Is clearer better?
i don’t know if when his mind is clearer if it’s a good thing or not. When he’s thinking fairly well - he WANTS TO GO HOME -when I explain it to him, once again, he says but that’s MY HOUSE, it’s where my friends are, people I know.
I cautioned him about being angry when he’s there and shaking his fist at Mom, and he said ‘Then she ought to behave herself.”
I talked with one of Mom’s friends today about the situation, and she really hears and only sees Mom’s side. I see both sides, but don’t, and will never understand the lack of compassion and caring that is missing from a ‘good Christian’. Granted, she’s getting bad about memory things, and is considered deaf - but you don’t have to remember to be nice or loving - and you don’t have to be able to hear to be nice either. My brothers see both sides as well.. and both sides of her. i love her, but she’s self centered, and hypocritical.
He told me he sees Mom out running around, on the back of a motorbike, he’s seen her a lot. She’s just riding around he says. I don’t know if this is a memory or a hallucination, but he believes it and gets all tight mouth with me when I disagree with him.
One part of me wants to just take him to her and say - listen he wants to live in his own house, how about you take care of him, and i’ll help you when you need me. Jim’s warned me several times that I am not going to be doing this much longer, that he needs taken care of and he is the one I made a vow with.
One day at a time.
Filed under Memory, Family, Daily Life | Comment (0)Memory gets worse later in the day
Dad seems to be settled in a stable pattern of memory during the day time. Not that he remembers much, but he knows where he is and why. As the day progresses, however, it deteriorates. I’m learning not to tell him of future plans, for instance, we’re going to the grocery store after lunch… because he will dwell on that and worry on it - he doesn’t want to be late, or miss the trip I guess.
We hadn’t had an “I lost my keys” episode for quite a while until last night. He got up 2 hours after going for bed and was rummaging in his dresser drawers. When I told him where his keys were, brought them to him and showed them to him, he said “Not those keys” - I hung them back up and he came into the kitchen to examine them again. He dropped them - hung them back up, and wanted a drink. He got his drink and went to bed, keys forgotten. He didn’t even get up until 5 am!
Today I’ m taking him to Mom’s for 5 days while I go to see my husband. I haven’t told him yet, or packed his bag. We’ll do it just before it’s time to go. I’m learning!!
Filed under Memory, Daily Life | Comment (0)I want to go home Part Two
I seriously may lose my mind. Seriously. How can someone who can’t remember 5 minutes to the next be so horribly homesick. I can explain and explain about why he is here, and how long we’ll be here and his constant refraint is “I want to go home”. I am upset and crying because he is. It’s making me angry, because I feel guilty I guess, that I can’t fix it for him and make him happy. I try to take him somewhere every day and keep him occupied, but my business is suffering because I have to cater and worry about him 24/7. I’m afraid he’ll take off in the middle of the night. I won’t be able to sleep tonight for sure. I’m going to put a chair in front of the door when I go to bed. I look at him and he has this frowny unhappy face. He keeps rubbing his face and beating his fists on his legs. He gets up and sits back down. I have to quit being angry. I know he can’t help it. He hasn’t been able to live ‘at home’ for 2 years because I’ve had him living with me. I even told him Mom would put him in a nursing home if he stays with her, and he said, “fine put me in a nursing home”.
If I make it the rest of the week, I will be surprised. God should know by now how much I can take, and I was there last Thursday. This combined with being apart from my husband while he goes through his cancer treatments, losing Rock’s grandma last week, and not being able to work because of taking care of him has cracked me right down the middle and the crack is getting wider and wider.
I’m not sure I even want to be strong anymore.
Pity party time - bring your own Kleenex.
Aricept - helping memory?
Dad’s been on aricept since he went in the nursing home. Last month, Dr Epplin put him on 10MG. Dr. Epplin is a wonderful doctor that specializes in geriatrics. I just don’t know about this aricept stuff. It’s not a cure. It’s suppose to keep his memory from getting worse slower. How in the world do you measure something like that? How can you prove it’s slowed anything down? In addition it’s about $9.00 a pill! The warnings in the pamphlet that comes with it is quite daunting, telling you not to STOP the pills because you can never recover what you lose while you aren’t taking them. So we take the pill every morning. Whether it’s a panacea or a placebo I guess it doesn’t matter. We won’t take a chance.
