Losing my words

[Norrms]

Hiya, thanks to a very good friend who reminded me this was up and running i am finally here. Having just read some of the comments already posted i thought i would explain what happend to me when i lose my speech control and my command of the English language comes out all wrong.
There is no warning and sometimes no clouds!! I can be talking about a certain subject and "WHAM!! When i should have said " Shall we go to the beach today? Comes out as " Shall somebody close the door for tommorow!!?? Totally non sensical and outright silly!! this happens on avarage about 12/15 times a day, (Not the same sentance mind you !!LOL ) Thankfully my darling Elaine can usually read my mind or work out what i was going to say and says it for me !! As you can guess this is not always the case and someimes i might be in a shop talking absolute nonsense!! what we do do, or what Elaine does is explain very quickly that i have AD and we have found that mostly its the best way. And in a way its like facing it head on as well, as i prefer to do. sometimes this is not always the case and i do notice the looks but overall i just ignore them. When it first started to happen i used to joke about it and say things like "Blah Blah Bl;ah as if i was an actor messing up his lines, but whhen i tried the second or third time to say the same thing with no success it no longer became a joke! i dont really dwell on what is happening inside my head/brain, , i think if i did i would be more depresed that usual and no amount of thinking about it is going to make it go away is it? I have noticed it happening a lot more latley and can be so frustrating but as they say " these things are sent" i am also getting a little worse on the keyboard as well and you wouldnt belieive how long it takes me to write something like this after all the correctios and spelling mistakes i make, but, i have made a pact with myself, as long as i am able, and have breath in my body i will cotinue to write on here for as long as humaly possible, no matter how long it takes!! Also Elaine is picking up more and more each day the way round a keyboard and is not far off her first e mail. Best wishes, Norrms and family xxx

 

[christine_batch]

Dear Norrms and Elaine,

Norrms you have my upmost respect. You are doing all you can to cope with this herrendous illness.

When my husband used to get his words all jumbled up, the family and I usually knew what he meant. Many times when Peter who loved to make a cup of tea, well he would just put a tea bag in the cup, no milk, sugar or hot water. A cup of coffee would be just the coffee.

We always made sure when we went out for a meal it was to a familiar place. When it came to ordering, the Grandchildren would say, "scampi and chips" for Grandad and they would order the same. Mind you it did work out expensive when four children wanted same size portions as Grandad.

In the early stages when Peter was out and he did get confused he would just say "I have Alzheimer's".

I use to give Peter a Bacardi and coke and he because relaxed and boy did he make us laugh because he would come out with stories when he was a lad working on a farm.

On one occassion when Peter and I were in a shop and bless him he was putting the good on the conveyer belt and then putting them back in the trolley. A couple behind us kept tutting and Peter turned round and said "I have Alzheimer's, should I wear a big sign on me?.

Sending you all love and best wishes
Christine

 

[Vonny]

Dear Norms,

Every word you write seems to be from the heart (except for football jokes ) and I for one really appreciate the time and effort you put into writing your posts.

It must be desperately frustrating for you when wrong words come out, and the beauty of this forum of course is that you can check what you've written and edit before it goes public. I usually spend ages on posts too Norms, because I'm a rubbish typist on a laptop, and I usually end up previewing and making several corrections

Hang on in there my friend, your positive temperament and good nature will help you.

Great news about Elaine...can't wait to see her first post

Vonny xxx

 

[lesmisralbles]

Norms

You have my respect XX
Bloody illness, but you are showing us all, and I thank you on behalf of Ron XX

Barb X

 

[Helen33]

Dear Norrms

I have sat here at the laptop for ages really wanting to say that no matter what we do, it doesn't get any easier for either sufferer or carer. I would like to admit to you that you have gained my affections as a person and I am sure many other TPers will feel the same. I think as we get to know each other, we begin to feel a real attachment and therefore feel the anguish as we experience each other suffer in some way or feel real joy as we experience any good thing It is really comforting to know that TP will be here for you Norrms for as long as you need and I am really looking forward to being able to say 'hello' to Elaine.

Love

 

[BeckyJan]

Hello Norms:

I do admire you and we have so much to learn from you.

its like facing it head on as well,

This phrase you used reminds me of my husband, who like you decided to face this disease 'head on'. He admitted it to all friends shortly after diagnosis (although initially he wanted to hide it even from our children ). This meant our friends were very understanding and it has helped tremendously.

I am so sorry you are finding the word finding hard - perhaps you could have a card stating 'I have Alzheimers' - ready to produce to anyone showing less than decent understanding.

I do think your Elaine sounds absolutely wonderful. I look forward to a few additions to your posts, or some of her own

Love Jan

 

[connie]

Dear Norms, thank you for your insight.

We moved house just about the time Lionel was diagnosed (60).

Upon making new friends and greeting people whilst shopping etc he would say "You will have to excuse me if my replies seem wrong to your questions. My brian does not always function as I would like it to".

Your contribution to TP is invaluable.

 

[Barry]

Lost for words & Typing problems

Hi Norrms,

Hope you had a good weekend?

