Newly diagnosed Mum ..... my diary

[SnowWhite]

Mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few weeks ago and started her trial medication today. She has carers visit early each morning and they supervise this. If she has any side effects (like feeling sick or feeling dizzy then she will have to come off it as she is very unsteady on her feet and I can't have her any worse).

I am hoping that it helps her in some way. She was very chirpy tonight on the phone as she has spent the weekend here with us but other times I ring and she's very vague and confused.


It's early days and I'm still very much learning as I go along.

I asked the GP to ring me as he visited her the other day and she was a bit confused about what he said. She thought he wants to put her in a home and said he told her not to use her new walking stick which the OT has just provided.

He said he is impressed with her coping at home and thinks this is the best place for her as its familiar and he told her to use her new shelved wheeler when moving from room to room rather than the stick as it offers more support especially when she's turning. I'm glad he clarified all this!

I am so glad I found this forum. Xx

 

[Trisha4]

Hi SnowWhite. The first thing I would say is that I don't think Alzheimers medication will help your Mum in the sense of making anything better. My husband was given donepezil (aricept) which holds things for about 6 months. It then supposedly slows deterioration but cannot halt it. There is no pattern to the deterioration in terms of speed or order of things. Everyone is different. It means we have to take one day at a time and meet new challenges as they appear.
Have you sorted out Power of Attorney and Attendance Allowance? I went on CRiSP course run both the Alzheimer's society in the early days of my husband's illness and found it very useful.
Best wishes to you and your Mum. I'm glad you've found TP. You'll always find support and understanding on here.


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