cardiovascular dementia

[debsybel]

when my mum was diagnosed with cardiovascular dementia, i new straight away it wasn't good as i had read about it before hand, i cant believe that nothing can be done and we, all who are going through this just have to watch our loved ones slowly deteriate before our very eyes, the memory clinic said he would not prescribe drugs for my mum as they wouldn't help her as some of her brain cells are already dead, and the drugs therefore would not help, my mum still knows all her family members, she watches Mrs browns boys and has a laugh, she also likes the royal family and can communicate a little, she has difficulty in making a sentence, and of a night she gets terrified and has terrible panic attacks and shakes, and she is forgetful and repeats herself, some days quite bad some-days quite good, my point being the memory clinic wont help and he said the drugs for alzheimers wouldn't help and yet when i looked it up on this site it said that they can help and the drugs slow the progression down and help the patient, i vetualy begged the dr at the clinic to help and prescribe my mum with the drugs but he said no, i even said i will pay for the tablets, but he was addement and said we cant give you them, omg i could understand if my mum was to far gone and it was to late, i just don't get it its heart breaking, how depressing it is to watch, i feel for any one that is going through this god bless you

 

[kini]

i know how you feel but my argument was the flip side. dad was so far gone he didn't know us and couldn't do anything for himself in fact he was a real mess. three days before he died i got the gp to discontinue his tablets as staff were having to put them in food and i don't believe they were helping in any way besides not believing in covert medicines ( my personal preference). can you believe the gp stopped everything but said he'd have to carry on with his alzheimer's tablet! give me strength i'm not a violent person but god help me i could have hit her, after a bit of a tiff they were stopped. You just can't win can you. has the gp given you a reason why the tablets can't be prescribed?

 

[Jenijill]

Hi Debsybel

I'm afraid your consultant is right, there are no recommended drugs specifically for vascular dementia, except those for blood pressure, cholesterol etc.

Donapezil (Aricept) Memantine and similar drugs are only used for Alzheimers, or (as in my OH case) mixed demential.

Here is a fact sheet explaining this:

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=161

So sorry for you to have to meet us here, but keep posting as we are all in this together!
love Jenny

 

[stanleypj]

It must be extremely distressing for you. I would think it would be helpful for you to speak to another doctor (your GP?) about this.

Something to bear in mind though is that there are only a handful of drugs that are prescribed for dementia. Some of them produce unhelpful side-effects in some people and have to be discontinued. Some people find them helpful but a lot of people don't. It's also important to remember that they don't actually stop the progress of the disease, they can, sometimes, help with the systems but, so we are told, the disease continues to cause damage to the brain.

Having said all this, you will find people on here who have been prescribed one of the drugs, Aricept, for Vascular dementia. It seems a bit hit and miss.

But as it looks as though you won't get meds from the memory clinic, I would definitely ask the GP about your problem.

It's good that you are able to tell us the things that your mum can still do and enjoy. I'm sure you will learn a lot on here about how to look after her, with or without drugs, so that she can continue to enjoy them for as long as possible.

Take care

 

[Saffie]

I think you will find that people with Vascular Dementia will only be prescribed Aricept if the consultant suspects that Alzheimer's might be involved as well as it has no effect on the vascular system. This is what happened with my husband to start with. He no longer has it.

 

[stressed51]

To add to this, my OH has vascular dementia and has been prescribed memantine to help with general memory loss and aggression. Does seem to help a bit, certainly with memory slightly , but it's hard to say how he would be without it now. He's been on it since about March, but has still deteriorated massively to such an extent that he's now in a CH. Maybe they suspect vascular dementia mixed with alzheimers, but I've never been told this if they do, thinking of you all x

 

[stanleypj]

I think you will find that people with Vascular Dementia will only be prescribed Aricept if the consultant suspects that Alzheimer's might be involved as well as it has no effect on the vascular system. This is what happened with my husband to start with. He no longer has it.

Saffie, I agree that this is the commonly stated view but I'm sure I've read posts where people with VD have been put on Aricept and certainly this seems to happen in other countries. I think Jennifer has mentioned this.

As to whether it helps them...............

