What would you do ?

[Morganlefay]

I wonder if you're right about this denial of the condition, kindred. I've been tiptoeing round not talking about it for almost 5 years now, but today because he's really not been good for the past couple of days I gently said that I thought we should talk to the doctor and he actually agreed, not cross or anything. We couldn't actually see her but she tested to see if he has a UTI and apparently not, but we both spoke to her on the phone and he was ok with that. He is apparently very dehydrated, which we can fix. But it was the first time I've been able to discuss consulting the doctor and the expected explosion didn't come, so maybe I've been over cautious in not talking about it. Oh well, thank you everyone for helpful suggestions, and for sharing experiences. Getting older really is no fun, is it !

 

[Amy in the US]

@kindred , Google "anosognosia." Many people with dementia have anosognosia and it means that due to brain damage from the disease, the person cannot understand or comprehend that there is anything wrong with them. It can encompass other problems besides dementia, like a cold or a broken limb.

I had a difficult time grasping this (as it makes no sense to a healthy brain), but once I did, it was a revelation.

This is why there is usually no point trying to reason with a PWD (person with dementia) or use logic or explain things. To quote someone from another board, their reasoner is broken!

I find that anosognosia coupled with short term memory loss, and disorientation/confusion, is a horrid combination.

I hope something in there made sense. There's someone on another board who explains this really well and sometimes links to some articles. I can find that info if anyone is interested.

 

[kindred]

@kindred , Google "anosognosia." Many people with dementia have anosognosia and it means that due to brain damage from the disease, the person cannot understand or comprehend that there is anything wrong with them. It can encompass other problems besides dementia, like a cold or a broken limb.

I had a difficult time grasping this (as it makes no sense to a healthy brain), but once I did, it was a revelation.

This is why there is usually no point trying to reason with a PWD (person with dementia) or use logic or explain things. To quote someone from another board, their reasoner is broken!

I find that anosognosia coupled with short term memory loss, and disorientation/confusion, is a horrid combination.

I hope something in there made sense. There's someone on another board who explains this really well and sometimes links to some articles. I can find that info if anyone is interested.

Thank you so much. Just once or twice, my OH was able to reflect on his condition and tell me what it felt like inside his brain, and he then thanked me for taking an interest and said how good it was to talk about it ... this is what confuses me. Nothing about dementia makes sense to a healthy brain!! Lovely to hear from you thank you and I will google that word. Love and best, Geraldine aka kindred. xx

 

[maryjoan]

@kindred , Google "anosognosia." Many people with dementia have anosognosia and it means that due to brain damage from the disease, the person cannot understand or comprehend that there is anything wrong with them. It can encompass other problems besides dementia, like a cold or a broken limb.

I had a difficult time grasping this (as it makes no sense to a healthy brain), but once I did, it was a revelation.

This is why there is usually no point trying to reason with a PWD (person with dementia) or use logic or explain things. To quote someone from another board, their reasoner is broken!

I find that anosognosia coupled with short term memory loss, and disorientation/confusion, is a horrid combination.

I hope something in there made sense. There's someone on another board who explains this really well and sometimes links to some articles. I can find that info if anyone is interested.

anosognosia - yep! Spot on - There were two people in our household until Anna Sognosia came to live here - possibly from Russia !!! Just trying to make light of a truly horrid situation.

 

[Sirena]

The amount of help available seems variable. My mother visited the memory clinic several times, about every six months (in London). At the last appointment two years ago, the doctor said her dementia had progressed from moderate to severe. She tentatively suggested memantine might be helpful, but after months of various tests they decided it wasn't suitable for her. At that point, the clinic stopped sending her appointments, but instead the CPN who had been present at the diagnosis visited her at home every six months (my mother was living at home with carers in several hours a day). I have no idea if the visits were helpful, it seemed a bit of a box ticking exercise, but I guess it was good that she was being monitored.

 

[canary]

OH has anosognosia, but sometimes he gets flashes of insight which, unfortunately dont last long

On one occasion he had been going on at me because I was "stopping him from doing things" This was sometime ago and I didnt know he couldnt be reasoned with so I said "But Im working during the day - if you think Im preventing you from doing things why dont you do them when Im at work?" He said I was still preventing him, but then had a flash of insight - I saw it in his eyes and he said "Its me! Im preventing myself!" and he knew it to be true; but it didnt last - I could almost see the concept slipping through his mind. I tried to get him to hold on to it, but within 30 mins he was saying "No, thats what you think, not me". The flash of insight was gone and he was back to anosognosia.

 

[canary]

BTW, I found this explanation helped.
Its American, but the problem is the same the world over.
http://alzonline.phhp.ufl.edu/en/reading/Anosognosia.pdf

 

[mab]

Excellent article @canary. Thanks for posting that link.