New member - worried about my husband

[mary2000]

Hello I have just joined today so am finding my feet.

My husband has been struggling with his memory for a few years now but the last year it seems to be getting much worse. With it has come some aggression and change in personality. He is 83.

He saw the GP a few weeks ago and fortunately he was happy for me to come too and he readily admitted to the GP that he was being aggressive. The GP did a short memory test on him which short reduction in his memory since the previous test two years before. He arranged for him to be seen by a nurse for a full test and also put him on anti-depressants.

I have to say the pills have helped, he hasn't been launching so many attacks and seems to be much more even tempered. The nurse came out last week and did the tests on him and he scored 86/100 on the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination. Not sure if this is 'good' or 'bad' if you know what I mean.

He is now waiting for a CT scan and will then be seen by a consultant.

The waiting is obviously very difficult and weighing on both our minds.

I just thought I would say hello as I am sure lots of people on here have been through this and know how we are feeling. It is good to say hello and hopefully I will learn lots of things which will help. Many thanks.

 

[Cat27]

Welcome to TP Mary

I'm glad the tablets have helped with the aggression as that is so hard to deal with.

 

[mary2000]

Thank you so much.

It was very hard and I just didn't know what to do because he just kept accusing me of being difficult etc. I tried to remain objective but very hard when you are on the thin end of it. So I am very happy the tablets have helped. At the moment I am able to talk to him about things and I am trying to keep up open dialogue with him about what is going on as I feel that is important.

Thanks again for the response

 

[Kjn]

welcome to TP mary x

 

[Cat27]

Keep posting as you'll get lots of support here

 

[netsy22]

Addenbrookes score

Have just looked this up.It says "Scores in the mid 80’s suggest serious cognitive impairment or dementia. Most healthy elderly individuals will score in the 90’s". My mum took the Montreal test which is similar with different scoring. She got 16/30 which was poor. She has mild to moderate dementia but not Alzheimer's which is when you get aggression. (Based on CT scan.) Hope you get a CT scan soon.

Hello I have just joined today so am finding my feet.


My husband has been struggling with his memory for a few years now but the last year it seems to be getting much worse. With it has come some aggression and change in personality. He is 83.

He saw the GP a few weeks ago and fortunately he was happy for me to come too and he readily admitted to the GP that he was being aggressive. The GP did a short memory test on him which short reduction in his memory since the previous test two years before. He arranged for him to be seen by a nurse for a full test and also put him on anti-depressants.

I have to say the pills have helped, he hasn't been launching so many attacks and seems to be much more even tempered. The nurse came out last week and did the tests on him and he scored 86/100 on the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination. Not sure if this is 'good' or 'bad' if you know what I mean.

He is now waiting for a CT scan and will then be seen by a consultant.

The waiting is obviously very difficult and weighing on both our minds.

I just thought I would say hello as I am sure lots of people on here have been through this and know how we are feeling. It is good to say hello and hopefully I will learn lots of things which will help. Many thanks.

 

[nitram]

"..he scored 86/100 on the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination. Not sure if this is 'good' or 'bad' if you know what I mean."

88 is the accepted cut of point for screening.

More detail sheet 9 onwards
http://www.ftdrg.org/wp-content/uploads/ACE_R_Aus_guide-2011.pdf

 

[mary2000]

Thank you so much that is very informative.

I feel he does have something going on rather than just 'old age' if you know what I mean. He has always been so busy and getting on with things and capable and now he is very very tired all the time and struggles doing routine things. I really hope the CT scan is arranged quickly. This waiting is the worst.

Thank you everyone for the welcome and information I really appreciate it. It is very comforting to be able to discuss things with you on here.

 

[jorgieporgie]

Welcome to TP Mary.

 

[Lawson58]

I am not too sure about netsy22's comment about Alzheimer's and aggression. OH was diagnosed with AD almost 2 years ago and has never shown any aggression though he is quite paranoid and can be confused and irritable at times.

I know that many dementia patients can be aggressive but I don't believe that the behaviour is specific to Alzheimer's.

