Hi, I have joined the forum today. My husband has progressive Alzheimer. He is 58 years old. Was first diagnosed when he was 54. Are there any forum members caring for a partner who has been diagnosed with the disease at such a young age?
Hi, I have joined the forum today. My husband has progressive Alzheimer. He is 58 years old. Was first diagnosed when he was 54. Are there any forum members caring for a partner who has been diagnosed with the disease at such a young age?
we have none of this Altz in his family , he was always health never went to doctor never took any pills no even for headaches very active with walking and dancing in a group (went abroad with them) It was the last thing i thought of when he started forgetting things .Its just the last 6 months that I've had to start coping with the behavior problem. last October we went to Italy for a holiday with my kids ,had a great time, February this year was in Scotland for a month visiting my parents that's when it all started,.and since then hes been put on new pills which makes him very sleepy and walks around like a zombi....he always wants to go for walks but gets tired really quickly.its hard for me to cope with the change of behavior ,i never thought he could be like that, never in our 33 years of marriage have we had an argument or raised our voice at each other.Its just so hard now....Hi there,
Yes, I think there are a lot of us out there. My husband was 49. Our youngest son was 11. Because my OH had lost his job, for non performance and was not diagnosed until 2 years later we got no disability benefits from his company. This is my pet peeve, I feel very very strongly about it. That companies and managers need to be made aware that a previously high performing employee or executive who is no longer performing could have a physiological problem like Alz.. At the time we (personally) had no idea that people so young could get Alzheimers we thought it was just for elderly.
We have had a long haul but a comparatively good one. Our insurance company tried to take my OH off Aricept about 6 years ago as it they said it only had an 18 month efficacy for the drug. I got a Prof from Uni Basel(we live in Switzerland)to write them, he told the insurance company to back off as there was no data on such young patients and Aricept. I have never heard from them again and he gets his Aricept still. He was also part of a clinical trial with Novartis called CAD I do not know if it helped him or not. But he is still very much "with us" and is being called "atypical" now as he has done so well. He was always very physically fit, and a daily walker and weekend hiker.
This is not to say things are perfect. He can no longer take walks in the mountains (or our neighborhood for that matter) alone. He can no longer always read his watch, he struggles to answer his mobile phone even though we selected a new one with BIG numbers and directionals. He can no longer use a computer. He has no short term memory, but does occasionally surprise me by remembering things. He no longer drives (I had to get rid of the car.....as he wanted to drive it anyway-he hit a cyclist at Christmas -no injuries but I had had enough of worrying over it-so we now are living without a car). He has no initiative and needs constant directions to accomplish anything, but he can still do things. He needs to be reminded to eat and drink.
But he can still dress himself, have some conversation, make jokes sometimes. He can still walk to the store with a small list of items. He has good days and bad days.
He trys very hard to be helpful where he can be.
He has been around for important events for our kids, all four are now young adults, the youngest having graduated university in Oct 2014. I no longer have the burden of their educations. He has been around for the marriages of two of our children, our eldest son and walked our second daughter down the aisle. Also the birth of two grandchildren and another is on the way in August.
So, he has a lot. I am not sure who he remembers and who he doesn't. Our two local kids are very very helpful. I am beyond looking for help in the community, we have some close friends who help when they are in town by taking him to lunch and for a walk.
It is a long sad journey. The only way to handle it is one day at a time. I am very grateful that I grasped that concept (not all the time but most days). I am not a perfect person with infinite patience....I am just someone trying to do the best I can one day at a time.
I find this forum extremely helpful and comforting. Good luck. PalSal Switzerland
we have none of this Altz in his family , he was always health never went to doctor never took any pills no even for headaches very active with walking and dancing in a group (went abroad with them) It was the last thing i thought of when he started forgetting things .Its just the last 6 months that I've had to start coping with the behavior problem. last October we went to Italy for a holiday with my kids ,had a great time, February this year was in Scotland for a month visiting my parents that's when it all started,.and since then hes been put on new pills which makes him very sleepy and walks around like a zombi....he always wants to go for walks but gets tired really quickly.its hard for me to cope with the change of behavior ,i never thought he could be like that, never in our 33 years of marriage have we had an argument or raised our voice at each other.Its just so hard now....
Hi there,
Yes, I think there are a lot of us out there. My husband was 49. Our youngest son was 11. Because my OH had lost his job, for non performance and was not diagnosed until 2 years later we got no disability benefits from his company. This is my pet peeve, I feel very very strongly about it. That companies and managers need to be made aware that a previously high performing employee or executive who is no longer performing could have a physiological problem like Alz.. At the time we (personally) had no idea that people so young could get Alzheimers we thought it was just for elderly.
We have had a long haul but a comparatively good one. Our insurance company tried to take my OH off Aricept about 6 years ago as it they said it only had an 18 month efficacy for the drug. I got a Prof from Uni Basel(we live in Switzerland)to write them, he told the insurance company to back off as there was no data on such young patients and Aricept. I have never heard from them again and he gets his Aricept still. He was also part of a clinical trial with Novartis called CAD I do not know if it helped him or not. But he is still very much "with us" and is being called "atypical" now as he has done so well. He was always very physically fit, and a daily walker and weekend hiker.
This is not to say things are perfect. He can no longer take walks in the mountains (or our neighborhood for that matter) alone. He can no longer always read his watch, he struggles to answer his mobile phone even though we selected a new one with BIG numbers and directionals. He can no longer use a computer. He has no short term memory, but does occasionally surprise me by remembering things. He no longer drives (I had to get rid of the car.....as he wanted to drive it anyway-he hit a cyclist at Christmas -no injuries but I had had enough of worrying over it-so we now are living without a car). He has no initiative and needs constant directions to accomplish anything, but he can still do things. He needs to be reminded to eat and drink.
But he can still dress himself, have some conversation, make jokes sometimes. He can still walk to the store with a small list of items. He has good days and bad days.
He trys very hard to be helpful where he can be.
He has been around for important events for our kids, all four are now young adults, the youngest having graduated university in Oct 2014. I no longer have the burden of their educations. He has been around for the marriages of two of our children, our eldest son and walked our second daughter down the aisle. Also the birth of two grandchildren and another is on the way in August.
So, he has a lot. I am not sure who he remembers and who he doesn't. Our two local kids are very very helpful. I am beyond looking for help in the community, we have some close friends who help when they are in town by taking him to lunch and for a walk.
It is a long sad journey. The only way to handle it is one day at a time. I am very grateful that I grasped that concept (not all the time but most days). I am not a perfect person with infinite patience....I am just someone trying to do the best I can one day at a time.
I find this forum extremely helpful and comforting. Good luck. PalSal Switzerland