Caring for my wife

[Keith near Bath]

My wife Margaret is 87 and fell and broke her hip in June 2019. She very quickly showed some signs of confusion and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Dementia in November by the Rice clinic.
She has struggled with walking from beginning because of oedema and very swollen leg but was getting around house and pushing trolley around supermarket with me.
All changed 3 weeks ago following another fall and she now can barley shuffle around house
She sits and dozes all day
Has stopped eating and says she is nauseous
Hardly drinking
Is this rapid decline a normal thing?
Was ok with dealing with mood swings early on but she now has no interest in anything and forgets where, what and who
Keith

 

[Cat27]

Welcome to DTP @Keith near Bath
A fall can cause a rapid decline. Did you have her checked out after the fall? Please keep posting as you’ll get lots of support here.

 

[Keith near Bath]

Welcome to DTP @Keith near Bath .
A fall can cause a rapid decline. Did you have her checked out after the fall? Please keep posting as you’ll get lots of support here.

Yes and doctor called.
Arranged OT Nurse and changed few tablets but doesn't seem to want discuss AD.
Its rapid decline alarming me especially as Margaret self cathertises. Worried she may forget how!
Keith

 

[karaokePete]

Hello @Keith near Bath and welcome from me too.

In the first few months of last year my wife had a few falls and I got a referral to the OT service. The OT was able to refer my wife to a Falls Prevention Service that operates in our region(NI) and that resulted in 12 1 hour Strength and Balance classes that helped a great deal. It may be worth checking if that service is available in your area.

I wonder if you may find any local support services like a memory café to be of some use. You can do a post code check to see what's available to you by following this link https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/find-support-near-you . The exchange of experiences/ideas and the social interaction can be of benefit.

The full list of the very informative Factsheets can be found with this link https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/publications-factsheets-full-list . There is also a dementia guide in the list

If communicating becomes an issue, a few handy tips can be picked from the useful thread that can be reached with this link https://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/threads/compassionate-communication-with-the-memory-impaired.30801/

 

[canary]

My OH was supposed to self catheterise, but he was unable to, so I got commandeered to do it for him. I learned how to do it and got fairly slick at it, but I would say that it is a bit daunting and also, unless the person you are doing it to is very co-operative, it is not easy to do. I would reccommend that you get access to the disabled toilets. It was also a pain as he had to have it done during the night too and I had to make sure that I was fully awake to do it.

He now has a permanent catheter, which also has problems - there doesnt seem to be any easy way round this.

 

[Keith near Bath]

Hello @Keith near Bath and welcome from me too.

In the first few months of last year my wife had a few falls and I got a referral to the OT service. The OT was able to refer my wife to a Falls Prevention Service that operates in our region(NI) and that resulted in 12 1 hour Strength and Balance classes that helped a great deal. It may be worth checking if that service is available in your area.

I wonder if you may find any local support services like a memory café to be of some use. You can do a post code check to see what's available to you by following this link https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/find-support-near-you . The exchange of experiences/ideas and the social interaction can be of benefit.

The full list of the very informative Factsheets can be found with this link https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/publications-factsheets-full-list . There is also a dementia guide in the list

If communicating becomes an issue, a few handy tips can be picked from the useful thread that can be reached with this link https://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/threads/compassionate-communication-with-the-memory-impaired.30801/

Thanks for that
Will check it out.
Keith

My OH was supposed to self catheterise, but he was unable to, so I got commandeered to do it for him. I learned how to do it and got fairly slick at it, but I would say that it is a bit daunting and also, unless the person you are doing it to is very co-operative, it is not easy to do. I would reccommend that you get access to the disabled toilets. It was also a pain as he had to have it done during the night too and I had to make sure that I was fully awake to do it.

He now has a permanent catheter, which also has problems - there doesnt seem to be any easy way round this.

thanks
Never thought of getting access to disabled toilet. Must check it out.
Not getting out much as she can only shuffle along.
Frightening that in 7 months gone from fit to this. Know she is 87 but every used to put her at least 10 years younger.
life changed in a flash