 

[Izzy]

My husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 15 years ago. He has never displayed any level of aggression.


Sent from my iPhone using Talking Point

 

[Spamar]

The only time OH exhibited aggression was when he also had delusions. But that could have been the vascular dementia side of things, he had both that and alzheimers.

 

[mary2000]

Hello

We are still awaiting his CT scan date. I have tried twice to chase it up but the memory assessment nurse hasn't got back to me. I phoned the hospital to see if they had received the CT request but they hadn't.

Anyway, I was wondering if very vivid dreams were anything usual. Hubby has been getting extremely vivid dreams/nightmares recently. He thrashes around and lashes out at them. The other thing he has commented on is that he is aware at night when asleep that people are talking around him. He says he can't see them they are in another room but he can hear them talking all the time. He uses a CPAP machine as he has sleep apnoea but this doesn't seem to make any difference to the nightmares etc. Otherwise, his memory is getting worse, he repeats questions or sentences many times. The other thing he is struggling with is crosswords now. He has loved doing them for many years but now he confuses across clues with down clues and writes the answers in the wrong places etc which really frustrates him.

Hope you don't mind me writing it all down but it helps for me to do so and I know that you will understand. Thank you x

 

[canary]

Of course you can write all of that down if it helps you - its what this forum is for.
And, yes, we all understand.

 

[Lawson58]

Hi Mary,

I just wanted to make a comment about your husband and crosswords as I am finding the same thing with my OH. He has always loved crosswords and was very good at spelling but now he drives me nuts with them.

His spelling is now terrible and he struggles to find the words to fit the clues but is quite obsessed with finishing them. So he spends hours on them complete with a running commentary the whole time until he gets frustrated and throws it at me. I do a few for him, pass it back and he keeps going.

I have to say that some of the spelling can be quite inventive at times. Recently, the answer to one of the clues was 'eczema' but because he couldn't think of that, he came up with 'acne' but wrote it as 'acckne' to make it fit into the required six spaces.

OH also complains about having frequent nightmares which is something he has only rarely had in the past.

 

[mary2000]

Hi Mary,

I just wanted to make a comment about your husband and crosswords as I am finding the same thing with my OH. He has always loved crosswords and was very good at spelling but now he drives me nuts with them.

His spelling is now terrible and he struggles to find the words to fit the clues but is quite obsessed with finishing them. So he spends hours on them complete with a running commentary the whole time until he gets frustrated and throws it at me. I do a few for him, pass it back and he keeps going.

I have to say that some of the spelling can be quite inventive at times. Recently, the answer to one of the clues was 'eczema' but because he couldn't think of that, he came up with 'acne' but wrote it as 'acckne' to make it fit into the required six spaces.

OH also complains about having frequent nightmares which is something he has only rarely had in the past.

Thank you so much for the reply. I really appreciate it. Yes I have noticed that hubby's spelling is getting really bad whereas before it was spot on. He gets very frustrated with it and yes he has to complete it and will work for hours on it like your husband. Interesting that your husband also gets frequent nightmares. Can I ask what diagnosis he got as obviously my husband is still at the stage of pre diagnosis.

 

[mary2000]

Of course you can write all of that down if it helps you - its what this forum is for.
And, yes, we all understand.

Thank you so much I really appreciate it. Is it difficult at the moment as not many people know he is going through this assessment and I don't want to pre-empt a diagnosis if you know what I mean so I keep most of it to myself.

 

[Lawson58]

Hi Mary,

Just to reply to your query about OH's diagnosis, the geriatrician said almost 2 years ago that he has atypical Alzheimer's which confused me at first. It seemed silly to say that his form of this disease did not fit into any usual pattern or definition of any of the dementias but the scan showed an abnormality on the brain and after extensive testing, this was the conclusion. He has other health issues and was fitted with a defibrillator after a cardiac arrest pre AD diagnosis.

