Okay peeps i took my 84 yr old Grandmother to the hospital for a brain scan to check for Alzhiemier's or another form of dementia. I will get the results back on Monday Jan. 24th. I have discussed this with her and her Dr. and we will opt for meds if this is the case.

You can still feed, bathe, dress herself and still do lite chores too, including helping with my birds when I need her too. She just may forget what I told her 5 minutes ago. She has a pleasent personality and does what I tell her to do, she is not combative at all.

I want to know anybody else's experince with this. Do the meds work??/ What was the outcome??

Thanks in advance for any info you can give me.

rachel3 said:

Hi Racheal3, I do hope your nan will be ok. I havent had any personal experience with the disease, however I do know that it is quite a challenge for all involved. There should be an Alzhiemiers Centre or Group in your local area that you could contact for advice and support.

Best of luck

Rachel, sorry to hear this news I hope things will work out for you and your g-momma. I don't know much about the disease, but you should really do some research on it. I do know that there have been some advancements with the medications recently.


My best to you and your gran

Smooches;)

I am so sorry to hear about your Grandmother. Dimentia and Alzhiemier's is just a horrible thing to happen to anyone. It robs you of everything you've ever known. This hit's very close to home as my Grandfather had the same thing. This is what happened to him and I have to warn you that if you're really sensitive and it's all so new, dont read the next paragraph and know that you're in my thoughts and that it could be different for your Grandmother if everyone keeps supporting the reaserch that is being done to end this awful illness.

My Grandfather showed signs of it about 12 years ago when he was not stopping at stop signs and getting lost in familiar streets. He was diagnosed with Dimentia in 1998 and unfortunatley for him is was a downhill battle. My mother quit working to take care of him and though he took medication...the disease took over and he began to lose his memory and would have to use diapers because he would forget when he would have to use the restroom. It's almost as if he was back to his infant stage in his mind. He loved watching cartoons and would fight my mother to get candy or something sweet. He would sleep for hours and hours at a time. This last year his health declined in rapid force as doctor's could do nothing to help him. They told us that nature has taken over and his body is slowing shutting down. He told my mother a couple of years ago that if he was to die, he wanted to die at home.

The hospice took over at this point and nurses would come by daily to check up on him and change him. He went without eating for days and he passed away on Christmas Eve just a couple of weeks ago. It's been hard to deal with. I had prepared myself in the last year to expect the unexpected. By the time he got to the point of not waking up and not eating...I was just so sad to see him in that state and how much better if would be for him to go on his eternal journey. It broke my heart but that's just the course of life. I cherrish the fact that I spent alot of time with him in the last years of his life and he is now resting.

My advice to you is to do research and educate yourself and your family about this disease. Most importantly..spend as much time with her as possible...you'll cherrish that forever. My best to you and your family. I hope the outcome is very different for you!!!

peace

VANITYSprisonBYTCH said:

Hi Racheal, Nice to meet you. My father passed away from complications due to Alzheimers 2 years ago.My story is very much like Vanity's.The big difference is that we couldn't keep my father at home after he started falling down and trying to take long walks at night. He was always trying to "go home" to his parents house, he even escaped from a very secure nursing home! We would have loved to keep him at home, but for us the right choice was the nursing home. We made sure that someone took my mother to see him every day (very important).
I think my best advice for you right now is don't sweat the things you can't change.Let your mother live in her own reality as much as possible.If it IS a dementia, she will regress to the past ,just enjoy what she is everyday.Its OK if you have to tell her 10 times where her glasses are, but don't argue when she thinks its 1948 or that she's only 23.
My Dad had Alzheimer's and Parkinson's for 10 years before he died and we have many wonderful memories of him. I was with him the whole last day and he was very lucid and we were able to talk a little like the old days.
Every single minute is precious.
There are many books that can help,Try "The Thirty Six Hour Day"

My grandmother has had the diagnosis of Alzheimer one month ago. She had been losing her lucidity for the last ten years (forgetting, repeating stories, not washing herself...) but her sons and daughter never took it serious enough. Two years ago she moved to an appartment for older people. They got food there but no one really 'nursed' them. So a few months ago she started wearing the clothes of my 6-y cousin, and started escaping and wandering through dangerous streets and parking-lots... They brought her to a hospital, closed section. Very sad, they tied her up and gave her strong medicaments and stuff. She looked so thin and couldn't speak anymore. It was horrible. Now she moved houses again, this time to a specialised hospital for dementia. She gets the appropiate medication. Sometimes she's able to speak and recognize people, but most of the time she's just staring out of the window or watching cartoons and looks like a zombie.

Yes, it's a sad way to end your life. Just get the right info and I'm wishing you lots of strength. From your story it appears that your grandma is not that far-away though, they may be able to slow down the symptoms for a while. If she has the illness at all of course, maybe she will be ok !

my mother has it

the meds have slowed down the process a bit

i spend time with her every day
i learn something by her/it every day

life is so short

i love, honor and respect my mother

my best freind
my greatest teacher

~~ now i am gonna go cry some ...peace ya'll ~~

Mach said:

my prayers are with u
[Edited 1/23/05 3:06am]

I just returned from a trip to visit my 95-year-old grandmother who has dementia. I hadn't seen her in three years, so I was a little afraid, but it was incredibly satisfying to spend time with her. Her personality is still there even though she couldn't quite remember who I am. The most rewarding thing is I sat her down and conducted an interview with her on video, asking her questions about her childhood etc. It was remarkable how lucid she became and how honest she was and all the memories she shared.

I also took her out around town (she's staying in the lock-down unit for Alzheimer's patients at the nursing home), found her some large print books and audio books and helped her spend time with family. At the end of the week, she was noticeably much more coherent and her mind was working better. My conclusion was that stimulation, change of environment, company with family and especially children, and talking about her past really woke her up and sharpened her mind.

I don't know how the meds work (my grandma isn't on any), but keeping her involved is important. Old people have a hard time initiating things for themselves, but if coaxed and if you initiate things for them, it can only help their mental well being.

It's all about love and the natural process of disease and dying. The best we can do is give dignity and care.

The man I dates mother has Alzheimers. She is so wonderful.

She can remember everthing from her past. But cannot remember 5 minutes ago.

It is so sad because you can sense that she was a spark of fire in years past.

The hardest part is, she is always burning food, leaving water running. And chasing her husband down the alley because she thinks he is taking his girlfriends money. (He is 95).

She thinks my name is Jesusita!