Alzheimer's - What it is

[Iggy]

I have spoken about my Mother-In-Law suffering from Alzheimer's, have posted in the Parenting thread about it. I thought perhaps a new thread about this disease should be started.

I am by no means an expert- I have known so many people who had Alzheimer's, and who have now passed on. Some from the disease itself, and others like my Mom-In-Law from not being able to survive an accident because her body is so weakened by the disease.

This is from wikipeadia: Alzheimer's disease - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alzheimer's disease (AD), also called Alzheimer disease or simply Alzheimer's, is a neurodegenerative disease that is the most common cause of dementia, afflicting 24 million people worldwide. It is a progressive illness with gradual deterioration until death, which is generally caused by the effects of dementia. There is currently no cure. In its most common form, it occurs in people over 65 years old (although a less-prevalent early onset form also exists).[1] It usually begins many years before it is eventually diagnosed. In its early stages, short-term memory loss is the clearest symptom:[2] this leads to confusion, anger, mood swings, language breakdown, long-term memory loss, and the general withdrawal of the sufferer as his or her senses decline. Gradually the sufferer loses minor, and then major bodily functions, until death occurs.[3] Although the symptoms are common, people commonly experience them in a unique way.[4] The duration of the disease can be long as 20 years,[5][6] but survival is generally between about four and six years after diagnosis.[7

The last two years of Mom's life, she was cared for by Son #2 and his wife. Sis-In-Law is the one who has all the technical knowledge- the Alzheimer's web site support groups, the on-line information. I mostly went by "gut instincts" ( spiritual discernment) fueled by face to face encounters with my friends who have(had) the disease.

After a healing time for Sis-In-Law, I will ask for those web sites. I feel that this is something that more and more people are going to need in the near future. I also believe that I will need it. Mom's mother had Alzheimer's. I have a sick, sneaky suspiscion that my darling husband just may be afflicted with it too.

(forgive my misspellings- the spell check will not work - I am at work and my firewalls will not allow me to download the spell check program)

[Alaskagain]

My stepdad had a form of this, I am not sure if it is a separate disease, or is just called "Sundowner's Syndrome" at the onset of Alzheimers. He would do fine during the day time, but as soon as it got dark, he would become disoriented. On a visit shortly after his diagnosis, I was sitting across the living room from him, we had a wonderful conversation. An hour later, after sunset, I looked up from the book I was reading and suddenly realized he had absolutely no idea who I was. It was terribly heartbreaking for me for an instant, and then I was flooded with compassion for him, and for my mom.

Thanks for starting this thread, Iggy.

[Heckya]

Such an odd disease. It's unbelievable how different alz affects each person. My step dad has recently been diagnosed with disease. He is 69 and it is apparent that he has been changing quite a bit for the last two years.

Yes, thanks for starting this thread Iggy.

[Iggy]

Sundowning is a phase of the Alzheimer's. Mom went through that. Keeping them on a good nutritional diet, exercise and mental activity helps a lot. Plus getting them out in the sunshine, or in the fall and winter using real light light bulbs.

They get restless as the day light fades. They will nervously pick at things, stand up, sit down. Go over to look at a book, then wonder what the heck they are doing at the book case. Mom would look out the windows all the time. She was very careless about grabbing the curtains and jerking them aside. Before Alzheimer's she was a very courteous woman, she never would have been rough with anything.

When they sundown, they don't sleep during the night. They are confused, restless, disturbed by the darkness.

So eating a good balance diet, physically exercising, having mental stimulation and getting a good dose of sunlight and preventing them from napping during the day. Or at least to limit their daily naps to one or two and for not more than an hour each. Will help tremendously with the sundowning. It makes them tired enough to sleep during the night.

The mental stimulation can be as simple as a box of crayons and a coloring book. I wouldn't use an extremely simple coloring book- I would get one that is a bit more complex yet not quite adult either. A box of 16 crayons is good- anymore than that and it gets confusing for them.

