Hope this is correct

[Sandie45]

Hello my name is Sandie and I am new to this....my husband has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, he has just finished his 3 month trial with Aricpet which has not been without problems. At this moment in time my husband and I are really struggling with everything that comes with Alzheimer's and wondered if by joining the forum I would find something's that would help me through this difficult time. I have attended a 10week support group which I found out I am not the norm. I am 45 and my husband is older although still considered young for this illness.

My husband is considering stopping his medication as he feels this is a prison sentence for both of us....at the moment we are both finding it really difficult to find any positives, so really sorry if I sound negative. My husband also has very bad depression which I know can come hand in hand.....

 

[1954]

Welcome Sandie45 to TP. I am sorry to hear about your husband. You will find this forum helpful, supportive and lots of information. I look after my MIL who lives with us but others will come on here soon who look after their husbands

Look forward to your posts x

 

[rajahh]

Hi and welcome. I care for my husband who has AD plus prostate cancer. My husband refused Aricept, and I agreed with him.

When he was offered it it was at a time when he was very agitated, and weepy. and he was told Aricept would slow the disease down so he would remain as he was for longer without getting worse.

He hated being in the weepy stage and so did I so we decided that it was better to just let mature take its course and the sooner he passed through that stage the better. He did become quite contented for a long time, and although it is hard on the carer as they " lose" their partner, it seems to be kinder to the patient. Or our own personal case it did.

I am 74 and my husband is 79 and he has been diagnosed for 4 years but had it longer than that.

There is a lot of experience on this forum and you will receive support I am sure

Keep posting

Jeannette

 

[Sandie45]

Welcome Sandie45 to TP. I am sorry to hear about your husband. You will find this forum helpful, supportive and lots of information. I look after my MIL who lives with us but others will come on here soon who look after their husbands

Look forward to your posts x

Thank you x

 

[Sandie45]

Hi and welcome. I care for my husband who has AD plus prostate cancer. My husband refused Aricept, and I agreed with him.

When he was offered it it was at a time when he was very agitated, and weepy. and he was told Aricept would slow the disease down so he would remain as he was for longer without getting worse.

He hated being in the weepy stage and so did I so we decided that it was better to just let mature take its course and the sooner he passed through that stage the better. He did become quite contented for a long time, and although it is hard on the carer as they " lose" their partner, it seems to be kinder to the patient. Or our own personal case it did.

I am 74 and my husband is 79 and he has been diagnosed for 4 years but had it longer than that.

There is a lot of experience on this forum and you will receive support I am sure

Keep posting

Jeannette

Thank you so much for that....I totally agree with my husband stopping the aricpet. I have already lost my husband unfortunately. It is like torture watching him as he is...we both think we should let nature take its course. Has your husband deteriorated much over the 4 years.... my husband has only been diagnosed for about 6 months but had it longer so still in very early days.

 

[Badietta]

Hi Sandie

We are comparative youngsters too to be confronted with this. Luckily because my husband has heart problems, he was put on Ebixa rather than Aricept, and the change in him has been stunningly brilliant. OK, so he still has memory blanks which are never going to go away, but I have my man back again - he is completely there and with-it, can concentrate and focus again and his sense of humour has returned. We now laugh and have fun again. OK, so he tells me most mornings that he hates having to take all his pills (for his heart, blood pressure, dementia, etc, but because he is so much better now it's all talk and no action. So, maybe ask the Neurologist about Ebixa because I hope that it might work as well for you as it has for us.

Good Luck

badietta

 

[juniepoonie]

hi sandie sorry you an your husband have joined the club but there are loads of us in the same boat just going down different parts of the river at different times! my BIL has just gone into nursing home last week. he is 66 but we first noticed thing when he was about 59 and he didn't go onto medication until about 5years ago. it helped keep him stable for a couple years but it symptoms seemed to be creeping up on him again slowly until last year he got much worse and was diagnosed with vascular dementia as well. I know that now youy have found this forum you will get lots of help an advice an support, I only found it about a month ago an im on here each evening now so maybe were catch up again. chin up an good luck. juniuepoonie

 

[BeckyJan]

Hello and welcome to Talking Point.
I am sure you will benefit from the experience and support here as so many have been through similar experiences.

I do think you should be talking to the Consultant. It helps to keep a diary/log of any special problems so that the list can be handed to the Consultant. Many of us have done this and it helps.

Its possible that your husband could be given a mild anti depressant to help his mood. My husband was on a low dose of Amitriptyline which helped him a lot. This is probably now considered old fashioned but there are others that have been tried and tested.

Have you been in touch with the local branch of the Alzheimer's Society. Some run 'cafes' which are a fine way of meeting others in a similar position. Ours were either coffee mornings, pub lunches or general meetings. Also some branches of Dementia Support Workers which may be a more local form of support for you. You can find your local branch here.

Keep in touch and let us know how you are getting on.
Best wishes

Edited to add: I will move this to the 'I have a partner with dementia' section of the Forum as it seems the most suitable place for this Thread.

 

[WyCassell]

Hello Sandie 45

So sorry. I am Wendy and I am the caregiver of my mother, she is also on Aricept since a year ago. As of this last month the Aricept has been doubled. There was supposed to be an add on drug for Dementia but my mother has many other health issues which require drugs that can't be mixed with the other drug. I don't really know if I see a difference, my mother is argumentative and very demanding. She has also recently been detoxed from too many narcotic's her prior doctor thought she needed. Again, I don't know if the Aricept is making any difference.

 

[Sandie45]

Unfortunately my husband was unable to tolerate the higher dose of aricept so is still on the lower dose.....today he has lost his house keys and muddled up his medication....Wonder what tomorrow will bring?

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[rajahh]

My husband has deteriorated over the last 4 years Sandie. He has not been able to do his own medication for over 5 years I would say.

He rarely knows who I am, what day it is, where he is living etc etc.

My husband has always been someone who refused all sorts of medical treatment. The only treatment he accepted was to alleviate pain, so I just accepted it.

Jeannette

 

[Sandie45]

Thank you Janette

My husband has gone from taking no tablets to 18 a day.....he has always been fit and well until his diagnosis, now he just feels he is falling apart at the seams and he has lost all identity.

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