Thank you all so much for your words of support and advice. I have now been back to see my GP and he has advised me to get in touch with my consultant and ask for counselling. I'm hoping that he will agree that as a family this will be beneficial to us all. At the moment I am still off work. The thought of walking back into a classroom fills me with dread. I was finding things difficult before my diagnosis and now that my confidence has taken a bit of a nose dive i don't think I am ready to go back in to class at the moment.
To answer some of the questions people have asked. Unfortunately I can't remember most of them but will do my best.
I have been prescribed Donepezil which won't cure my Alzheimer's but is supposed to help make me feel more confident. Fingers crossed it will start to work soon.
I am under a consultant at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London.
I too have problems with spelling words. I use the right letters but in the wrong order so I'm always going back a correcting what I have written. I find this, and not being able to think of the next word really really annoying and frustrating. Also remembering conversations is another difficulty and it used to cause a lot of rows between my husband and I, until he cottoned on that I genuinely don't remember a lot of what is said.
It's lovely to read that some of you are doing so well after being diagnosed several years ago. I find that quite encouraging and hope I am as fortunate.
How long did it take for you to stop feeling so upset when telling people? I haven't told many people as I find it's too hard and I get too choked up. the other thing that I have found is that since telling the people I thought I was closest too, especially family, only one friend keeps in touch and every week she asks me how I'm doing.
Once again thank you for all your lovely responses to my original post. They have really helped xxx
So sorry to hear of your anguish. I can only agree with everything that everyone has said.
My husband was diagnosed in 2004 and apart from the 6 monthly checks at the memory clinic, we were left to get on with it. Even now if he is not well and I call the doctor, the first words are, we will send someone to take blood samples, well that can take anything from 7-10days, during that time, I have treated him with Paracetamol, by the time the doctor comes back to me, I just tell him I have got him better myself.
I did read a couple of chapters of a book I was given regarding Alheimer's and Dementia. that was all I could go through, it was so depressing, and, we all know no two people are the same. The whole family and I, although we knew our lives were going to change someday, decided we would take each day as it came. It is only recently, 18 months, that things are different, and, there are some difficult days.
We did lots of things over the years, that we were going to do when we retired, enjoyed going out with the family, and took lots of photo's, that now my husband enjoys looking at, and sometimes a glimmer of remembering. Live each day as it comes, make the most of everything. I am so glad we did all these things then.
I would suggest one thing to do now, for that hopefully, far, far, far off day, do a Power of Attorney.,
Be positive. At the moment, you are fine and hopefully have many good years in front
of you. By then, there can be new medications to improve and control, and, God willing maybe even a cure. Massive hugs to you.