Anyone with experience: loved one with dementia

[Hobie]

Does anyone here have personal experience with elderly who is living with dementia? Does dementia cause inhibitions to degrade so that a person who was fairly pleasant most of the time suddenly becomes suspicious, combative, fearful, manipulative, secretive, dishonest, etc?

I'm asking this bc it's something I'm seeing in a friend's mother and they are struggling with how to handle the care of their mother.

Not blatantly outright, but they begin to show what are these types of attributes and its part of the illness. Have you seen the cure on this that has been found. Just came on the news, look up the results found on the testing by Dr. Guptas report..

 

[Rita]

The last words I recall Grandpa spoke to me were, "I'm sorry; I don't remember you." That's the sad part, when the memories go.

I'd rather remember the Grandpa who taught me to play chess and who took me fishing (and once I even caught something besides mosquito bites!) I didn't know that Grandpa either.

Yes it’s so sad for the families when this happens, but deep inside there would have been a memory of you. I plan to have a list of music that reminds me of my children, I may not recognise them if I ever got demencia , but through the music there would be an inner connection that would make me feel good.
Music connects and is so very important , especially with those struggling with memory loss xxxxx

 

[TLHKAJ]

It’s sadly not unusual and it can depend on what kind of demencia someone has, many residents became violent, obnoxious, abrupt ect and the families would find it hard to believe because it was out of character. Its not unusual for them to become suspicious because they are living in a different reality to someone without dementia, memories gets muddled up. Also they can forget that they have eaten, so they eat many times and simply don’t remember - that’s quite common.

Thank you for sharing. It helps tremendously.

She does at times forget that she's eaten and will say she's hungry a half hour after she ate.

She often gets into the oddest predicaments. My friend found her sprawled out in the closet floor and she couldn't explain why or how it happened. Trying to help her up off the floor was a major ordeal because she wailed as if in pain if someone touched her little finger. She literally crawled across the floor 4 times refusing help. She was stubborn about not getting off the floor and insisted she should sleep there. So my friend gave her a couple of pillows and a blanket and tackled it again a couple hours later .... with still more drama. Finally my friend picked her up, coaching her how to put her feet on the floor without flailing. And she was up in 15 seconds. Five hours later, phew!

But then, she refused to change her depends which were soaked.

She had been using the thick long pads for leakage protection, but she was forgetting how to use them ...sticking them in weird places. So I made the suggestion that we should get her using protective underwear with the thickest/longest pad in that. It helps ...but she has to cooperate with getting bathed daily and changing into clean protective underwear/pad. She threw a fit and refused to get washed up and ......today, she soaked through and urinated all over herself, her clothes, her bedding, and the expensive mattress.

I am doing laundry the next 2 days ....which, hey ....it is, what it is. She seemed to feel bad ....but she'll likely forget and revert to the same behaviors. lol

 

[TLHKAJ]

Yes it’s so sad for the families when this happens, but deep inside there would have been a memory of you. I plan to have a list of music that reminds me of my children, I may not recognise them if I ever got demencia , but through the music there would be an inner connection that would make me feel good.
Music connects and is so very important , especially with those struggling with memory loss xxxxx

Dementia is preventable with a low carb, high animal protein/fat diet. Fat/cholesterol feeds the brain. Eggs are an affordable option ...3 or more eggs a day makes a huge difference.

 

[Debp]

Does anyone here have personal experience with elderly who is living with dementia? Does dementia cause inhibitions to degrade so that a person who was fairly pleasant most of the time suddenly becomes suspicious, combative, fearful, manipulative, secretive, dishonest, etc?

I'm asking this bc it's something I'm seeing in a friend's mother and they are struggling with how to handle the care of their mother.

I've seen a commercial on TV about how some dementia patients can become mean and change in personality. There is a medication for it.... sorry I can't remember the name. But her doctor would probably know.

