So my dad has been through some rough times. He had a heart valve replacement in 04. In 06 he had cancer and it was removed and all was fine. It came back in '10. Another surgery and all was good with the cancer again. But ever since the first time with cancer he has been a little off. It started as him loosing some dexterity with his hands. Then he started forgetting stuff like how to use a tape measure with smaller increments. And he would talk to him self. In '10 after his last surgery things went down hill fast. He now talks to himself alot about how he thinks my mom is trying to mess with his meds and wont eat food she cooks. He will randomly bring up stories in the middle of a conversation. And he will yell at my mother about very random stuff. We had people over for christmas and during the good bye's a few people told my father to take it easy. Well he yelled at my mom asking what she has been telling people, why are they telling me to take it easy??

Has anybody else on here been through stuff like this with their parents?? Any advice?? The doctors tell my family the cause of this is the meds from his surgery. My father turned 69 this summer.

So Im just venting and seeing if any advice can be offered maybe to slow down the progession or maybe calm him down?? Its getting to the point where he messes up his pills. He takes 5 pills in the am and 6 in the pm. I put them in a sorting box so he just needs to open a box and take those pills. But he will sometimes take the am pills in pm or pm pills in am.

Thanks for anything you can offer and sorry if I had some horrible grammer in all that rambling.

I took care of an Alzheimers patient for a bit.

The most obvious thing I see is you need to change the way you are currently doing the medications. He should not have access to them at all, and someone needs to make sure he takes all of them every time. It stinks, but you have to treat him like a kid in that regard, especially if he's already acting paranoid.

Some medication will change a person so they act like they have dementia, when they just need some things changed.

Diet is important, though that has to be set up by someone that specifically knows the situation and has the qualifications to assign such things.

What kind of diet is he currently on?

Brad

The only meds he has access to are the ones in the pill box. Which are sectioned off am and pm for 7 days. If I took his pills away he would freak out and throw a huge fit. The dr has said if he does the am/pm switch its not a big deal as long as it doesnt happen more than 3 days in a row. Which it doesnt. Happens once a week or so. His diet is whatever he chooses besides greens. He is not allowed to have greens because of the blood thinners because of his heart valve replacement. We have talked to a few dr.s about his situation. They say its alzheimer's caused by the drugs they used when they knocked him out for surgery in combination with the material the valve is made from. Early onset of alzheimer's is a side effect of the drug they used I was told by the most recent dr.

Yes, I have, with my father in 2006-2007. Going thru it with myy b-i-l now, tho my b-i-l is still in pretty good shape--to the eye.
My father was 87 when he passed away in 2007. I'll be back a bit later to read more here.

quote Originally posted by turboguy327: The only meds he has access to are the ones in the pill box. Which are sectioned off am and pm for 7 days. If I took his pills away he would freak out and throw a huge fit. The dr has said if he does the am/pm switch its not a big deal as long as it doesnt happen more than 3 days in a row. Which it doesnt. Happens once a week or so. His diet is whatever he chooses besides greens. He is not allowed to have greens because of the blood thinners because of his heart valve replacement. We have talked to a few dr.s about his situation. They say its alzheimer's caused by the drugs they used when they knocked him out for surgery in combination with the material the valve is made from. Early onset of alzheimer's is a side effect of the drug they used I was told by the most recent dr.

As far as the pills, if he's already acting paranoid it is a small step for him to start not taking his medication, throwing it away, hiding it etc. This only makes things worse.

quote He now talks to himself alot about how he thinks my mom is trying to mess with his meds and wont eat food she cooks.

You have to act like he's a kid with medicine, food, bodily functions etc. If you had a 4 year old taking harsh medication would you just hand him a container with the days supply in it and walk out?

The main guy I took care of wouldn't even complain, he would take his pills, and when nobody was watching spit them out, nobody knew until I found a stash of pills under his chair cushion. What was really bad there was his wife wouldn't make him quit chewing tobacco, which would have just meant her stopping buying the tobacco, he would have asked for it occasionally, but been fine. Instead she would stock him up on pouches of tobacco, even helping him "hide" extras because he would set things down and lose them.

Brad

Wow. Thats crazy. You make a very good point. He isnt that bad. He knows he needs to take it. He does take it. He doesnt take extra or not enough. He just takes the pills from the wrong section. I ordered a ferris wheel type dispenser his pills that dispenses 1 set of pills. It uses a timer and alarm and drops the pills into a little cup so it cant be screwed up or taken wrong or at the wrong time. for I put a kill switch on all our vehicles so he cant drive them. I feel he isnt safe behind the wheel so I did that to keep him and anyone else on the road a little safer. His Dr told him he is ok to drive if he feels he safely can. He doesnt smoke or drink at all either.

