help

[murray]

my mum has been diognosed with dementia about a year ago and her sister my aunt has alzheimers my aunt is in a nursing home as her family could not cope with her behaviour about 2 months ago i seen my aunt and was talking with her she was able to hold down a conversation but when i seen her yesterday in the nursing home she was like what i can only discribe as a zombie she was staring into thin air pushing a wheelchair around but every time it hit the wall she could not move it out to go on this worries me deeply is the medication she is on doing this to her or is this the alzhiemers ? is this what myself and my family likely to expect my mother to go the same way i dont know the name of the medication my aunt is being discribed

 

[Michael E]

I am very new here but was on line when you posted.

From what I can see Alzheimer's affects everybody a bit differently. I think no 2 cases are the same. It also seem to progress at different rates for different people.

When my wife's drugs 'appeared' not to suit I went on the net and found out a bit about them. I think the problem is there is no cure - maybe aricept slows the progression down. Bad temper and aggressiveness seems to be a problem and there are drugs to ameliorate that as well. Most of the time I think the consultants and doctors dealing with this illness are pretty conscientious but it probably pays to keep your own eye on things...

I suspect your mums problem will get worse but the time scale is unsure and the peculiarities seem to vary - that's the impression I get from what I am reading here.

More knowledgeable people on this forum will probably answer your concerns better..

 

[Brucie]

Hi Murray

Michael is quite correct that dementia hits different people in different ways, at different times and on different days [hey that rhymes!]

Whenever there is a change that seems very major, always ask the medical staff whether anything has changed in the caring regime. It may be medications, it may be viruses, it may be other things, including a speeded up progression into the illness.

You don't say which dementia your Mum has. If it is vascular dementia, then the path downwards will be in steps. If it is Alzheimer's then the path down is more gradual.

Typically I have found that some people who have dementia and live in a care home seem to want to rearrange things, so they move furniture and ornaments - even grab other residents and move them around.

So it is not unusual for someone like your Mum to push a wheelchair around. It is a sort of automatic keep fit, perhaps, or just a way to relieve boredom, or a way to feel they are achieving something.

People in homes can become institutionalised and if there are few visitors and too few care staff, then the residents are on their own for parts of each day. These are not dumb people; they want to do things, but what can they do? ....move things about..... After a while it al becomes automatic and I guess their eyes can glaze a bit.

For your first port of call, try and speak to the nurse in charge or to the doctor. Voice your concerns and ask their opinion. Find out what medication has been prescribed, and when it is given.

Best wishes

 

[murray]

thank you michael & brucie for replying to me i dont know exactly what type of dementia my mum has as my sister goes to the doctors with my mum and he has just told her she has dementia none of my family have any idea about any of this and i am trying to get as much info as i can so we know what to expect my mums medication is called ARICEPT i would be grateful for any info on this medication or any info on any of the points i have raised
mary

 

[connie]

Hi, I think Bruce has answered most of the points raised. What's in a name regarding medication. Lionel had been on EXCELON now for over three years.

Progression, well when he is with me Ican pinpoint certain areas. However when, like earliler this month, he goes into respite, abeit for only a week, he behavioris different. Does it really matter, we just have to care for our loved ones in the best way possible. Conniw

 

[Norman]

Hi Murray
I f you go to the top lef thand corner of this page and click on Fact sheets.
You will find many answers there to your queries, including drugs and Aricept.
Regards
Norman

 

[Sandy]

Hi Murray,

Welcome to Talking Point. I would agree with what has already been said. Dementia affects different people differently. As for the difference in your aunt's condition, a lot can happen in two months. Any kind of change - to routine, to medication, problems caused by a physical illness - can result in a big change in behaviour. What do your other relatives think about your aunt's behaviour?

As far as getting as much info about dementia as possible, you've come to a great resource. Norman has already mentioned all the Alzheimer's Society Factsheets on the Society web site.

Your profile says that you're from Belfast, so you might take a look at the local branch web page, it gives details of the local helpline and support groups:
Alzheimer's Society Belfast Branch .

There's a huge wealth of information on Talking Point, based on previous discussion threads. If you use the Search facility (third from the right on the burgundy navigation bar) you can enter a term (such as Aricept) and find all previous posts that contain that term.

Please feel free to post questions or just vent when the need arises.

Take care,

Sandy

 

[murray]

thank you everybody

Thanks everybody for all your suggestions i will look into everything mentioned as I am only at the begining of my learning proccess with this illness i have a long way to go but hopefuly with the support and help of so many kind people along the way it will make it a little easyer. My aunt seems to be a lot worse than my mother at the moment but i just dont know what to expect with the illness and it scares me a lot, I want to do the best possible for my mum and im hoping more knowledge will help me do just that, I dont really want to talk to my cousins about my aunt as when i think of her at the moment I tend to burst into tears and I dont want to upset them as they have enough to deal with.

again many thanks
Mary