 

[Debp]

we should get her using protective underwear with the thickest/longest pad in that. It helps ...but she has to cooperate with getting bathed daily and changing into clean protective underwear/pad. She threw a fit and refused to get washed up and ......today, she soaked through and urinated all over herself, her clothes, her bedding, and the expensive mattress

Get the protective, throwaway bed pads....they are about 30 inches by 28 inches.

There are pull up, maximum absorbsion underwear. Or diapers, maximum absorbsion, with tabs on the sides.

If she cannot get a bath daily, there are cleansing, no rinse sprays for the private area of her body. Also, there are no rinse body washes and shampoo combination for sponge baths.

Carewell.com is an excellent source for the above plus more for the elderly! Carewell is very reasonable, too. I bought supplies from them for mom....it arrived in only one day!!!

 

[TLHKAJ]

Get the protective, throwaway bed pads....they are about 30 inches by 28 inches.

There are pull up, maximum absorbsion underwear. Or diapers, maximum absorbsion, with tabs on the sides.

If she cannot get a bath daily, there are cleansing, no rinse sprays for the private area of her body. Also, there are no rinse body washes and shampoo combination for sponge baths.

Carewell.com is an excellent source for the above plus more for the elderly! Carewell is very reasonable, too. I bought supplies from them for mom....it arrived in only one day!!!

Thank you, Deb. Idk how no-rinse can be cleansing, but we can certainly try.

 

[Debp]

we should get her using protective underwear with the thickest/longest pad in that. It helps ...but she has to cooperate with getting bathed daily and changing into clean protective underwear/pad. She threw a fit and refused to get washed up and ......today, she soaked through and urinated all over herself, her clothes, her bedding, and the expensive mattress

Thank you, Deb. Idk how no-rinse can be cleansing, but we can certainly try.

The no rinse, spray for the private area, you just keep spraying it on until the fecal debris, etc, is removed. You can also spray it directly onto a paper towel and wipe her off with that until clean. If you want, you can then rinse with water on a paper towel.

The no rinse, body wash/shampoo...I found it easier to get some on a wet paper towel and wipe mom down. Afterwards I did go over her with a paper towel with water on it.

I think when the caregiver gave a sponge bath to mom, she got a wash basin and wiped mom with the body wash/shampoo from the basin.

Make sure you get the protective disposable bed pads. As long as they keep clean, you can use the same ones. I would put at least two under mom...then if the top one got soiled, you just add a new one.

Carewell.com has good prices. On those sprays for the private area, I tried a few....one bottle was only $1.98, another was $2.18, another was $2.68.

 

[St. SteVen]

.... sorry I can't remember the name.

Uh oh.

LOL

]

 

[Reggie Belafonte]

I have next door to the right of me and behind me with dementia.
To the right of me she is trying to excape home and 2 of he boys look after her their and have the place all locked up, she does not know who i am now, i have seen her at the window trying to get me too help. their is a lot of yelling at her as the boys get fed up with her and all, they have said sorry to me, for they think i do not understand, but i do and all.

At the rear he is ok but i do not see him about much at all now, he does not talk now.

My mum, is that we have to watch what we say or she will make some nonsense up, like if the Police pulled you up for random breath test, do not say that or else she will say that you have been busted and going to loose lic and crap like that. talk about people who she does not truly know and make up some BS story about them, hate full rubbish ! If i come back with no he is not, he is a good person period ! she will just keep peddling the stupid lie regardless !
Nasty to everyone and especialy to my sister ! she is so lucky that my sister had worked in old peoples homes and dealing with the worst of mental people and knows everyone real well in the whole system, so they all jump to attention if she ask somthing of them, even tho she is retired.
But my mum has gone from dramer to Dramer over the years it's never ending ! and boy it sure does wear you out !

I have been going to that Home for 13 years now and have met many with dememtia in their over the years, as i just about live their you could say. I do not like going to see her and i am pissed off about it all when driving home, like that i have just been wasting my whole day on sh--. As it drives you up the wall no end ! I want my sister and I to have our own life ! my sister is to old and way to worn out to look after her as she is flat out getting about herself ! But my mum could not give a rats about her. I realy hate that, as that really gets on my goat.