I am taking care of my 81 year old Mom at my home who is suffering with a disease called Lewy Body Dementia (a form of Parkinsons) combined with end stage Alzheimers. She was sharp as a tack seven years ago when this horrible disease started.

The combination of the two diseases has debilitated my Mom severely. She is not mobile (wheelchair bound), her body is constantly rigid or spastic, and she is unaware of her surroundings. She does speak at times but it is mostly unintelligible. All meds have been discontinued except for sleep, comfort or pain.

There are a few meds that are supposed to help slow the progression. My Mom took a med called Namenda for awhile but all it might have done is prolong the inevitable.

If your Dad progressively gets worse, pray that he succumbs to other health issues before he gets to end stage Alzheimers.

Death would be the only relief for my Mom and I pray the Lord takes her soon.

turboguy, my mother died of Alzheimers. I can tell you that from a casual observation of your brief description, it doesn't sound like Alzheimers. An Alzheimers patient normally starts to forget the significance of things. They lose context. They also lose short term memory and the need to even have one.

What you seem to be describing is Arterial Sclerosis. That is somewhat similar to Alzheimers but the patient gets really frustrated because they know something is wrong. They get paranoid. They also get forgetful. What you need is a medical professional to do an assessment. This is going to be real rough. He may get violent with his outbursts. See the doc asap.

Arn

He has seen quite a few dr.s over this issue. His primary care dr along with 2 others. Plus the slew of nurses along with the dr visits. They say he is in the begining stages of alzheimer's and shows signs of dementia. Maybe he should be seeing another dr.

Write down the names and dosages of all the meds he's taking.
Sit down with a doctor who is willing to look at the big picture, of what those meds might be doing, when combined. Even if you have to go to another doctor to do it. (His regular doctor may brush you off, since he "knows about them" already.)

My wife's dad had alzheimers (what a horrible affliction) and we thought that his sister was being affected by it, too.
It ended up being largely due to all the meds that she was taking. This was only just realized within the last month or two.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 01-08-2012).]

quote Originally posted by Raydar: Write down the names and dosages of all the meds he's taking. Sit down with a doctor who is willing to look at the big picture, of what those meds might be doing, when combined. Even if you have to go to another doctor to do it. (His regular doctor may brush you off, since he "knows about them" already.) My wife's dad had alzheimers (what a horrible affliction) and we thought that his sister was being affected by it, too. It ended up being largely due to all the meds that she was taking. This was only just realized within the last month or two.

Any idea how I can find a dr that would do that?? Should I just go to a hospital or something?? I dont have a dr of my own as I havent been to a dr in years. My sisters brush this off and most of the rest of my family does as well. Which hurts just as much as the main issue of my fathers state.

quote Originally posted by turboguy327: Any idea how I can find a dr that would do that?? Should I just go to a hospital or something?? I dont have a dr of my own as I havent been to a dr in years. My sisters brush this off and most of the rest of my family does as well. Which hurts just as much as the main issue of my fathers state.

As Raydar mentioned and from personal experience, Get your Dad in to see a Gerontologist (a Dr. that specializes in the care of the elderly).

My Mom also had Heart valve replacement some years ago and was prescribed alot of meds. She has since been taken off all of her heart / statin meds. She went from 8 different meds to 2. It may not be time to reduce meds for your Dad, but a Gerontologist looks more at the overall picture and can help, especially with the dementia / alzheimers part.

[This message has been edited by FrugalFiero (edited 01-08-2012).]

quote Originally posted by FrugalFiero: As Raydar mentioned and from personal experience, Get your Dad in to see a Gerontologist (a Dr. that specializes in the care of the elderly). My Mom also had Heart valve replacement some years ago and was prescribed alot of meds. She has since been taken off all of her heart / statin meds. She went from 8 different meds to 2. It may not be time to reduce meds for your Dad, but a Gerontologist looks more at the overall picture and can help, especially with the dementia / alzheimers part.

He takes 6 meds. I know 1 is a blood thinner because of the heart valve. Its a stainless steel valve not a pig or cow valve. I will have to make some calls tomorow and see if I can find one of those drs and see how I can get my dad to go see them. He refuses to see any dr besides his primary as he thinks my mom tells everyone he is crazy and whenever a dr is mentioned he thinks my mom is setting him up somehow and his primary is a dickhead and wont help me help my father. He told my dad its ok to drive even though clearly he isnt. He was supposed to get a CAT scan but refused because his primary didnt tell him it was needed. Another dr sent him to get it because he tried to pick something heavy up and hurt his rib. This other dr saw the issues and agreed to help me get him help. I called his primary and told him the situation. His primary told my father it wasnt needed. If I ever see his primary somewhere shits gonna happen.

quote Originally posted by turboguy327: I found 3 Gerontologist offices I am going to call tomorrow. Thank you for that advice.

