My dad has just had his diagnosed at 81. Feet shuffling seems his thing at the moment as well as memory issues. We think he had been displaying mild symtoms for around 18mths. I would like some incite from you all how long the mild staged lasts before it becomes full blown.
Hi my first thread
- Thread starter Yvonne7035
- Start date
Hello @Yvonne7035 and welcome to Talking Point.
Unfortunately there is no knowing how long different stages will last, some people progress quickly, some more slowly.
I asked the doctor exactly the same question when mum was diagnosed and he shrugged and said how long is a piece of string? Mum was progressing very quickly at that stage and I feared that she would not see the end of the year, but then is slowed down and she lived for another 3 years before being suddenly propelled into the last satges.
With dementia you just never know what is round the corner, so you have to be flexible and react to things as they occur. It doesnt sit well with me as I like to be organised and sort things out in advance, but I just cant do that. Some things that I worried about (like her not recognising me) never happened and other things that I never considered (like the way she thought she was married to the vicar) became a big problem. It kept me on my toes.
The only thing I would recommend that you get organised in advance is legal stuff like POA (finances and Health & Wefare) for your dad and getting him to make his will. By the time you need these it is too late!
Unfortunately there is no knowing how long different stages will last, some people progress quickly, some more slowly.
I asked the doctor exactly the same question when mum was diagnosed and he shrugged and said how long is a piece of string? Mum was progressing very quickly at that stage and I feared that she would not see the end of the year, but then is slowed down and she lived for another 3 years before being suddenly propelled into the last satges.
With dementia you just never know what is round the corner, so you have to be flexible and react to things as they occur. It doesnt sit well with me as I like to be organised and sort things out in advance, but I just cant do that. Some things that I worried about (like her not recognising me) never happened and other things that I never considered (like the way she thought she was married to the vicar) became a big problem. It kept me on my toes.
The only thing I would recommend that you get organised in advance is legal stuff like POA (finances and Health & Wefare) for your dad and getting him to make his will. By the time you need these it is too late!
Hello @Yvonne7035, welcome from me too. I hope you find the forum to be a friendly and supportive place.
I hope you have time to take a good look around the site as it is a goldmine for information. When I first joined I read old threads for information but then found the AS Publications list and the page where a post code search can be done to check for support services in ones own area. If you are interested in these, clicking the following links will take you there
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/publications-factsheets-full-list
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/find-support-near-you
You will see that there are Factsheets that will help with things like getting care needs assessments, deciding the level of care required and sorting out useful things like Wills, Power of Attorney etc., if any of that hasn't already been done.
As Canary has said, the stages are very fluid. One of the Factsheets contains a description of the widely used 3 stages of dementia. A site that contains a detailed description that a lot of members use/like can be reached by clicking the following link https://www.alzinfo.org/understand-alzheimers/clinical-stages-of-alzheimers/
Now that you have found us I hope you will keep posting as the membership has vast collective knowledge and experience.
I hope you have time to take a good look around the site as it is a goldmine for information. When I first joined I read old threads for information but then found the AS Publications list and the page where a post code search can be done to check for support services in ones own area. If you are interested in these, clicking the following links will take you there
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/publications-factsheets-full-list
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/find-support-near-you
You will see that there are Factsheets that will help with things like getting care needs assessments, deciding the level of care required and sorting out useful things like Wills, Power of Attorney etc., if any of that hasn't already been done.
As Canary has said, the stages are very fluid. One of the Factsheets contains a description of the widely used 3 stages of dementia. A site that contains a detailed description that a lot of members use/like can be reached by clicking the following link https://www.alzinfo.org/understand-alzheimers/clinical-stages-of-alzheimers/
Now that you have found us I hope you will keep posting as the membership has vast collective knowledge and experience.
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