Hi,Dennis here in the right place at last.

Dennis Brown

Registered User
Jun 11, 2008
16
0
91
Worcestershire
Hi, A big thank you to all who responded to my first attempt on Elle 2's Thread, you were asking me to let you know about Ivy's interests, unfortunately they are almost non existent now.
In the past she was very artistic, toy making, drawing and painting,We have some lovely examples of her work.
I help run a Tea Dance in the week, I play the C.D's,Ivy amazes everyone because she never misses a step and sings along to the music, possibly inbuilt as we've been dancing since 1950!!.
Ivy has developed a habit of folding tissue paper and ripping it up,is this par for the course?.
I take her out in the car as much as possible as she loves company
and children.
I hope I haven't gone on too long but it was wonderful to find such a response,I was touched!.
Thank you again, Dennis B :)
 

Skye

Registered User
Aug 29, 2006
17,000
0
SW Scotland
Hi Dennis, well done for starting your thread!:)

Great that Ivy can still dance, and sing along to the music. I'm sure that's the highlight of her week. The car rides are good, too.

John used to love company, but he lost his language quite early on, so it was difficult for anyone to talk to him. He was also artistic, and a good watercolour painter. When that got beyond him. I bought him adult colouring books, and he would sit and colour them in. They were useful when he had a carer in, because it was something they could do together.

If you're interested, there's a good selection on Amazon, just do a search on 'adult colouring'.

John didn't do the paper tearing, but others have mentioned it, so I think it's a fairly common symptom.

All the best,
 

Dennis Brown

Registered User
Jun 11, 2008
16
0
91
Worcestershire
Thanks for help.

Hi Hazel, Thanks for your quick response, I told my Daughter I feel I've gained another family.! :D
Thanks for the tip regarding Amazon I'll give it a try.
The Carers we have are only for half an hour morning & night for medication and dressing,Ivy has also started saying the wrong words like, Look at the doggies on the fence (Birds). some completely foreign, my daughter said today"I think Mums learning Arabic".
As you know it's very upsetting.
Good luck to you and thanks again, Dennis B.
 

Tina

Registered User
May 19, 2006
420
0
Dear Dennis,

I'm sure you will find lots of excellent support on this site.

I saw your post and felt I had to reply because my nan and aunt both had vascular dementia (after strokes), and especially with my aunt, saying the wrong words or not being able to find words, was common as the illness progressed.

She would say "they" or "things" or "them" a lot when she couldn't think of people's names or objects any more, such as "We saw them in town this morning" and "We had those yesterday"...and of course if you didn't know who or what she was referring to, it could be difficult. However, in the beginning stages, this was no problem as she was still able to answer questions and hold a conversation. So if I asked her "Oh, did you see x and y in town this morning or a and b?", I could still figure out who she was talking about.

She also started to use wrong words, i.e. "I hurt my hand" when she wanted to say "I banged my head".

Nan's was a different story since her speech was already significantly impaired after her first stroke and the illness presented itself in a slightly different way then. But gradual loss of language occurred there too.

Neither of them did any paper tearing but there were other things they were doing repeatedly and becoming fixated with, such as looking for money and not letting go of their handbags.

It's lovely that Ivy enjoys dancing and going out for a ride in the car.

Keep posting, there's a wealth of experience on this board, and lots of help and support if you have questions.

All the best,
Tina
 

Lynne

Registered User
Jun 3, 2005
3,433
0
Suffolk,England
Hi Dennis

Ah, another house 'decorated' with little scraps of tissues! I've seen it mentioned on here several times. Somehow, they always seem to find their way into the washng machine too :eek:, no matter how assiduously I look through the pockets & up the sleeves.

How brilliant that your Ivy can still dance, I'v often seen it - and music of course - mentioned in terms of therapy, and you two are already experts!

Best wishes
 

Dennis Brown

Registered User
Jun 11, 2008
16
0
91
Worcestershire
For Lynne and Tina.

Thank you both for contacting me, is it alright to talk to two people at once?:confused:
In the early stages of Ivy's illness we were getting through tons of toilet rolls as she would come out with handfuls of it, we solved the problem by putting a small amount on the empty spool before she went in.
Perhaps this idea might help someone who is just starting out and having this problem.
By the way, we are not expert dancers, just "Happy Tappers".:D
Thanks again, Bye Dennis.B.:)
 

andrear

Registered User
Feb 13, 2008
402
0
Yorkshire
HI Dennis

And welcome to the most fantastic site on the internet!!
And, you can talk to as many people as you like!!
When dad first became ill he talked a lot of jibberish but that seemed to settle down somewhat, but I have observed that when he is particularly stressed nobody can really understand him at all.
Keep on posting and someone will answer any of your questions, worries etc. for you. They really are a lovely bunch.
Love Andrea
 

Dennis Brown

Registered User
Jun 11, 2008
16
0
91
Worcestershire
Thanks Andrea.

Hi Andrea, Thanks for your support, I'v already been in touch with some fantastic people and I don't feel so alone now.
Hope your Father has a lovely Fathers Day.
Can I ask a question please, has anyone used Ginko Biloba?.
Ivy can't have a drug for Alzheimers due to having a kidney removed years agom so I've been using this product for at least a year but don't know if it's doing any good. Thanks again Andrea, Dennis B.
 

christine_batch

Registered User
Jul 31, 2007
3,387
0
Buckinghamshire
Hello Dennis,
When my husband was first diagnoised with AD I did research into elements that were missing in the brain.
I wrote down a list of tablets that I had been giving Peter and showed it to the Consultant. One of them was Ginko Biloba.
The Consultant also added some more to my list.
It was an Alzheimer's Research Consultant and I continued giving Peter the vitamins.
Best wishes
Christine
 

citybythesea

Registered User
Mar 23, 2008
632
0
57
coast of texas
Hello Dennis,

I am glad you found your way here. Everyone is wonderful. You asked of Gingo Boloba. I use it and still wonder if it works, but then my stress load is very high right now.

