Hello everyone
Feeling brave enough to make my first post after following the site for a few weeks.
My mother-in-law is 62 and has being undergoing assessment for the past year or so. She has not been formally diagnised with dementia but I feel this is probably solely because of her age. Today she had a third assessment and scored 23 out of 30 in the mini mental state examination. At the end of September it was 25 but her memory has definitely worsened since then. She is now being referred to a psychogeriatrician.
I feel that we are walking a bit of a tightrope as no-one has ever mentioned dementia. She suffered a small stroke and puts her slowness and memory loss down to this. I do know that she does get scared and fretful though and needs lots of reassurance.
My husband is an only child and having lost her husband 2 years ago, we are the only family my mother-in-law has, apart from her sister who has been great and some really good friends who do rally round. She doesn't see this in her low times though and says she is all alone with no-one to care for her. She has been on anti-depressants twice in the past year as her symptoms were put down to depression. Both times she got even more agitated and stressed.
She is managing on her own flat for the moment with 2 hours support three times a week. She also needs help twice a day with taking medication as this is something she cannot cope with herself.
Social services are trying to get a day centre/hospital place and I feel this would be a good thing to provide a bit of stimulation and interest. The social worker has said that because of her age, a place is difficult to find. Apparently she is too young for the services provided! We worry how long that she will be able to manage by herself and what the future holds. This last year seems to have been a gradual decline in the number of things she can manage and is not frightened by.
I feel bad because one of her few pleasures is the children yet the eldest who is 10 gets quite anxious as her behaviour is unpredictable and she gets very emotional and agitated at times. She senses this too as the other day she told my husband that she dosn't want to see the children "until she is better". I feel the children are being robbed of their granny and it is awful that their memories of her will be of this time of her life when she shows little interest in them. She was over the moon when the eldest was born and he really was the apple of her eye.
Feel a bit of a fraud since I am not living with caring for someone 24/7 as so many of you are. Don't really know why I posted this. Just feel that with all the involvement of social services, specialists etc that she is close to being diagnosed with dementia and then we will have to face it properly and start having to think about the future.
Feeling brave enough to make my first post after following the site for a few weeks.
My mother-in-law is 62 and has being undergoing assessment for the past year or so. She has not been formally diagnised with dementia but I feel this is probably solely because of her age. Today she had a third assessment and scored 23 out of 30 in the mini mental state examination. At the end of September it was 25 but her memory has definitely worsened since then. She is now being referred to a psychogeriatrician.
I feel that we are walking a bit of a tightrope as no-one has ever mentioned dementia. She suffered a small stroke and puts her slowness and memory loss down to this. I do know that she does get scared and fretful though and needs lots of reassurance.
My husband is an only child and having lost her husband 2 years ago, we are the only family my mother-in-law has, apart from her sister who has been great and some really good friends who do rally round. She doesn't see this in her low times though and says she is all alone with no-one to care for her. She has been on anti-depressants twice in the past year as her symptoms were put down to depression. Both times she got even more agitated and stressed.
She is managing on her own flat for the moment with 2 hours support three times a week. She also needs help twice a day with taking medication as this is something she cannot cope with herself.
Social services are trying to get a day centre/hospital place and I feel this would be a good thing to provide a bit of stimulation and interest. The social worker has said that because of her age, a place is difficult to find. Apparently she is too young for the services provided! We worry how long that she will be able to manage by herself and what the future holds. This last year seems to have been a gradual decline in the number of things she can manage and is not frightened by.
I feel bad because one of her few pleasures is the children yet the eldest who is 10 gets quite anxious as her behaviour is unpredictable and she gets very emotional and agitated at times. She senses this too as the other day she told my husband that she dosn't want to see the children "until she is better". I feel the children are being robbed of their granny and it is awful that their memories of her will be of this time of her life when she shows little interest in them. She was over the moon when the eldest was born and he really was the apple of her eye.
Feel a bit of a fraud since I am not living with caring for someone 24/7 as so many of you are. Don't really know why I posted this. Just feel that with all the involvement of social services, specialists etc that she is close to being diagnosed with dementia and then we will have to face it properly and start having to think about the future.