 

[debsybel]

alzheimers

i know how you feel but my argument was the flip side. dad was so far gone he didn't know us and couldn't do anything for himself in fact he was a real mess. three days before he died i got the gp to discontinue his tablets as staff were having to put them in food and i don't believe they were helping in any way besides not believing in covert medicines ( my personal preference). can you believe the gp stopped everything but said he'd have to carry on with his alzheimer's tablet! give me strength i'm not a violent person but god help me i could have hit her, after a bit of a tiff they were stopped. You just can't win can you. has the gp given you a reason why the tablets can't be prescribed?

so sorry for your dad x my heart is with you what a terrible disease, and i don't blame you for being mad i would of been the same and thank you x i have been told there is apsalutly nothing that can be done, hope you are ok x

 

[debsybel]

alzheimers

Hi Debsybel

I'm afraid your consultant is right, there are no recommended drugs specifically for vascular dementia, except those for blood pressure, cholesterol etc.

Donapezil (Aricept) Memantine and similar drugs are only used for Alzheimers, or (as in my OH case) mixed demential.

Here is a fact sheet explaining this:

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=161 thankyou so much for the fact sheet hope you are ok x

So sorry for you to have to meet us here, but keep posting as we are all in this together!
love Jenny

thankyou so much fopr the fact sheet x

 

[debsybel]

alzheimers

Saffie, I agree that this is the commonly stated view but I'm sure I've read posts where people with VD have been put on Aricept and certainly this seems to happen in other countries. I think Jennifer has mentioned this.

As to whether it helps them...............

thankyou x

 

[debsybel]

vascular dementia

To add to this, my OH has vascular dementia and has been prescribed memantine to help with general memory loss and aggression. Does seem to help a bit, certainly with memory slightly , but it's hard to say how he would be without it now. He's been on it since about March, but has still deteriorated massively to such an extent that he's now in a CH. Maybe they suspect vascular dementia mixed with alzheimers, but I've never been told this if they do, thinking of you all x

thankyou and thinking of you x

 

[Rooley]

Hi Hunny,

You need time to breath.

My own Mum had vascular dementia and a raft of other health issues besides. She lost her fight to it this week, but I recognise so much of what you have said.

I didn't get help for myself soon enough and I've paid what I now feel is quite a high price in terms of my own mental health trying to juggle it all. I feel her passing is closure for her, it will take me a long time to recover... to not burst into tears when someone asks how I am... to feel human again.

carrying on this way will make you will break. Without help, you will go bang... and when you do, you will not be able to carry on caring at all. It is that simple.

I know you said you would never put mum anywhere else but is that the right thing for any of you? Short term respite care for Mum would give you a break and a chance to think about next steps and recharge.

Get the carers assessment done, get yourself on the radar because it will reach the point where you just can't do what you are doing anymore. She will never be the same again sadly... my own Mum got to the point where she switched to thinking wherever we were was home. Her distress was my distress... her world became my world.

Get professional help hun, don't let her illness lead to yours.

Much love... we are here for you xxx





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[Owly]

Just like with heart disease, anything that thins the blood and improves circulation, and moves oxygen around the brain, should help.

So, plenty of water! Stop that blood from getting sticky and clotting and causing the micro-strokes that are the cause of the cell die-offs.

(Not fruit juice, too high in sugar that is toxic basically, and not squashes or anything at all that contains aspartame which is a neuro-toxin).

Statins may be prescribed but they can have horrible side effects such as memory loss! Aspirin can attack the retina and cause macular degeneration quicker.

You can google blood-thinning foods. Turmeric for example, does your mum like curries?

Pineapple
Blueberries and strawberries
Everything high in Omega 3

And get your mum's circulation moving with daily exercise and masses of fresh air through the house to keep fresh oxygen always moving through her body.

Also known to help dementia are the B vitamins. You could even ask mum's doctor to check for B12 deficiency which is common and has poor memory consequences. The B vitamins dampen down inflammation (that is a cause of disease in all vascular systems). So also google anti-inflammatory foods (turmeric again, ginger....)