I can tell you tho..mom had AD had several strokes after the strokes she was down to baby food and some of those contained DHA. She never lost her ability to chew or swallow up until the last 3 days. At that those days she aspirated and got some food down. She was also able to come back to some moments of lucidness to know who I was and chew.

Recently I have heard talk of DHA being a suppliment that can help the brain tremendously. It is a suppliment currently used to help babies brains mature....so why can't it help keep our healthy? The study that I have read has preliminary findings as to that. Hope I have helped a little.


HUGS

Nancy
 

andrear

Registered User
Feb 13, 2008
402
0
Yorkshire
HI Dennis

Hi Andrea, Thanks for your support, I'v already been in touch with some fantastic people and I don't feel so alone now.
Hope your Father has a lovely Fathers Day.
Can I ask a question please, has anyone used Ginko Biloba?.
Ivy can't have a drug for Alzheimers due to having a kidney removed years agom so I've been using this product for at least a year but don't know if it's doing any good. Thanks again Andrea, Dennis B.

Dad hasn't used it, but last year I met a really love man who was looking after his wife and she used it. I believe that she has used it for about 2 years, sadly she died last October. She had to go into a nursing home for the last 6 months but she continued using it. Her husband was really impressed with the results, and I have to admit that if I could get dad to take it I would, but he refuses any form of medication at all.
 

Grannie G

Volunteer Moderator
Apr 3, 2006
81,444
0
Kent
Hello Dennis

When my mother suffered from dementia from 1990 -2002 she was reccommended Gingkho Biloba. Because of this my husband , who took a lot of vitamins and supplements added it to his list. Sadly for him, it had no effect.

Love xx
 

Skye

Registered User
Aug 29, 2006
17,000
0
SW Scotland
Hi Dennis

I'm afraid I'm very sceptical about these supplements, though I do take a multi-vitamin pill every day, and gave one to John when he was at home.

Anyone I've known who had dementia and took Ginko Biloba continued to progess at the same rate, but that's not a clinical trial, it may have worked for some people.

There's an AS factsheet here:

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/factsheet/434
 

Jane.B

Registered User
Dec 7, 2007
164
0
87
Hampshire
Hello Denis, It's wonderful that Ivy still enjoys dancing.
I took Rupert to something called singing for the brain run by our local Alzheimers group, but he hated it, just said "what the b####y h###l are we doing" and so I take him home. He's never torn tisue paper but yesterday after I'd made a cake for father's day I left the roll of greaseproof paper on the table, and came in from the garden to find him sitting in his chair surounded by the paper, luckily he'd not torn it much, just unrolled it.He does also sometimes tear up magasines.
Funily enough I was just reading about Ginko Biloba, I think it would be too late for Rupert, but I was thinking it might be good for me.
Skye that's a good idea about Adult colouring on Amazon, I'm always trying to think of things for Rupert to do, he just sits mostly, but when I've suggested anything, he just says no.
He doesn't talk much any more, and most of what he does say is garbled, but he's still enormously polite, and will often say thank you very much to anyone whose done something for him.
 

Dennis Brown

Registered User
Jun 11, 2008
16
0
91
Worcestershire
Dennis re Ginko.

Thankyou all so much for your feed back regarding Ginko Biloba,
I did consult our G.P. about taking it and he didn't object.
Ivy is also Diabetic, Didn't mention it before:eek:, on tablets.
Ive come to the conclusion that taking Ginko is like using the same numbers on the Lottery, you're frightened to stop in case they come up!.
In Ivys case I would hate to stop it and find she got worse(catch 22).
Thank you all again, Dennis.
 

May

Registered User
Oct 15, 2005
627
0
Yorkshire
Hi Denis

My Mum would tear up anything (and I do mean anything)she could get her hands on. Magazines, books, photos, letters, opened or unopened (what a way to get rid of bills!:D). Perhaps be thankful for the tissues :D (I like the way you solved the toilet paper problem:D) Seriously though, it can be very difficult to cope with this, and strangely my Mum was also an 'artistic type', I wonder if it's related?
So glad that you and Ivy still enjoy music and dancing and can share a pastime.

Take care
 

Dennis Brown

Registered User
Jun 11, 2008
16
0
91
Worcestershire
Hi May and anyone who may read this,
Sorry about delay in answering and joining in the topics,I ended up in Hospital on the 19th of June and they found I had a very serious
Pulmonary Embolism, I'm now on Warfarin and hopefully on the road to recovery,
You may wonder what happened to Ivy, well, my Daughter Sally dropped everything at her home and moved in, sleeping with Ivy and taking care of everything.
What made us all laugh was when she told us of Ivy turning over
in the morning, which she always does, put her arm round Sally and put her hand on her boob,she said Ivy must have wondered what was going on!!.
By the way, Thank you for the Birthday Greeting in my E Mails, Yes I did spend my
Birthday in Hospital.
Nice to be back and Hello again, Dennis.:):)
 

Skye

Registered User
Aug 29, 2006
17,000
0
SW Scotland
Hi Dennis, good to have you back!

I hope your recovery continues, and you're soon back to full strength,:)

Love.
 

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