Mom absolutely loved to garden. In the spring we gave her a flat of flowers to plant. She planted them, then un-planted them, then planted them again. Only about 5 lived. It was the cheapest therapy by far! She was outside, getting physical exercise and mental stimulation. She was happy- talking to all of her friends (past friends that were real to her now), and when she came in for lunch and dinner- she felt she had been accomplishing something useful with her time.

She loved to iron clothes too- but that was a bit too dangerous to let her do. She would forget the iron was hot and leave it sit on the clothes.

She would fold clothes for hours. Fold the towels, hand towels, wash cloths, sheets and pillow cases. Put them into the linen closet. She would then go sit down for about 5 minutes. Then get the basket and dump them all back in again. She would ask my Sis-In-Law to please wash these dirty towels. Sis would take them downstairs to the laundry room. Toss them in the dryer just long enough to get them warm, then bring them back to Mom. Mom would then spend another couple of hours folding them and putting them back in the closet.

During our last visit with Mom at Thanksgiving, we had wonderful conversations with Mom. She contributed intelligent and pertinent conversation. She also asked: Do I know you? You certainly know me, and I must apologize, but I just can not remember who you are. Husband would say, I am Son #1, and she would smile and say- yes you are First Middle Last Name, my first born. Then she would look at me and say- He is such a good and loving man. You had better hurry up and marry him before he gets tired of waiting for you.

We seldom corrected her- I would put my arm through Husbands arm and tell her that I had just accepted his proposal, and that I loved him very much. Or we would tell her that we just got sealed in the Temple. She would say, Oh yes the Mesa Temple. I was endowed there. That is a good Temple to be sealed in.

She didn't know that the people she was living with was her son#2 and his wife. She believed the house to be her home, and it's contents hers. She told them all the time that she was grateful for the care they were giving her. She thanked them for taking such great care of her home. Then she would look at me and in a stage whisper she would say: I really don't know what the husband does around here- I never see him do any work- but he makes her happy so I keep him on.

I liked to bust up laughing. She was spot on about him. He went to work during the day, and what ever work he did around the house, she never saw it. He would hide out in his basement "office" before and after meals.

Sometimes if you didn't know she had Alzheimer's- you would think she was getting her digs in at them. They talked about her right in her presence. As though she were stone deaf, blind and a blithering idiot!

Sis-in-law, was forever saying Mom was demented. Demented this, and demented that. After two days of this, I grabbed Sis by the arms and goose stepped her out the back door in the yard, then I jerked her around and holding her chin in a death grip, I put my face just mere inches from hers, and told her that if she said demented just one more time I would gorilla glue her flipping mouth shut- but not until after I stapled her tongue to her upper lip. She muttered something about me and whose army. I said me and only me. I didn't need an army to teach a boor good manners. Then I removed my hand from her face, walked into the house and closed the door on her.

Husband and Bro-in-law saw and heard the whole thing. Bro said he would make sure she never said it again.

Mom had Alzheimer's, but she was far from stupid or unfeeling.

[pam]

My dad also has Alzheimers and is in a later stage. No longer really knows who any of us are...except my mom though he can't remember her name.

[Guest HappyHarrytheHedonHawaian]

I think I got it too. I dated a wild girl a long time ago. Think her name was Pam, but can't remember.

[pam]

I think I got it too. I dated a wild girl a long time ago. Think her name was Pam, but can't remember.

I'm sorry but jokes like that (and I'm sure you didn't mean it the way it sounds to me) is not funny when you are dealing with a family member that has such a horrible horrible disease. Alzheimers is not a joking matter. Unfortunately I may be a little more sensitive to such jokes than others might.

[Iggy]

I'm sorry but jokes like that (and I'm sure you didn't mean it the way it sounds to me) is not funny when you are dealing with a family member that has such a horrible horrible disease. Alzheimer's is not a joking matter. Unfortunately I may be a little more sensitive to such jokes than others might.

In this I totally agree with you Pam. I do joke and say that I have Sometimers. Some times I remember.

It is really hard on the family members when they aren't remembered by the Alzheimer's patient. You know that it is the disease that is doing that, yet it hurts just the same.