 

[serenac54]

Really struggling and beginning to resent mum

My heart goes out to anyone who is struggling to care for someone. It is heart breaking watching a loved one slowly deteriorating.
I've been sole carer for my mum since my dad died 22 years ago. She had 2 heart attacks. two hip replacements and various other operations. Six years ago she had the first strokethat triggered vascular dementia and she has slowly gone downhill since then. We've had so many emergency visits to hospital, one being on my eldest son's wedding day and the day was spent travelling between the hospital and the wedding. She has now lived with me for two years and to be perfectly honest I jut want it to end. Every time she goes in for respite care she is either admitted to hospital where the negligence has been disgraceful or she has returned home with an infection. I love my mum very much but I'm mentally and physically exhausted. I have a husband who is still in full time emplyment but no other family members living near. My mum is 92 years old.
All we can do is try to live one day at the time and treasure any good times even if it's only a sunny day like today.

 

[Rooley]

What I said goes for you too Serena

My heart goes out to anyone who is struggling to care for someone. It is heart breaking watching a loved one slowly deteriorating.
I've been sole carer for my mum since my dad died 22 years ago. She had 2 heart attacks. two hip replacements and various other operations. Six years ago she had the first strokethat triggered vascular dementia and she has slowly gone downhill since then. We've had so many emergency visits to hospital, one being on my eldest son's wedding day and the day was spent travelling between the hospital and the wedding. She has now lived with me for two years and to be perfectly honest I jut want it to end. Every time she goes in for respite care she is either admitted to hospital where the negligence has been disgraceful or she has returned home with an infection. I love my mum very much but I'm mentally and physically exhausted. I have a husband who is still in full time emplyment but no other family members living near. My mum is 92 years old.
All we can do is try to live one day at the time and treasure any good times even if it's only a sunny day like today.

... Don't let yourself become a victim of your Mum's condition. We all sacrifice a piece of us for the care of our loved ones, which is a good thing... Just don't let the damage become irreparable.

HUGS for you all xx

 

[debsybel]

dementia

hi hun so sorry that you lost your mum, how sad hope you find inner piece as soon as you possibly can, i really feel for you, what a horrible dreadful disease, my mums stage now is, the confusion getting worse she is on her feet all day and now for about 2 weeks all night as well we give her sleeping tablets but they don't work were terrified in case she goes down the stairs so i lock her in the bedroom she bangs on the door all night until we have to let her out, then she walks to the front door till about 9 in the morning then she sits nods of for seconds and back up continuously all day she is getting very weak but still does it, i and my dad are up all night with her and we are not sleeping also and do feel ill, god i feel terrible going on but you experienced it were desperate and don't no what to do, could you advise me on respite what to do, sorry to go on hun and hope to god your feeling better soon, my thoughts are with you god bless you x i do everything for her now and she shouts to strangers debbie loud in the street and i say mum im here, we do everything for her now she doesnt even understand toilet needs cleaning ect

 

[debsybel]

dementia

hi hun so sorry that you lost your mum, how sad hope you find inner piece as soon as you possibly can, i really feel for you, what a horrible dreadful disease, my mums stage now is, the confusion getting worse she is on her feet all day and now for about 2 weeks all night as well we give her sleeping tablets but they don't work were terrified in case she goes down the stairs so i lock her in the bedroom she bangs on the door all night until we have to let her out, then she walks to the front door till about 9 in the morning then she sits nods of for seconds and back up continuously all day she is getting very weak but still does it, i and my dad are up all night with her and we are not sleeping also and do feel ill, god i feel terrible going on but you experienced it were desperate and don't no what to do, could you advise me on respite what to do, sorry to go on hun and hope to god your feeling better soon, my thoughts are with you god bless you x i do everything for her now and she shouts to strangers debbie loud in the street and i say mum im here, we do everything for her now she doesnt even understand toilet needs cleaning ect to ruley x

 

[Starvin]

I have vascular dementia and Alzheimer's and am on galantimene,( maybe not spelt right lol ) but everyone's different, the drugs only slow things down and we don't know if it works on everyone. I understand your stress and that you are trying to do your bit to help and want to do everything you can to help as you feel so useless ( as my wife keeps telling and saying ) speak to another Dr. if you cant get a drug to help the vascular side you can get help with the stress, depression , non sleeping side and just be there for Them .Knowing that you do what you can, love concours all I'm told x. Small words, but I'm sure they will mean a lot to you ! ( I hope x )