Thank you for letting me join this group. I feel I need to be able to chat with other people who are going through this awful journey. I know things will only get worse & sometimes wonder how I will cope then when I have trouble coping now at the start of our journey.
The start of our journey
- Thread starter Linux
- Start date
Welcome to the forums @Linux, you will find support and advice here.
Sorry you are having to adjust, those early stages were pretty scary for me too. Once all this current lockdown upheaval settles down again it would be worth exploring power of attorney, carers groups and memory cafes. AgeUK, the Alzheimer's Society and your local carers support centre should be able to help with those.
Keep posting and read other threads, if you want to ask anything or just let off steam.
Sorry you are having to adjust, those early stages were pretty scary for me too. Once all this current lockdown upheaval settles down again it would be worth exploring power of attorney, carers groups and memory cafes. AgeUK, the Alzheimer's Society and your local carers support centre should be able to help with those.
Keep posting and read other threads, if you want to ask anything or just let off steam.
Hello Linux
I read your comments and felt the need to reply. I know very little about your background eg presumably you are caring for a partner or possibly an elderly parent, etc? Please be assured you are welcome on this forum.
I fully appreciate how difficult it can be in the early days of dealing with a loved one who has Dementia. You may have little knowledge of the illness, filled with dread of what may come later, you may feel overwhelmed by a mixture of emotions. Matters made additionally worse by the extra background worries all people have regarding Coronavirus. Please try to understand that those feelings are experienced by all carers in the early days. Try not to doubt yourself, give yourself time to adjust to your new circumstances. Try not to let your feelings or thoughts dwell on what you fear the future holds. Try and settle your thoughts for the moment in the current moment. There will be problems in the caring role, but try not to increase your load today, by worrying what may happen and when in the future.
Do you have any family and friends who you can talk to? Please consider contacting the Alzheimer’s society help desk. They will be very supportive, they will listen to your concerns. Nae Sporran made several useful suggestions regarding matters you will need to consider. The list may seem daunting but advice and guidance is available as suggested. Local carers groups organised by the Alzheimers Society have I believe been suspended across the country, due to Coronavirus, but it and Admiral Nurses have help lines to contact. Please seek out the carers guide document on this site, a good place to start for information. Sorry my computer skills are to poor to supply links. Hopefully a helpful soul will do so for you soon.
Please remember one observation. At one level deep down no one wanted to join this forum through positive choice. An illness in a loved one brings people to this site. That said there are many lovely people who regularly post on this site. Politicians use the phrase “we are all in this together”. For them usually a fairly meaningless sound bite. The members of this forum are all in this together and offer each other very good advice and guidance. Post a problem and someone usually comes along quite quickly with an answer. The current Coronavirus is a case in point.
Please follow the current threads and search for older ones on specific subjects. If nothing else through this forum hopefully you will see that you are not alone in your situation. Welcome to the forum. Be gentle with yourself, allow time to adjust.
I read your comments and felt the need to reply. I know very little about your background eg presumably you are caring for a partner or possibly an elderly parent, etc? Please be assured you are welcome on this forum.
I fully appreciate how difficult it can be in the early days of dealing with a loved one who has Dementia. You may have little knowledge of the illness, filled with dread of what may come later, you may feel overwhelmed by a mixture of emotions. Matters made additionally worse by the extra background worries all people have regarding Coronavirus. Please try to understand that those feelings are experienced by all carers in the early days. Try not to doubt yourself, give yourself time to adjust to your new circumstances. Try not to let your feelings or thoughts dwell on what you fear the future holds. Try and settle your thoughts for the moment in the current moment. There will be problems in the caring role, but try not to increase your load today, by worrying what may happen and when in the future.
Do you have any family and friends who you can talk to? Please consider contacting the Alzheimer’s society help desk. They will be very supportive, they will listen to your concerns. Nae Sporran made several useful suggestions regarding matters you will need to consider. The list may seem daunting but advice and guidance is available as suggested. Local carers groups organised by the Alzheimers Society have I believe been suspended across the country, due to Coronavirus, but it and Admiral Nurses have help lines to contact. Please seek out the carers guide document on this site, a good place to start for information. Sorry my computer skills are to poor to supply links. Hopefully a helpful soul will do so for you soon.
Please remember one observation. At one level deep down no one wanted to join this forum through positive choice. An illness in a loved one brings people to this site. That said there are many lovely people who regularly post on this site. Politicians use the phrase “we are all in this together”. For them usually a fairly meaningless sound bite. The members of this forum are all in this together and offer each other very good advice and guidance. Post a problem and someone usually comes along quite quickly with an answer. The current Coronavirus is a case in point.
Please follow the current threads and search for older ones on specific subjects. If nothing else through this forum hopefully you will see that you are not alone in your situation. Welcome to the forum. Be gentle with yourself, allow time to adjust.
Hello @Linux and welcome from me too. I hope you find the forum to be a friendly and supportive place.
I hope you have time to take a good look around the site as it is a goldmine for information. When I first joined I read old threads for information but then found the AS Publications list and the page where a post code search can be done to check for support services in ones own area. If you are interested in these, clicking the following links will take you there
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/publications-factsheets-full-list
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/find-support-near-you
You will see that there are Factsheets that will help with things like getting care needs assessments, deciding the level of care required and sorting out useful things like Wills, Power of Attorney etc., if any of that hasn't already been done. There is also a Dementia Guide in the list.
Now that you have found us I hope you will keep posting as the membership has vast collective knowledge and experience.
I hope you have time to take a good look around the site as it is a goldmine for information. When I first joined I read old threads for information but then found the AS Publications list and the page where a post code search can be done to check for support services in ones own area. If you are interested in these, clicking the following links will take you there
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/publications-factsheets-full-list
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/find-support-near-you
You will see that there are Factsheets that will help with things like getting care needs assessments, deciding the level of care required and sorting out useful things like Wills, Power of Attorney etc., if any of that hasn't already been done. There is also a Dementia Guide in the list.
Now that you have found us I hope you will keep posting as the membership has vast collective knowledge and experience.