A CAT scan & a few simple tests can confirm a suspected dementia / alzheimers diagnosis. Your Dad may very likely need meds to control temper / anxiety.

Again from personal experience, try to get all your siblings on the same page. If your Dad gets worse (and you care about him, which it sounds like you do) this WILL BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO DO on your own.

Medicine can cause confusion like you are talking about as well as the paranoia.

So can infections.

Talk with your Mom, and get a second or third opinion.


Brad

quote Originally posted by FrugalFiero: A CAT scan & a few simple tests can confirm a suspected dementia / alzheimers diagnosis. Your Dad may very likely need meds to control temper / anxiety. Again from personal experience, try to get all your siblings on the same page. If your Dad gets worse (and you care about him, which it sounds like you do) this WILL BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO DO on your own.

Well thats the thing. I sometimes look at my fathers phone. Besides the holidays it could be a month or more between times my sisters contact him. My nephew calls him once in a while to borrow the truck me and my father share because he doesnt care to buy his own car. Thats about it. I have 2 other nephews that care but 1 lives in california. The other nephew calls him like once a week. But my sisters dont seem to care. One sister just cant handle it I dont think but the other just clearly doesnt care at all. My brother cares and calls but lives in kentucky and cant come and visit on a regular basis. I plan on calling his primary and the Gerontologist dr.'s tomorrow and figuring something out. I have always been under the impresion that this has been alzheimers.

In the case of my father, he had good long term memory up till the end. His short term memory was terrible. I might see him in the morning, and again in the evening, and he had no memory at all that he had seen me earlier. I might give him breakfast, and then that evening, he would say he missed breakfast, but could tell you just about everything that ever happened in his or my childhood. It was worse in the evenings than in the mornings, and some medical professionals refer to this as Sundowners syndrome, but it is part of Alziehmers.

I'm with Arns on this--it doesn't exactly sound like the Alzhiemers my Dad had, but it does sound like what my bil is going thru. No matter what, each of his Drs need to know whatthe other is prescribing---they don't all play well together. Ya need to make sure his Drs are all on the same page.

quote Originally posted by maryjane: In the case of my father, he had good long term memory up till the end. His short term memory was terrible. I might see him in the morning, and again in the evening, and he had no memory at all that he had seen me earlier. I might give him breakfast, and then that evening, he would say he missed breakfast, but could tell you just about everything that ever happened in his or my childhood. It was worse in the evenings than in the mornings, and some medical professionals refer to this as Sundowners syndrome, but it is part of Alziehmers. I'm with Arns on this--it doesn't exactly sound like the Alzhiemers my Dad had, but it does sound like what my bil is going thru. No matter what, each of his Drs need to know whatthe other is prescribing---they don't all play well together. Ya need to make sure his Drs are all on the same page.

His primary knows all the meds he is on. He does experience sundowners. He has a great attitude in the am. He never messes up his pills in the am. Around dinner time I would say is when he gets grumpy and moody and paranoid. But in the am its really no big deal. Besides a few mornings. We have a instant coffee maker(keurig) and on a few occasions he put the cup in upsidedown and made a huge mess. He would just make another cup the right way. He would leave the mess for someone else though which isnt like him at all. But in general its always at night where things arent good.

We noticed that when my father in law got stressed, his alzheimers got much worse. Maybe you can switch your dad to decaf, if he drinks a lot of caffeine. Not a cure by any means, but every little bit of improvement can make a difference.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 01-08-2012).]

quote Originally posted by Raydar: We noticed that when my father in law got stressed, his alzheimers got much worse. Maybe you can switch your dad to decaf, if he drinks a lot of caffeine. Not a cure by any means, but every little bit of improvement can make a difference.

He is on decaf. We already switched him. It didnt really affect him. He doesnt drink a ton of coffee. He drinks mostly water.

Why don't you PM Frontal Lobe and see if he would be willing to go over your dad's meds... he's a doctor in Wisconsin.

I lost my father to Alzheimer's. It's a hateful way to go.
I don't know much about what meds can do, but most Alzheimer's patients tend to lose short term memories first and older long term memories last. Old photos or items from his youth will likely still be familiar and comforting. They get agitated when they get confused because they don't understand why they're confused. Imagine a total stranger telling you they're your son. You've never seen this person before in your life, and you know that, but the person insists and then shows you a picture of the two of you together 10 years ago.