Yet again you have written a good article that emphasises how this (B) illness affects us especially in terms of any type of communications whether it be with our family, other people or typing.

As you rightly said there aren’t any forewarning signs it just hits us out of the blue and we seem to lose the use of our own language, quiet often when my wife Sumi is talking to me or asking me a simple question like (what do you want for breakfast) I sit with my mouth open or reply with something like (You know, what’s its name, that stuff with jam) which she now immediately realizes is ‘Toast and Jam’ in fact just this morning my mind must have been wandering as Sumi asked me (where are you going) and for some reason I replied to the Bank when in fact I was going to the toilet! The problem is that everything gets muddled up in our brain like this morning when I was walking to the toilet I was remembering that we must go to the bank today so it all got mixed up in my reply, it’s the same when we go shopping or to the doctors if I’m asked a question my speech just becomes frozen and Sumi will answer for me trying to save me any embarrassment, but to some extent and even my doctor agreed that its not helping me to combat the problem and said just give Barry time to find the right words, its like what we intended to say is stuck in a traffic jam so we take the nearest diversion! Yes it is (B) frustrating when we can’t always comprehend our own language so you can just imagine how frustrated I get trying to use 3 different languages everyday, there aren’t any easy answers to the problem as it’s a battle of wills between the brain and its dictionary.

I don’t know how you approach typing your articles or any replies for posting on TP but I’m guessing that you’re typing it directly into the New reply or New thread windows?

I use to do it the same way until my spelling, typing errors and grammar started to defy me, so what I now do (as I’m doing with this reply to you) is to type up what I want to say on a words document first in that way I can immediately see any spelling mistakes by the red underline and correct my grammar, what I also find useful is that when typing if I’m not sure of the correct word or context I can always use the Synonymous key which helps to jog my memory, then all I have to do is to copy and past my posting onto TP.

What I have done is to start a (Words Document File) called ‘TP articles & replies’ then when I’m using talking point I first open the file and fold it down from the bottom of the screen so that I can just pop it up again to type my replies or articles, if it’s a long article I’m replying to then I can keep popping it up and down as a reminder of what I should be replying about otherwise if I cant see the original article I forget its content which is yet another problem!

Also by keeping my TP articles and replies on the words document it acts as a reminder of my postings and in what section otherwise I forget what I have done and especially if we make postings in more than one section of TP as most of us seem to do.

I’m not saying that this is foolproof but it certainly helps me to overcome my problem of typing and maintain some independence at the keyboard and reduces all the frustrations of typing anything especially as I don’t have anyone to help me so I’ve had to devise ways of making things easier for myself.

I hope you don’t mind this bit of information as it’s meant as a positive tip and approach to our problems.

 

[Grannie G]

Norms and Barry

You are both amazing.

You rationalize everything so well and so open and honest about your conditions.

I have been surprised and pleased that my husband is still quite fluent but just lately, four years after diagnosis, he has started to use the odd gesture to supplement his spoken language.

 

[shelagh]

Trouble with words

This happens to me too. It reminds me of Mr Dick in David Coppeerfield, he could't get King Charles Head out of his
I suddenly find that a word, usually a flower name appears in a sentence for no reason, It's a kind of botanical Taurettes. But I tell people about itand they seem to accept it.

 

[KenC]

Hi Barry, Norrms and Shelagh

Its times like this when you know that you are not alone with the struggles.

I had been struggling badly with my spelling etc, until I had a message from Barry the other week. Then I realised that, as he says you can type it in a Word Document and then transfer it when you are happy.

I can remember doing something like this at work, but then I forgot how to use the computer, until I got the medication.

Now I can still read the posts and threads, but have problems with writing an answer, as I can not find the right words to use.


keep up the good work Norrms we would be lost without you.

Ken

 

[beech mount]

More power to you Norms,
Have you ever read Harold Pinter? now i know why he writes as he does!
Good luck my friend,
John.

 

[Bookworm]

Power to you, too, Ken, xox

 

[shelagh]

At least we can still laugh

My difficulty with words caused me to chuckle this morning. I was telling my hairdresser about my grandson's christening on Sunday - wonderful wonderful day. She asked me what his name is, and I replied 'Harry Bluebell' Poor baby his name is Harry Alexander, but this wretched bluebell keeps popping up. Fortunately hairdresser knows my condition and is not embarrassed to laugh with me. I wish more people would do that instead of turning away

 

[Trying my best]

You are all amazing! It's great that you have found ways to overcome the difficulties you may be having. And you are all extremely eloquent!

 

[NI_21]

Respect and loving wishes...

I have the most overwhelming feeling at the moment reading your post...I cannot explain it, but I can say that you are an amazing person and that sharing your story is the best thing imaginable.

Take care,
xx

 

[alisonhorspool]

thanks once again morm! you talk such sense. luckily i talked rubbish before i was diagosed (lol) so people just accept that the rubbish i speak now has just got worse.
my consentration span is very small so i cannot read all of thr replies you got but i know like myself that we will fight this to the end.
have a lovely day
regards alison