Father in Law recently diagnosed - Whats available

[dingleby9]

Good afternoon all,

I hope this message finds you all well.

I wanted to drop a quick message on this board to hopefully gain some information about what my father in law is going through, how we can help him, and what is available to him to hopefully slow down what is currently happening.

Firstly a little detail. My father in law is 82 years old, and is from a large family. We have known for a little while (2-3 years) that his memory has not been as good as it's always been. Has progressively been getting more and more forgetful, to the point where it is very very frustrating to him and his wife. We are constantly telling ourselves to try and understand, and give him the respect he deserves, but think his wife finds its the worst, as she is with him all the time. He was officially diagnosed with early signs of Alzheimer's at the end of last year/start of this year, and suggested he should start medication ASAP to slow down this process. The flip side is he is already on a number of medications (as a lot of men his age are), and due to his other health issues, they have said he is not a viable candidate for Alzheimer's medication. I believe this is mainly due to the fact he has LOW blood pressure, and also has a spray for a Angina. He has only ever used the Angina spray once in the 8-10 years he has had it. I know he is also on medication for his water works, and possibly some more. I can obtain a list of what else he is on, if it helps any of you to provide me with some more details.

The questions I have are mainly surrounding medications, and if something should be tried or offered to him. Since the diagnosis, his decline has been very rapid, and difficult for all involved. So in about 10 months, we've gone from being a bit forgetful, to yesterday when he forgot how to use a house phone to make a telephone call. We are fully aware of the slippery slope he is on, and how quickly this decline could be, but if there is anything that can be done to slow it down a bit, then surely it should be tried. This is an illness/disease that I know very little about, so am asking for information as to conversations we should be having with his GP, or others? What could be available to us? Please could you guys help steer us as to who and what we should be asking for. I believe that currently they are saying nothing is available to him, due to the heart and other health problems he has. Surely there must be something out there?

I look forward to any help or assistance you can give.

Thanks

Paul

 

[Beate]

I wouldn't get hung up on medication. There is precious little available, it's not advisable for everyone and it will only ever slow down progression for a little while until it stops working.

It's much more important right now to get finances in order - get an LPA in place and apply for Attendance Allowance and Council Tax Exemption on the grounds of severe mental impairment.

You can also contact Adult Social Services for a needs assessment and a carers assessment for the main carer. Help should be available in the form of day centre, carers, befrienders, respite, telecare gadgets etc. An OT could also check out the place and provide grabrails among other things.

This article should help with communication:
http://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/show...ionate-Communication-with-the-Memory-Impaired

Plus there are tons of factsheets on the site for further information on all aspects of dementia:
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/publications-factsheets-full-list

 

[dingleby9]

Thank you very much for your reply, and advice given. We are steadily progressing through a lot of what you have mentioned, and know that is all important. I just want to do all that we can from a medical stand point, just incase something may help. The decline has been fast and significant, and currently feel that every day that goes by, could be another day we try to slow it down a little more. I understand the inevitable, but anything that can assist, will definitely be considered.

Thanks again.

paul

 

[Beate]

You might want to read this factsheet about the available drugs:
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/sites...et_drug_treatments_for_alzheimers_disease.pdf

 

[Rosettastone57]

Good afternoon all,

I hope this message finds you all well.

I wanted to drop a quick message on this board to hopefully gain some information about what my father in law is going through, how we can help him, and what is available to him to hopefully slow down what is currently happening.

Firstly a little detail. My father in law is 82 years old, and is from a large family. We have known for a little while (2-3 years) that his memory has not been as good as it's always been. Has progressively been getting more and more forgetful, to the point where it is very very frustrating to him and his wife. We are constantly telling ourselves to try and understand, and give him the respect he deserves, but think his wife finds its the worst, as she is with him all the time. He was officially diagnosed with early signs of Alzheimer's at the end of last year/start of this year, and suggested he should start medication ASAP to slow down this process. The flip side is he is already on a number of medications (as a lot of men his age are), and due to his other health issues, they have said he is not a viable candidate for Alzheimer's medication. I believe this is mainly due to the fact he has LOW blood pressure, and also has a spray for a Angina. He has only ever used the Angina spray once in the 8-10 years he has had it. I know he is also on medication for his water works, and possibly some more. I can obtain a list of what else he is on, if it helps any of you to provide me with some more details.

The questions I have are mainly surrounding medications, and if something should be tried or offered to him. Since the diagnosis, his decline has been very rapid, and difficult for all involved. So in about 10 months, we've gone from being a bit forgetful, to yesterday when he forgot how to use a house phone to make a telephone call. We are fully aware of the slippery slope he is on, and how quickly this decline could be, but if there is anything that can be done to slow it down a bit, then surely it should be tried. This is an illness/disease that I know very little about, so am asking for information as to conversations we should be having with his GP, or others? What could be available to us? Please could you guys help steer us as to who and what we should be asking for. I believe that currently they are saying nothing is available to him, due to the heart and other health problems he has. Surely there must be something out there?