Old surroundings, even to the point of changing the decor, can help them feel like they're in familiar surroundings and that can help them deal with it better.

Also, you're at a difficult time because he still is aware enough to know what's going on, but not aware enough all the time to fully care for himself. Someone will need to administer his medication and make sure he takes it. With my father, early on he seemed normal most of the time, but would have episodes of dementia. The hardest thing we had to do was keep him from driving because most of the time he was fine to drive - but one time he got confused and ended up 200 miles out of town before the Highway Patrol found him. He didn't realize he'd left town.

I hope you have other family, friends and/or faith to lean on. This is a rough road to travel.

quote Originally posted by Formula88: I lost my father to Alzheimer's. It's a hateful way to go. I don't know much about what meds can do, but most Alzheimer's patients tend to lose short term memories first and older long term memories last. Old photos or items from his youth will likely still be familiar and comforting. They get agitated when they get confused because they don't understand why they're confused. Imagine a total stranger telling you they're your son. You've never seen this person before in your life, and you know that, but the person insists and then shows you a picture of the two of you together 10 years ago. Old surroundings, even to the point of changing the decor, can help them feel like they're in familiar surroundings and that can help them deal with it better. Also, you're at a difficult time because he still is aware enough to know what's going on, but not aware enough all the time to fully care for himself. Someone will need to administer his medication and make sure he takes it. With my father, early on he seemed normal most of the time, but would have episodes of dementia. The hardest thing we had to do was keep him from driving because most of the time he was fine to drive - but one time he got confused and ended up 200 miles out of town before the Highway Patrol found him. He didn't realize he'd left town. I hope you have other family, friends and/or faith to lean on. This is a rough road to travel.

He has have alot of short term memory loss. And he makes stuff up. Like he will tell me he has a dr.s appointment in a few weeks. I ask him why he cant go sooner and he said the dr. had to wait a month before he could get in. He told me he used to work for his dr. One time he forgot he was retired(retired in 04) and said he had to work. That severe of a forget?? has only happened once. The odd part is that like at christmas him and somebody would be having a conversation and he would suddenly talk about something that happened when he was in the navy and act like it had just happened or something but he was in the navy in the 60's.

quote Originally posted by turboguy327: He has have alot of short term memory loss. And he makes stuff up. Like he will tell me he has a dr.s appointment in a few weeks. I ask him why he cant go sooner and he said the dr. had to wait a month before he could get in. He told me he used to work for his dr. One time he forgot he was retired(retired in 04) and said he had to work. That severe of a forget?? has only happened once. The odd part is that like at christmas him and somebody would be having a conversation and he would suddenly talk about something that happened when he was in the navy and act like it had just happened or something but he was in the navy in the 60's.

That sounds about right. The confusion can manifest in a lot of ways. It's not so much making stuff up as their mind trying to remember and fill in the blanks. He's not aware he's making stuff up, most likely. There is a tendency with people to try and embellish when they don't know; however, and this also plays into it. My father used to say he'd recognize someone if asked, but if you pressed him on specifics, he couldn't remember any. He just wanted to be able to say he knew who the person was.

He'll likely keep the old memories the longest. With my dad, he forget who all of his children were, but he never forget his wife. She was the one person he remembered to the end.

quote Originally posted by Formula88: That sounds about right. The confusion can manifest in a lot of ways. It's not so much making stuff up as their mind trying to remember and fill in the blanks. He's not aware he's making stuff up, most likely. There is a tendency with people to try and embellish when they don't know; however, and this also plays into it. My father used to say he'd recognize someone if asked, but if you pressed him on specifics, he couldn't remember any. He just wanted to be able to say he knew who the person was. He'll likely keep the old memories the longest. With my dad, he forget who all of his children were, but he never forget his wife. She was the one person he remembered to the end.

He hasnt forgotten anyone yet or seemed like he did. If your telling him about somebody sometimes he will forget who they are if he isnt super close to him. Like the guys I work with. Ill tell him about stuff that happened about people he has met a few times but he wont remember them. Sometimes Ill test him too. If i take him to my sisters house Ill go the wrong way on purpose and he will ask me why Im not going the right way. Its very iffy on what is remembered and what isnt. We had some family over the other night and there was a movie on with no so good language and there where little kids around. He got mad and starting telling me to turn it off but couldnt tell me why til I realized there was bad language. He thanked me this morning for turning the bad language off but it happened thursday night.

