Hi Everyone
Has anyone any experience with NPH? Our dad has been struggling for a number of years with mobility and odd bits of memory, reasoning etc. His walking got worse and worse and we kept on pushing for scans etc. He was discharged from the elderly care clinic after an assessment there and an MRI scan the consultant felt was just a formality and she called it high level gait disorder. The MRI showed signs of brain atrophy and it was referred to a neurologist and here were are waiting for a diagnosis still, although they suspect it is NPH. We keep chasing up but the worry is the longer it gets left and it is probably two years now when we really started to notice stuff more and more and kind of forced the issue as before that Dad was like no I am fine, it is because I am 75, 76, 77 , he has mild arthritis in one knee but his muscle strength is good. It is like the messages are stuck in his brain and don't get to where they should . They don't think it is Parkinsons, I haven't ruled anything out to be fair. He can tell you stories of his life from many years ago often things he has never said before during our family life but you ask him what he has for lunch and he had a phase of just saying jacket potato with cheese lol just to keep us quiet I came to the conclusion since he has some very odd things around food sometimes.
We don't really know how to help Dad best. His house has been fitted with rails and things under duress I might add lol . He also has COPD as well. Me and My sis keep an eye on him. I live half an hour away and my sis lives around the corner. He doesn't eat properly, he has a cleaner, my sis does his shopping, medication and hospital, I do some shopping, gardening, anything else that needs doing his washing , changing bed etc. We have power of attorney and do his banking , bills etc. We are applying for attendance allowance too. We both still work (we have too) and our other sibling lives down south so cannot help physically. We are not spring chickens are selves but you feel guilty for not doing more than we do.
Some days he is more confused than others, he is lonely and depressed as well , could be the condition too. He resists 'control' as he thinks we are interfering that is over decent fitted shoes and anything really. I understand that but we trying to care although he doesn't want to be 'cared' for. I can't imagine how upsetting that is for him ?
Yesterday my sis was really upset and so was Dad. He could hardly stand up (he won't buy a rise and recline chair another battle) He has a tiny down stairs toilet impossible to get a walking frame in if it was suggested. We have said he needs a smaller place , no stairs but maybe its too late for all that if he can't stand up hardly and walk how are we to help?
If anyone has any advice around NPH I would really like to hear or any general experience around really poor mobility , I mean we would like to hear your experiences
Thank you x ?
Has anyone any experience with NPH? Our dad has been struggling for a number of years with mobility and odd bits of memory, reasoning etc. His walking got worse and worse and we kept on pushing for scans etc. He was discharged from the elderly care clinic after an assessment there and an MRI scan the consultant felt was just a formality and she called it high level gait disorder. The MRI showed signs of brain atrophy and it was referred to a neurologist and here were are waiting for a diagnosis still, although they suspect it is NPH. We keep chasing up but the worry is the longer it gets left and it is probably two years now when we really started to notice stuff more and more and kind of forced the issue as before that Dad was like no I am fine, it is because I am 75, 76, 77 , he has mild arthritis in one knee but his muscle strength is good. It is like the messages are stuck in his brain and don't get to where they should . They don't think it is Parkinsons, I haven't ruled anything out to be fair. He can tell you stories of his life from many years ago often things he has never said before during our family life but you ask him what he has for lunch and he had a phase of just saying jacket potato with cheese lol just to keep us quiet I came to the conclusion since he has some very odd things around food sometimes.
We don't really know how to help Dad best. His house has been fitted with rails and things under duress I might add lol . He also has COPD as well. Me and My sis keep an eye on him. I live half an hour away and my sis lives around the corner. He doesn't eat properly, he has a cleaner, my sis does his shopping, medication and hospital, I do some shopping, gardening, anything else that needs doing his washing , changing bed etc. We have power of attorney and do his banking , bills etc. We are applying for attendance allowance too. We both still work (we have too) and our other sibling lives down south so cannot help physically. We are not spring chickens are selves but you feel guilty for not doing more than we do.
Some days he is more confused than others, he is lonely and depressed as well , could be the condition too. He resists 'control' as he thinks we are interfering that is over decent fitted shoes and anything really. I understand that but we trying to care although he doesn't want to be 'cared' for. I can't imagine how upsetting that is for him ?
Yesterday my sis was really upset and so was Dad. He could hardly stand up (he won't buy a rise and recline chair another battle) He has a tiny down stairs toilet impossible to get a walking frame in if it was suggested. We have said he needs a smaller place , no stairs but maybe its too late for all that if he can't stand up hardly and walk how are we to help?
If anyone has any advice around NPH I would really like to hear or any general experience around really poor mobility , I mean we would like to hear your experiences
Thank you x ?