I look forward to any help or assistance you can give.

Thanks

My MIL has mixed dementia diagnosed 3 years ago. Because she already had heart problems and angina and blood pressure issues she was not offered any medication .Because the medication available may have made those conditions worse so the risks outweigh the benefits. To be fair it wouldn't have made any difference to the outcome three years on her decline was very rapid in the last few weeks so she ended up in a care home.

Paul

 

[Rosettastone57]

Good afternoon all,

I hope this message finds you all well.

I wanted to drop a quick message on this board to hopefully gain some information about what my father in law is going through, how we can help him, and what is available to him to hopefully slow down what is currently happening.

Firstly a little detail. My father in law is 82 years old, and is from a large family. We have known for a little while (2-3 years) that his memory has not been as good as it's always been. Has progressively been getting more and more forgetful, to the point where it is very very frustrating to him and his wife. We are constantly telling ourselves to try and understand, and give him the respect he deserves, but think his wife finds its the worst, as she is with him all the time. He was officially diagnosed with early signs of Alzheimer's at the end of last year/start of this year, and suggested he should start medication ASAP to slow down this process. The flip side is he is already on a number of medications (as a lot of men his age are), and due to his other health issues, they have said he is not a viable candidate for Alzheimer's medication. I believe this is mainly due to the fact he has LOW blood pressure, and also has a spray for a Angina. He has only ever used the Angina spray once in the 8-10 years he has had it. I know he is also on medication for his water works, and possibly some more. I can obtain a list of what else he is on, if it helps any of you to provide me with some more details.

The questions I have are mainly surrounding medications, and if something should be tried or offered to him. Since the diagnosis, his decline has been very rapid, and difficult for all involved. So in about 10 months, we've gone from being a bit forgetful, to yesterday when he forgot how to use a house phone to make a telephone call. We are fully aware of the slippery slope he is on, and how quickly this decline could be, but if there is anything that can be done to slow it down a bit, then surely it should be tried. This is an illness/disease that I know very little about, so am asking for information as to conversations we should be having with his GP, or others? What could be available to us? Please could you guys help steer us as to who and what we should be asking for. I believe that currently they are saying nothing is available to him, due to the heart and other health problems he has. Surely there must be something out there?

I look forward to any help or assistance you can give.

Thanks

 

[Rosettastone57]

My mother-in-law was diagnosed with mixed dementia 3 years ago at the time she had blood pressure issues angina and dizzy spells. She was not offered any medication to slow it down because of the side effects the medication would have meant worse balance and blood pressure issues the risks outweigh the benefits.

 

[dingleby9]

My mother-in-law was diagnosed with mixed dementia 3 years ago at the time she had blood pressure issues angina and dizzy spells. She was not offered any medication to slow it down because of the side effects the medication would have meant worse balance and blood pressure issues the risks outweigh the benefits.

Thank you for your reply, and feedback given. Could I ask if your Mother In law suffered from Low or High Blood pressure issues? My father in law is low blood pressure. And although he has been diagnosed with needing to carry a spray for angina, he has only ever used this once, and told since that he used it in error. So in theory, never actually needed the angina spray.

Thanks again

 

[karaokePete]

Hello @dingleby9, welcome to the forum. I hope you will find this to be a friendly and supportive place.

I see you have already been discussing medications for Alzheimer’s and must advise that it is not usually given when a person has cardiac issues. My wife had to have an ECG and BP check before it was prescribed.

For what it’s worth, I think that the medication has helped a little but hasn’t stopped my wife’s decline. There was a thread on the forum a few months ago that mentioned a news item to the effect that in France these medications have been taken off the public prescription list because they rate the benefits as insufficient to justify the cash being spent on them instead of on other services. As has been said already they don’t work for everyone and when they do they don’t work for long with many. You may find something that would help in the threads of this sub-forum https://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/forums/health-and-wellbeing.75/

Social interaction helps with my wife and you may be able to find support activities like memory cafes in your area. You can do a post code search for what’s available by following this link https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/find-support-near-you

I hope you find something that helps your father in law. In the long term I also hope that you continue to post here as this is a good place for advice and support.

 

[Rosettastone57]

Thank you for your reply, and feedback given. Could I ask if your Mother In law suffered from Low or High Blood pressure issues? My father in law is low blood pressure. And although he has been diagnosed with needing to carry a spray for angina, he has only ever used this once, and told since that he used it in error. So in theory, never actually needed the angina spray.

Thanks again

MIL had high blood pressure and was also considered a high falls risk due to poor mobility . Those factors alone meant to medicate would bring few benefits. Three years on from diagnosis she is now in care but to be frank even with medication her many co morbidity health issues would not have staved off the inevitable decline

 

[PJ]

Hi @dingleby9 sorry to read about your father-in-law. You’ve come to the right place for advice & it sounds like you are aware of all the important things to put in place for him.
Wishing you all the best