Hello

[Roseya]

Hello, I am Rosemarie, My mum has recently been diagnosed with Vascular
Dementia. Its funny how you carry on thinking .... doesn't mum keep repeating
herself all time.... or, she cant remember where she's put her money, or anything
else for that matter. And you keep reminding her of things she has to do, appointments
to keep... it goes on and on. Although she is now 85 years old, and as stubborn as they come, its so hard to keep reassuring her. she gets so upset at times and then other times she lets you know who's boss (and it definitely isn't me lol).
Unfortunately mum has an added problem of Diabetes. She doesn't get hungry, so she forgets to eat. We all do as much as we can for her (as anyone would). But it is such a worry. We love her so much and feel that we are losing her a day at a time.

 

[Lorna44]

Welcome to TP, you'll get lots of support here. My mum has parkinsons with dementia and is now in a nursing home. It's been really hard the last 4 years watching her decline. I lost my lovely mum a while ago, as she is so different now....
Xxx

 

[Rodelinda]

Hi and welcome. I know exactly what you mean - as will many others here. My Mum was diagnosed with vascular dementia just over a year ago; I've just about got used to the repetitions now but in lots of other ways she catches me out every day. She doesn't have diabetes but does have lots of other complications both sensory (she has very poor hearing and eyesight) and mobility (she can't walk any distance unaided). And she now has just about no memory at all - short, medium or long and if she wasn't living with us she would need to be living in a care home of some sort (and indeed may have to in the not too distant future). I do a lot for her - I tell her that I can be her memory and help her; and I do a lot of reassurance. I also registered PoA earlier this year (I was managing her money anyway as she now has no clue of the value of money or anything). I have learned to take every day as it comes: yesterday (her 90th birthday) started out well but even th excitement of me and my OH taking her out for lunch and the opening of a few cards and flowers exhausted her and today isn't a good day either. But I still try to answer her questions literally rather than going in for a bit of compassionate stretching of the truth and I know that I don't always think what lies behind her words (which are very muddled) rather than the words themselves. I have a lot to learn. All the best, Sue

 

[Wozzie]

Hi
My mum has also recently been diagnosed with vascular dementia and Alzheimer's, it's all been so rapid.
She forgets to eat, no idea if it's day or night which means she doesn't always go to bed.
Mum talks of taking her washing home to get it washed, going home as her mum will be worried .... so sad.
I have to say though, most days she's quite happy, yesterday she spent ages upstairs talking to someone in the mirror about grandma's, yet when I asked if she was coming downstairs for a drink she answered perfectly rationally!

I'm reading many posts on here, hoping to find out how best to deal with things.

 

[Patricia Alice]

Hi and welcome,

My mum has Vascular and AD, she is now into her sixth year, which has slowly declined but in the last month it has been rapid. She never looked her 91 years until very recently and since the food and fluid intake has virtually stopped she now looks her actual age.

She has always been on the repeat, but it was a range of different sentences, now we are down to one, what we doing, what we doing, what we doing every five seconds. Yesterday she did not know who she was, she had forgotten her name totally.

It has taken six years to get to this point with ups and downs.

Try and answer the questions like it is the first time, if you can. I still do, sometimes through gritted teeth, but it's the dementia, not my mum.

We are always here for you. x