a good week

[bel]

like an idiot i thought

may be things might be able to calm down
bob has been so good
but the last 2 days he has gone mad re angry etc
we talked about it tonight he says he can feel it comming on his anger etc and he wants to stop it
i feel bad as i said to him you cant help it
love bel x

 

[Grannie G]

I think you have to make the most of the good days bel.
Is Bob having more good days now he`s on Aricept?
Love xx

 

[connie]

Sorry that sometimes the days are still bad.

Sending you a hug. Thank you for keeping us informed.
We all care about you and Bob.

 

[bel]

aggresion re bob

thanks connie sylv
seen top consutant today to ask is there any thing we can try re agression
as i thought only things like tranquilisers that bob is and always has been really against
we are going down from 10 mg aricept to 5 mg for 2 weeks then we will reveiw situation

i dont understand consutant said as always how are you bob he usualy says fine has done for 3 years
today he asks the same bob looked at me and said after a while ask the wife i said no you say how you feel i get angry when things go wrong and a load of gobble de goof then he said i forget things memory problems he said you dont have memory problems all along bob has been in denial bob said i forgot bel

 

[bel]

dont understand

visiting phsycogist came today thank goodness
i said i am so confused bob is all over the place yet consultant says he has not got memory problems
bob thinks he is ok nurse came with medication did a test bob was quite good better than a person with alzhimers
but he has not got al-- its ftd
it just made me feel bad she said fld is not all a memory thing like alz
most people have alz which is mainly memory but bobs is mostly agression confussion etc plus memory loss
i dont understand it my self but thanks for listening
love bel x

 

[connie]

Dear Bel, yes you must be confused, for so long now you have thhought that Bob's illness was Alzheimer's.

but he has not got al-- its ftd

So many of the forms of dementia overlap that firm diagnosis is often hard.

Please try not to stress too much, at least he is being seen by the proffessionals.

Might be an idea to have a look at some FACT SHEETS
http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/factsheets
Especially 404.

Hope this helps. Stay in touch. Love Connie.

 

[Skye]

Dear bel

It is confusing, isn't it?

My husband John was diagnosed as AD originally, then it was changed to PPA, which is a form of FTD.

The trouble is, they just can't tell in the early stages -- in fact, our consultant said they can't tell for sure until the person is dead, and they can examine the brain.

John didn't have memory problems either, it was his language that went. He can't talk, or read or write now.

Don't worry about the diagnosis, he's still your Bob. But now they know what the problem is, you might get more help, because of Bob's challenging behaviour.

Ask your CPN and social worker about this.

Love,

 

[bel]

thanks all i know they cant tell until after death but

but everyone who sees bob thinks he is fine and how well he looks
great but i think a lot of the time its me im going mad
he has struggled for 15 - 20 years with problems
only to be told diffrent things
i have chased diffrent aveues for him
and to be told its not a memory problem and not have it explained was upsetting our visiting psycogist came and agreed
love bel x

 

[Skye]

but everyone who sees bob thinks he is fine and how well he looks

Bel, people always said that about John. And he still looks well, even though he can no longer stand, and has to be moved from bed to chair by hoist.

If you just saw his face, you'd never think there was anything wrong with him.

That's just the way this form of dementia goes.

It's not you, bel, your Bob is ill, he just has a different illness from what you were originally told. He still needs you just as much.

I do agree that it was unkind just to tell you that without explaining it properly. I hope you're feeling a bit better about it now.

Love,