Hi All, My Mum in law was diagnosed with Alzheimer's around 3 years ago and until now has been relatively stable. She's had her ups and downs, lots of tears and heartaches but also seen her mood improve to a point where she is confused but happy.
That's the short version.
Over the last few weeks we have seen a gradual but increasingly rapid decline in Mum with her spending a lot of her time crying and being really upset about young boys. She has two children (my hubby who is 39 and his brother who is 42) but she had mentioned a few times about young children then yesterday was trying to hug me whilst crying saying she had seen a young boy and didn't know if he was real or not but was hoping he was as she wants him so badly. she was so distraught and said something about children being left alone and feeing sad that nobody wants them.
She did go through a stage about a year back where she was convinced there were children living in the house and trying to shout at her in the garden but not as bad as recently.
She kept saying to me that 'Gemma has seen him she knows who he is'...but i'm Gemma and I don't know who she means as I don't have children and have never had family at the house when she has lived with us. It's so hard when she's telling me about 'Gemma' or 'that woman' and knowing she means me but I don't know how to reassure her!
She responds really well to her youngest son - my hubby but is still confused - its just that he is really good at keeping her calm.
She hasn't slept in a bed for 2-3 years and only sleeps for the odd hour here and there during the day. She's convinced people are after here and rarely feels safe, especially if she sees a strange face which means we're having to stay as routine as possible with her.
She is also struggling with the toilet and having problems with sitting on the toilet and with using toilet roll etc...Im presuming this related to depth perception etc.
She refuses to see the GP or consultant so it's hard to get her anywhere or have any assessments.
We've recently managed to get the GP to agree to increase her Donezapil from 5 to 10mg so we're hoping this helps in some way.
My full time job is as a learning disability nurse in mental health so I do have some experience but when it comes to those you love its so very different.
Not sure if I want advice or just to rant really!
That's the short version.
Over the last few weeks we have seen a gradual but increasingly rapid decline in Mum with her spending a lot of her time crying and being really upset about young boys. She has two children (my hubby who is 39 and his brother who is 42) but she had mentioned a few times about young children then yesterday was trying to hug me whilst crying saying she had seen a young boy and didn't know if he was real or not but was hoping he was as she wants him so badly. she was so distraught and said something about children being left alone and feeing sad that nobody wants them.
She did go through a stage about a year back where she was convinced there were children living in the house and trying to shout at her in the garden but not as bad as recently.
She kept saying to me that 'Gemma has seen him she knows who he is'...but i'm Gemma and I don't know who she means as I don't have children and have never had family at the house when she has lived with us. It's so hard when she's telling me about 'Gemma' or 'that woman' and knowing she means me but I don't know how to reassure her!
She responds really well to her youngest son - my hubby but is still confused - its just that he is really good at keeping her calm.
She hasn't slept in a bed for 2-3 years and only sleeps for the odd hour here and there during the day. She's convinced people are after here and rarely feels safe, especially if she sees a strange face which means we're having to stay as routine as possible with her.
She is also struggling with the toilet and having problems with sitting on the toilet and with using toilet roll etc...Im presuming this related to depth perception etc.
She refuses to see the GP or consultant so it's hard to get her anywhere or have any assessments.
We've recently managed to get the GP to agree to increase her Donezapil from 5 to 10mg so we're hoping this helps in some way.
My full time job is as a learning disability nurse in mental health so I do have some experience but when it comes to those you love its so very different.
Not sure if I want advice or just to rant really!