HI - I'm Julie and my dad has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He's 86 but is still very independent in his home and life, goes online daily to surf or check emails etc, and still drives. Chatting to him is still mostly relaxed and stress-free, and his house is immaculate (cleaner than mine...!).
However, for the past year or so he's having problems with online transactions (remembering passwords or processes/ forgetting what is already in place), and there have been a few rather complicated problems that we have had to fix... Dad can get quite upset or stressed at his 'stupidity' at the time - we reassure him that it's him illness, not him - but in general he still seems in denial about the diagnosis, which he received quite recently. We want him to retain as much independence as possible, but we also want to protect him from making poor (and sometimes expensive) mistakes because his reasoning isn't as clear as it was - for example, he recently changed his utilities unexpectedly in response to an email offering a deal, and he paid through the nose for a minor repair to his boiler by searching on Google and being hugely over-charged by one of the businesses flagged at the top of their search. My brother is monitoring his banking to a certain extent, and the bank has been helpful. We do have lasting power of attorney in place, but he still has 'capacity' and we want him to still be able to order his Tesco delivery online and make smaller purchases without us looking over him.
I guess I've come on here to find out how other people are dealing with issues like this. Most of my friends' parents with dementia have not been nearly as 'tech-savvy' as my dad and it was much easier for them to manage this aspect of their lives and keep them safe and secure. Of course, in the coming years there will be more and more pensioners who manage their finances this way...so I guess we'll develop more strategies for coping. For now, thanks for listening...and any ideas appreciated!
However, for the past year or so he's having problems with online transactions (remembering passwords or processes/ forgetting what is already in place), and there have been a few rather complicated problems that we have had to fix... Dad can get quite upset or stressed at his 'stupidity' at the time - we reassure him that it's him illness, not him - but in general he still seems in denial about the diagnosis, which he received quite recently. We want him to retain as much independence as possible, but we also want to protect him from making poor (and sometimes expensive) mistakes because his reasoning isn't as clear as it was - for example, he recently changed his utilities unexpectedly in response to an email offering a deal, and he paid through the nose for a minor repair to his boiler by searching on Google and being hugely over-charged by one of the businesses flagged at the top of their search. My brother is monitoring his banking to a certain extent, and the bank has been helpful. We do have lasting power of attorney in place, but he still has 'capacity' and we want him to still be able to order his Tesco delivery online and make smaller purchases without us looking over him.
I guess I've come on here to find out how other people are dealing with issues like this. Most of my friends' parents with dementia have not been nearly as 'tech-savvy' as my dad and it was much easier for them to manage this aspect of their lives and keep them safe and secure. Of course, in the coming years there will be more and more pensioners who manage their finances this way...so I guess we'll develop more strategies for coping. For now, thanks for listening...and any ideas appreciated!
