed and life is a lot harder - for me mostly - but we're still laughing! I think when possible this is an approached that should be attempted. Finding the humor has certainly made me a better caregiver and daughter. Has it made a difference for anyone else?

  - Joan

• June 18, 2009 3:06 p.m.

  I was with my grandmother when she was first diagnosed with Alzheimers, we were obviously upset about the news. My grandmother drove herself to the library to do some research on the disease. A few months past and I went to visit her, she had a stack of mail from the library regarding her overdue library books. As she looked at the pile of mail in disgust and said "I don't know why the library keeps sending me these overdue notifications, I haven't been to the library in years!". Ironically all the titles of the books they are accusing her of checking out had the word Alzheimer in them. She laughed out loud. She never lost her sense of humor and we never stopped laughing with her. I think the laughter kept her around and 'healthier' than if she hadn't kept her humor. We miss her and still smile at her memory!

  - Susan

• June 11, 2009 10:47 a.m.

  My Dad suffers from what we think is Alzheimers or dementia (confusion, memory loss), but we can't get him to see a psychologist or a psychiatrist about it (he's been referred to one by his general practitioner). My Mom is really struggling to try and get him help, but he isn't open to it. How should my mother or I approach this with my Dad?? There may be things/drgs out there that could help him, but he just isn't interested in seeing any doctor. Help!

  - JC

• June 10, 2009 9:23 a.m.

  My mother is in the mid stages of AD and she tells everyone I stole everything from her and makes up crazy stories that are delusions or dreams. I live next door from her and have always looked after her and my Dad. I am heart broken because I can no longer visit or help because the rest of the family says that I upset her. She has severe rages and is violent. I am at a loss of what to do for her.

  - Sherry