Alzheimer's:Does anyone out there have personal experience with friends or relatives who suffer from it?
Question:
is being done. I don't know very much about it except it's an incurable brain disease that afflicts 1 out of 10 seniors. If anyone
out there has useful information or advice it would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Answers:
Not only do I work in a hospital and see patient's with Alzheimer's on a day to day basis, but it is something that my grandmother also suffers from. There are medications for it, but it still progresses. People with alzheimer's begin to forget things, they may not know what certain objects are used for, they start to not recognize people around them. Somebody I know had a grandmother with alzheimer's that had called a restaurant saying that she was being starved and hasn't had anything to eat in days. Some people with alzheimer's can become violent, although that is not always the case. Many of them are very pleasant. (I enjoy these people. they are so confused but they are really really nice and make me laugh, although it is still very sad what is happening to them). Some people are extremely difficult to deal with. I had one patient that insisted on "going upstairs to get her sister." She was very hard of hearing and I tried to keep telling her that she was in the hospital and it was 3 in the morning. Then she would ask where her sister was and I would tell her that she was home sleeping. and then she would go back to insisting on going upstairs to get her sister. it was very repetitive and there was no way of helping her understand what was going on and it was very sad. Personally, my grandmother is in end-stage alzheimer's. These people are basically just like big babies. They are incontinent and need to wear a diaper. They have very little motor control and are most often bedridden. They can't carry on a conversation and rarely talk at all. Here's a website that may be helpful for you.
http://www.alz.org/AboutAD/WhatIsAD.asp
good luck, and I'm sorry to hear about your mother.
My grandmother had it when she was about 75 years old. It got so bad that we had 24 hour care for her but even that wasn't enough. It is not a good thing. We put her in a nursing home which at that point, she didn't even know her own mother or grandkids, etc. Before we put her in a home, she would hide knives under her mattress, would not remember to use the restroom, therefore, she went in her bedroom and my mother who was taking care of her could not do it anymore....There is really alot that goes on and goes downhill and I am sure the meds today help some but not all. I am sorry to hear about your mother----whatever you do, just keep loving her even if she starts to really not know who you are, don't get mad at her for it. It is not her fault.
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