It is confusing to the patient too. They have clear, lucid moments where they remember everything. Then-poof- they are back in the fog.

My sis-in-law would do the finger to the temple movement for crazy and say She is in La La Land. I would then state- And you are in Rude, Crude and Obnoxious Land. Sis-in-law talked about Mom right in front of Mom. She treated Mom as though she were deaf and stupid.

That is what irritated me no end, and from some of the things that Mom did, I believe that Mom understood and was retaliating.

Sis-in-law and Mom had just finished eating breakfast, Sis left Mom at the table, went out the back kitchen door to go get the mail. When she came back to the kitchen door Mom had locked it. Sis could see through the window that Mom was eating the jam straight out of the jar with her hands. She had jam all over her hands, face, table. Sis banged on the door and told Mom to open it. Mom turned her back on her, and went to work eating the honey out of the jar.

Sis ran to the front door to get in. Fortunately Mom hadn't thought of locking that door.

When Sis got to the kitchen, Mom was standing with her back against the kitchen sink. The jars were in the sink. Sis chastised Mom about eating all the jam. Mom wiped her face with her jam smeared hands, smearing the jam all over her mouth and chin, looked at her hands, put them behind her saying: What Jam? She then walked calmly to her room.

Sis wrote us about it, complaining about spending so much time cleaning up the jam. It was everywhere!

Unfortunately Sis never saw the funny side of anything that Mom said or did while Mom was in her care.

While Mom was with us, she emptied our small freezer into the dryer and washing machine. They are in the same room. I got to her before she turned on the machines!

I had a thin, tall white cupboard next to the white refrigerator. Mom would put the refrigerated items in the cupboard and the non-refrigerated items in the fridge. She would turn the burners on and then leave the room. She would turn the kitchen tap on then leave it running.

She would unplug things too. No rhyme or reason to that either. If it was plugged in, she would unplug it. She had a field day in our computer room. She unplugged EVERYTHING! I never did find the cord that connects the receiver to the phone- had to go buy a new one. After 2 1/2 years I still have not found it!

I took the dials off the stove and put them in a baggie and put that in the freezer. Mom never used the freezer above the fridge ever- so she never looked there. I unplugged the small appliances and kept the cords wrapped neatly. I made sure I put the food away in the fridge. I left the peanut butter and bread out for her. We locked the door to the laundry room.

We locked the exterior doors too. She was always a walker. It was nothing for her to walk 5 or 10 miles a day just to go visiting friends here in Arizona in the middle of summer. We didn't dare let her out of the house. With Alzheimer's- she could easily get lost and die in the desert.

Brother and Sis thought it was extremely funny when they put up their Surround Sound system to the TV. Mom would get up and look all over for those people who were talking or singing. What, to this day, they do not realize is that it contributed to her confusion.

They claimed she was Sundowning again. Well yes she was and it was triggered by the TV. Alzheimer's patients can not distinguish between what is really happening in their immediate surroundings and what is TV.

They also kept a radio playing all the time in her room. That was a good idea gone bad. The talking of the announcers and the news was triggering her nocturnal walking. They should have played Cd's 24/7. Music only - no words. Easy music, classical, religious, from the 20's through to the 50's.

Pam, do you engage your Dad in conversations? Ask him about his childhood. Did he like school? What was his favorite subject? What was his Dad like, Mother like, Grandparents. I wish, oh how I wish, that I had tape recorded our long conversations with Mom. She was a walking history book! Genealogy Book!

You might try sitting at the dining room table with him, with a box of crayons and some coloring books, and color with him. Ask him questions and get him talking. If he balks at coloring, don't push- but go ahead and color on your own. He just might join you anyway.

It is mental stimulation, and it is good for them. Taking short walks around the yard or neighborhood is good too. We found that we did the most of the talking and Mom just listened. As we neared the house, she would squeeze our hands, and turn to us for hugs. The hand holding continued after we got in the house and she contributed intelligently to the conversations too. She also slept through the night while we were there.

[pam]

I do alot of those things Iggy. I've been dealing with this for a few years now.