Hello @lauriets I have reservations about the quality of your experience because it doesn’t seem to be tailored to your wife but as you say a tick box experience. I think this is the default position of many areas of the country and best practice is like gold. My experience was that my husband saw the consultant 13 months ago who gave the tests and the diagnosis. I had three visits over three months from the mental health nurse who gave me a folder of leaflets and then he was discharged back into the care of the GP, because basically there is nothing else they have the resources to do. This is the normal situation in our area and if you want to see a consultant you can certainly ask, but only if it would be of any benefit. He has had two GP check ups, entirely on my initiative, but which were good because we saw an excellent young doctor who could not have been more candid. To be honest I am now the person responsible for planning and executing my husband’s care and this website is the best support for me. I think that the dementia trajectory has continued slow but sure in all areas of his functioning with or without donepezil, which he is now off. He is relatively happy, non aggressive and as long as he is in his familiar setting he is ok. I have posted on another thread about his sleeping more and more as time goes by. I would estimate that he is either on or in his bed dozing or asleep 75% of the time. He can only eat small easy to eat portions of food, as above but he is definitely eating less, his activities have declined because he has no desire to do them any more. I am following the U Tasmania Understanding Dementia course and realise that the palliative type of approach I am using is correct. Whatever keeps him stable and contented is the right course and I feel no need to be doing all the busy things that commonly get recommended. He looks at photographs and some of his old work magazines, I have recently taken him on a cruise with mixed results because bad anxiety is now a feature of his dementia, a common symptom as dementia worsens. Lots of support for your efforts to care for your wife and trust your instincts I think, nothing is a must because every one is different.
Hello Grahamstown, I think you have explained lots of things that I worry about. My wife has declined quite fast and sleeps a great deal even though the pills have been reduced. She now falls asleep in the middle of a meal and needs to be fed. All I can do is to take her walking and now wheel chairing as I think that keeping her interested in things is all I can now do.
I am interested in the Tasmanian course you mentioned as we went as 10 pound Pommies out to Tassie in 1967.
All the Best