Here is some information about Aricept from their website:
How Aricept Can Help
Researchers have tested Aricept on people with mild and moderate Alzheimer’s. They also tested it on those with severe Alzheimer’s. The studies showed that Aricept helps cognition and function, which includes effects on memory and performing everyday tasks. Here are findings from 3 of the studies on which the FDA based its approval of Aricept:
15-week study
A 15-week study looked at Aricept in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s. The study compared 2 groups. One of the groups took Aricept. The other group took a placebo (sugar pill). Each group took tests that measured their thinking, memory, and how they functioned in daily life, including effects on behavior. The researchers found that:
- Compared with the placebo group, the typical patient who took Aricept showed improvement on the ADAS-cog test, which measures how well they think, remember, communicate, and figure things out
- Patients who took the placebo did worse on the ADAS-cog test during the same period of time
- Compared with the placebo group, about twice as many patients taking Aricept showed clinical improvement in the CIBIC-plus test, an interview that measures a person’s ability to function
Quick Reference-tests used in Aricept 15- and 30-week studies included measurements such as:
| What it is | What it measures | |||
| ADAS-cog | Primary Test: Alzheimer’s Disease Assesmemt Scale- Cognitive Subscale |
A test that measures thinking, remembering, communication, and the ability to figure things out | ||
| CIBIC-plus | Primary Test: Clinician’s Interview- Based Impression of Change |
An interview that gauges general change, as well as changes in behavior, thinking, and the ability to perform daily activities | ||
| SIB | Primary Test: Severe Impairment Battery |
A questionaire that measure memory, language, awareness of time and place, attention, movement, hand-eye coordination, recognition of name, construction and social interaction | ||
| ADCS-ADL | Primary Test: Modified Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study Activities for Daily Living inventory for Severe Alzheimer’s |
A scale that measures the ability to perform normal day-to-day tasks like dressing, eating, bathing, and turning on lights or water faucets |
30-week study
A 30-week study also looked at Aricept in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s. In this study, one group took Aricept. The other group took a placebo (sugar pill). Both groups took tests to measure thinking, memory, and the ability to function in daily life, including effects on behavior. Researchers compared the results to see if Aricept improved or maintained these functions. The researchers learned that:
- Compared with the placebo group, patients taking Aricept scored better on the ADAS-cog test over a 6-month period
- Compared with the placebo group, about twice as many patients taking Aricept showed clinical improvement in the CIBIC-plus test, an interview that measures a person’s ability to function
6-month study
A 6-month study looked at patients with severe Alzheimer’s. All of these patients lived in nursing homes. The study compared 2 groups of patients. One of the groups took Aricept. The other group took a placebo (sugar pill). Each group took tests that measured their thinking, memory, and how they functioned in daily life. The researchers found that:
- Overall, patients in the Aricept group improved on the SIB test; those in the placebo group declined
- As a whole, patients taking Aricept declined significantly less on the ADCS-ADL-severe test than patients in the placebo group
Aricept may not work the same for each person. Some studies have shown that symptoms may improve. If symptoms stay the same—or worsen more slowly than expected over time—this may also mean Aricept is working.
How Aricept Is Thought to Work
When someone has Alzheimer’s disease, nerve cells and vital chemicals in the brain are lost over time. This occurs in parts of the brain that are key to memory and other mental processes. One such chemical is called acetylcholine. This chemical helps carry messages from nerve cell to nerve cell in the brain. Alzheimer’s may impair thinking and memory by disrupting these messages between cells.
It is thought that Aricept may help reduce the breakdown of this chemical.
Safety Information
Aricept is well tolerated but may not be for everyone. People at risk for stomach ulcers or who take certain other medicines should tell their doctors because serious stomach problems, such as bleeding, may get worse. Some people who take Aricept may experience fainting.
Some people may:
- Have nausea
- Vomit
- Experience diarrhea
- Experience bruising
- Not sleep well
- Have muscle cramps
- Lose their appetite
- Feel tired
In studies, these side effects were usually mild and temporary.
If you are concerned about side effects, talk with your doctor.
Filed under Memory, Daily Life | Comment (0)Good Days - Bad Days
We have good days, where he remembers things and seems to be really on the ball. Today is not one of those days. Of course it was bath day, so that probably didn’t help. All his hankies were in the wash and he couldn’t find his white comb. He forgot to comb his hair, and the wash cloth and soap weren’t even wet in the shower. SIGH!! I guess he got rinsed off though, and he has clean clothes on and finally got his hair combed (with the pink comb).
Is this Sunday? No dad, it’s Friday. 10 minutes later - What day is it? It’s Friday Dad - 15 minutes later. Is it Sunday? No dad, it’s Friday.
Lunch time - what is this white stuff? Dad that’s pudding, it’s your dessert.
Do I need to feed those cats? No Dad, you fed the cats after breakfast like you do every day.
Is this Sunday?
Filed under Memory, Pity Party, Daily Life | Comment (0)Is it Monday?
Dad can’t keep track of what day it is. It really doesn’t matter I guess. If it’s Sunday, it’s church day. We don’t have much of a busy calendar.
When he was in the nursing home, I bought one of those cheap wipe off message boards. Each day I would write the DAY, the DATE, and when he could expect either Mom or I to come and visit, and leave it magnetted to the mini fridge in his room. I usually drew a little picture too, just because i like to draw and I’m a bit of a show off.
Something else that helps a LOT with someone with dementia is a notebook. We would write in it each day, what he ate, if he had rehab, if he took a walk, if he had visitors, when we got there - when we left. It was good for us as well as him. The staff found it a valuable resource as well. Some days I would have DAD do the writing in it (Like, “write down what you had for lunch Dad”.
Another memory trigger device I made for him was something that I used for my son when he was a baby, so he could learn the names of family members. I made a collage of family pictures (including his picture) - put them on one sheet and we would play “Who is This”. Same game for Dad as I played with Rock when he was a baby.
Filed under Memory, Daily Life | Comment (0)