Hi does anyone have a diagnosis of subcortical dementia, not an alzheimers dementia but induced by alcohol abuse?
This is the diagnosis that my dad has been given, I have searched the internet but not found much. I have spoken to a lady who's info I found from Alcohol concern/Picks Disease site.
My dad was diagnosed in October and his decline has been rapid. The things that have happened are: he gave up washing and shaving, he used to go out but now can't understand how to use buses, he can't cook or even make cups of tea, he spits his tablets down the toilet, he can't understand how to get dressed, he needs to have complete instructions as to how to do anything, he stays in bed all day, he is a bit incontinent, he can be aggressive one minute and compliant the next, he hallucinates badly during the night, he wanders during the night, he can only engage with you for a very short period of time; sometimes only a few minutes. The list goes on.
The mental health team are working with him, at first they said they would work intensively with him for 6 weeks to try and engage him. This hasn't really worked apart from the fact that they have a male carer who comes in every morning and showers and shaves him, except I have had just had a call to say a new man went in and my dad refused to get up and speak to him. If a women is sent he won't let them in the house.
My dad spent a week in respite, he came home Thursday. His home was not so good, it was difficult to know what to do for the best. I was glad that he was in a safe environment and that there were staff on duty in a locked environment. However, he still didn't engage, only once did they manage to get him to the lounge and eat with the others. I had to take him home because it was only booked for a week, his social worker went on compassionate leave whilst he was in there and the SW manager was on holiday so no-one was around to agree extra funding. My dad said he wanted to go home so I had to take him. However, because of his confusion he didn't realise what home is, he quickly forgets any thing that you think is normal. He wandered around his house as if it was a brand new environment.
The hard thing about this dementia is that the alcohol abuse, over all the years I can remember, has created bad family relationships, he was very violent and abusive to my mum, my 2 brothers and 2 sisters and myself when we were growing up. The only reason I got involved in his care was because my mum was at home with him and I have been caring for her, she has heart failure and vascular dementia. She has been sent to a nursing home now but I am left entangled in his care. One of my brothers and one of my sisters are not interested in helping him and the the other two are supportive to me rather them him. As a human I don't want him to be living in such a state.
I suppose I am looking for some understanding of this situation. Although, my mum has quite progressed vascular dementia her symptons and support tactics are not even remotely the same as my dads.
Thanks for reading!
Heather
This is the diagnosis that my dad has been given, I have searched the internet but not found much. I have spoken to a lady who's info I found from Alcohol concern/Picks Disease site.
My dad was diagnosed in October and his decline has been rapid. The things that have happened are: he gave up washing and shaving, he used to go out but now can't understand how to use buses, he can't cook or even make cups of tea, he spits his tablets down the toilet, he can't understand how to get dressed, he needs to have complete instructions as to how to do anything, he stays in bed all day, he is a bit incontinent, he can be aggressive one minute and compliant the next, he hallucinates badly during the night, he wanders during the night, he can only engage with you for a very short period of time; sometimes only a few minutes. The list goes on.
The mental health team are working with him, at first they said they would work intensively with him for 6 weeks to try and engage him. This hasn't really worked apart from the fact that they have a male carer who comes in every morning and showers and shaves him, except I have had just had a call to say a new man went in and my dad refused to get up and speak to him. If a women is sent he won't let them in the house.
My dad spent a week in respite, he came home Thursday. His home was not so good, it was difficult to know what to do for the best. I was glad that he was in a safe environment and that there were staff on duty in a locked environment. However, he still didn't engage, only once did they manage to get him to the lounge and eat with the others. I had to take him home because it was only booked for a week, his social worker went on compassionate leave whilst he was in there and the SW manager was on holiday so no-one was around to agree extra funding. My dad said he wanted to go home so I had to take him. However, because of his confusion he didn't realise what home is, he quickly forgets any thing that you think is normal. He wandered around his house as if it was a brand new environment.
The hard thing about this dementia is that the alcohol abuse, over all the years I can remember, has created bad family relationships, he was very violent and abusive to my mum, my 2 brothers and 2 sisters and myself when we were growing up. The only reason I got involved in his care was because my mum was at home with him and I have been caring for her, she has heart failure and vascular dementia. She has been sent to a nursing home now but I am left entangled in his care. One of my brothers and one of my sisters are not interested in helping him and the the other two are supportive to me rather them him. As a human I don't want him to be living in such a state.
I suppose I am looking for some understanding of this situation. Although, my mum has quite progressed vascular dementia her symptons and support tactics are not even remotely the same as my dads.
Thanks for reading!
Heather