My Dad has just been diagnosed with alzheimers

[LWP]

Hi,
My name is Lynne and my Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's yesterday.
It's currently mild and he is being given medication to slow it down.
I am an only child and don't live near them.
It's all new and don't quite know what to do or where to start.
Really appreciate that there is this forum that I can use for support.
Thank you

 

[SherwoodSue]

Hello Lynne

I guess dad lives with your mum? (You say they) Your mum will lead on your dads care. You just need to support her emotionally and practically as much as distance allows.
On the to do list, Power of Attorney and Attendance Allowance application. Citizens Advice can help with the form. Everybody’s experience is differ so I wouldn’t do too much squinting into the future just yet.
More to the point how are YOU feeling?

 

[LWP]

Hello Lynne

I guess dad lives with your mum? (You say they) Your mum will lead on your dads care. You just need to support her emotionally and practically as much as distance allows.
On the to do list, Power of Attorney and Attendance Allowance application. Citizens Advice can help with the form. Everybody’s experience is differ so I wouldn’t do too much squinting into the future just yet.
More to the point how are YOU feeling?

Hi,
Thank you for your message
Yeah, my mum will be main carer. She's waiting for new hearing aids so quite a house at the moment,...she can't hear anyone and he can't remember what they said.🤦‍♀️🙂
I'm a bit upset at the moment, but I will be OK. It's just that being told it's alzheimers, feels so different from just knowing his memory isn't as good as it was.
My maternal grandmother had early onset alzheimers and passed away at 62 and my paternal grandmother had vascular dementia; so we've lived through it before and science has moved on so much.
Right now, I'm just scared of losing my dad even though he is physically still there, if that makes sense.
I know this maybe quite a while off yet, but noone knows do they.
On the power of attorney front, my parents are so organised, that was put in place about 20 years ago.
They have already heard from someone who is going to come out to them and sort forms etc. I will try to be there for that.
He also needs to have a driving assessment, but the consultant thought that he would do OK with that. 🤞

 

[Gosling]

Hi,
My name is Lynne and my Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's yesterday.
It's currently mild and he is being given medication to slow it down.
I am an only child and don't live near them.
It's all new and don't quite know what to do or where to start.
Really appreciate that there is this forum that I can use for support.
Thank you

Hi Lynne and welcome to Dementia Talking Point. You will find us a very supportive and friendly bunch of people who have first hand experience of all the various aspects of dementia. I am glad you have found us.

I am sorry to hear of your Dad's very recent diagnosis. It's always a bit of a shock when something moves from just bad memory to a diagnosis of Alzheimer's , albeit mild. I do feel for you, and it somehow makes it more difficult when you are not living near your Mum and Dad. As @SherwoodSue has said, just be there as much as possible either in person, or at the end of a phone, to be able to support both your Mum and Dad. It is likely your Mum will become your Dad's carer until things progress.
No-one can say when and how it will progress, everyone's journey with this awful disease is different both in length of time and how it progresses.
Do please come back to this forum and use it as a source of support. You are not alone at all. Never feel that. Even if you just want to have a rant, we all do sadly!

 

[Izzy]

Welcome to the forum @LWP.

I thought you might find this useful -

After receiving a dementia diagnosis

There’s a lot to think about when you find out you have dementia. But you’re not alone, and we can help you adjust and access the right information and support.

www.alzheimers.org.uk

 

[LWP]

Hi Lynne and welcome to Dementia Talking Point. You will find us a very supportive and friendly bunch of people who have first hand experience of all the various aspects of dementia. I am glad you have found us.

I am sorry to hear of your Dad's very recent diagnosis. It's always a bit of a shock when something moves from just bad memory to a diagnosis of Alzheimer's , albeit mild. I do feel for you, and it somehow makes it more difficult when you are not living near your Mum and Dad. As @SherwoodSue has said, just be there as much as possible either in person, or at the end of a phone, to be able to support both your Mum and Dad. It is likely your Mum will become your Dad's carer until things progress.
No-one can say when and how it will progress, everyone's journey with this awful disease is different both in length of time and how it progresses.
Do please come back to this forum and use it as a source of support. You are not alone at all. Never feel that. Even if you just want to have a rant, we all do sadly!

Hi Izzy,
Thank you so much. Having a few tears at how kind everyone is being. 🙂
It's so lovely to feel supported and I will definitely give that to whoever I can too.
I'm sure I will need to rant at some points haha.