But he is different to much of what I read here, for now anyway. He has short and long term memory problems, can be very paranoid, gets confused easily, cannot use a mobile phone or drive a car. However, he is mobile, showers himself and is continent, still uses a computer and surprisingly he still plays bridge regularly. Can't do crosswords!

I believe that he has had a couple of hallucinations but they involve only dogs and as they have not distressed him, I don't think he is aware that he was having them.

He has been on rivastigmine for some time which helps a lot so only time will tell how he progresses.

I hope that you can find something that will help your husband.

 

[mary2000]

Hi Mary,

Just to reply to your query about OH's diagnosis, the geriatrician said almost 2 years ago that he has atypical Alzheimer's which confused me at first. It seemed silly to say that his form of this disease did not fit into any usual pattern or definition of any of the dementias but the scan showed an abnormality on the brain and after extensive testing, this was the conclusion. He has other health issues and was fitted with a defibrillator after a cardiac arrest pre AD diagnosis.

But he is different to much of what I read here, for now anyway. He has short and long term memory problems, can be very paranoid, gets confused easily, cannot use a mobile phone or drive a car. However, he is mobile, showers himself and is continent, still uses a computer and surprisingly he still plays bridge regularly. Can't do crosswords!

I believe that he has had a couple of hallucinations but they involve only dogs and as they have not distressed him, I don't think he is aware that he was having them.

He has been on rivastigmine for some time which helps a lot so only time will tell how he progresses.

I hope that you can find something that will help your husband.

Thank you so much for replying.

It sounds like you have had a slightly different path to diagnosis and beyond but from reading this forum it seems to affect everyone is a different way so there is no set path at all. I think I have that right anyway. Makes it so hard to know what to look for or to know what is coming but to be honest I am not sure I want to know what is coming. All of this worries me so much as I am disabled and actually until recently hubby is down as my carer. I know we are in for a bumpy ride but I will take everything one day at a time which is all we can really do isn't it.

I suppose the first step will be the diagnosis and it looks like that is going to be a protracted business for how things are in this area. I will have to be patient.

In the meantime I will keep reading and learning. I have already learnt so much and appreciate all the support.

I am so glad the drug is helping your husband and I hope that continues for a long time to come. Thank you again for all the support

 

[Mal2]

Hello I have just joined today so am finding my feet.

My husband has been struggling with his memory for a few years now but the last year it seems to be getting much worse. With it has come some aggression and change in personality. He is 83.

He saw the GP a few weeks ago and fortunately he was happy for me to come too and he readily admitted to the GP that he was being aggressive. The GP did a short memory test on him which short reduction in his memory since the previous test two years before. He arranged for him to be seen by a nurse for a full test and also put him on anti-depressants.

I have to say the pills have helped, he hasn't been launching so many attacks and seems to be much more even tempered. The nurse came out last week and did the tests on him and he scored 86/100 on the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination. Not sure if this is 'good' or 'bad' if you know what I mean.

He is now waiting for a CT scan and will then be seen by a consultant.

The waiting is obviously very difficult and weighing on both our minds.

I just thought I would say hello as I am sure lots of people on here have been through this and know how we are feeling. It is good to say hello and hopefully I will learn lots of things which will help. Many thanks.

Hello Mary.

My husband was diagnosed with Dementia 12 years ago, although he started getting forgetful at home and at work, 3/4 years before. Like a lot of people, he was adamant there was nothing wrong with him. Doctors then put him on Aricept. A couple of years ago they added Memetine to his meds. There were times when, what a lots of us here on TP call, 'Mr Grumpy', appeared. Not aggressive, but, arguing. I learnt that on these occasions, to casually change the discussion to something else. These events gradually subsided and stopped. He even joked saying his memory was getting really bad, and laughed.

The only time I have know him to be aggressive, was in 2012 when he was in hospital with a UTI. I blamed the hospital for that. The nurses had no experience of 'D' patients. They were shouting at him and pulling him about, was impatient with him, amongst a lot of other things. Once home, he became, and still is, his normal loving, happy, cheerful self.

With his new meds now, hopefully your hubby will settle.


Welcome to TP. M xxx