Father died in 2004 of cancer at age 92 but had suffered from dementia for two years prior which brought me back home to assist my Mom with Dad's care. Almost immediately after Dad's death Mom developed early stages of Alzheimer's Disease which has progressed steadily but slowly over the past seven and a half years. I've got to to say as her sole offspring I am totally worn out looking after her but will not commit her to a nursing home. Not certain if I'll survive her or not. Read some time ago that family caregivers lose 6 to 8 years off of their lifespan due to caregiving and I believe it. She's Mom, I'm all she has and I'm glad I can be here for her but it comes with a great emotional cost. Life's a ***** and then you die (or marry one); unfortunately I have/will experience both. Mom is 96 years of age. Tired, tired, tired.

I am in your Dad's age bracket--I'll be 74 on Tuesday--and my 84 year old brother is in a nursing home in Pasadena, TX with Alzheimer's. Some of your Dad's symptoms are indicative of old age while others may well be arterial sclerosis as another has suggested. I had a series of transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) and it precipitated huge changes in my personality but the worst thing was that I lost large gaps of memory that is slowly returning.

I cared for my brother for nearly a month in 2007 and had to constantly remind him of small things and endure the changes I had seen in him in three short years. It was sad to see the strongest one of we siblings deteriorate so quickly. He is the one enduring this incidious disease but family endures seeing their loved one slowly die.

Two Fat and others have offered good advice but consider investigating with a doctor's advice about TIAs and his meds. Too many times the medical profession latches onto one avenue only to find it is a dead end. (Excuse the metaphor) I pray that your Dad doesn't have Alzheimers.

I almost forgot (see? forgetfullness is an indication of old age!) My TIA medication causes gigantic mood swings and irritability. It is Keppra or the generic is levitericetam. Nasty stuff but it keeps me from having seizures. See if one of his meds is the one I mention and ask the doc if you can lower the dosage. I cut mine in half and no ill effects.

quote Originally posted by starlightcoupe: I am in your Dad's age bracket--I'll be 74 on Tuesday--and my 84 year old brother is in a nursing home in Pasadena, TX with Alzheimer's. Some of your Dad's symptoms are indicative of old age while others may well be arterial sclerosis as another has suggested. I had a series of transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) and it precipitated huge changes in my personality but the worst thing was that I lost large gaps of memory that is slowly returning. I cared for my brother for nearly a month in 2007 and had to constantly remind him of small things and endure the changes I had seen in him in three short years. It was sad to see the strongest one of we siblings deteriorate so quickly. He is the one enduring this incidious disease but family endures seeing their loved one slowly die. Two Fat and others have offered good advice but consider investigating with a doctor's advice about TIAs and his meds. Too many times the medical profession latches onto one avenue only to find it is a dead end. (Excuse the metaphor) I pray that your Dad doesn't have Alzheimers. I almost forgot (see? forgetfullness is an indication of old age!) My TIA medication causes gigantic mood swings and irritability. It is Keppra or the generic is levitericetam. Nasty stuff but it keeps me from having seizures. See if one of his meds is the one I mention and ask the doc if you can lower the dosage. I cut mine in half and no ill effects.

Thats not one of his meds. I just PM'd a med list to frontal lobe. Thank you for your prayers. Its already been stressful. Besides my mom I really have no one either. My mom is 58 so I hope she will be around for many more years. It really seems his primary doesnt care at all about the situation. I have tried contacting him for over 3 months and have yet to get a return phone call or anything else. I wanted to tell him everything going on with him but the dr doesnt care to return a call. Yea I know he is busy but over a 3 month period he cant find 10 minutes??

I lost my Great Uncle to Alzheimer's. He was one of those happy go luck guys when I was younger, loved to joke around and give people a hard time. Then when I was about 13 years old he started slipping away and was in full denial of having Alzheimer's. He had a chance to fight it when the doctor's diagnosed him with Alzheimer's, but he refused treatment and was in full denial. Kept saying the Doctor's were stupid and had no idea what they were talking about. He was young when he was diagnosed, 48 years old. He slipped away very fast, turned into a complete vegetable in a few years. I remember the first year he was always in denial about, then later on in the year he went to forgetting things and simple daily tasks, then to being angry alot (which was never like him). Then by the time I was 15, his was not there at all. His body couldn't function properly, he was eventually placed on a feeding tube. He starting choking on his food alot. Then by my 16th Birthday, his body slowly shut down and his heart finally stopped. Absolutely one of the worst ways to pass away.

I currently have my Great Grandmother (my mothers side) who has Alzheimer's. She is mid-stage of it. First year the doctor thought she had Alzheimer's but the Doctor wanted to put her on Razadyne and start testing her for Alzheimer's. My grandmother convinced her to do it, so she did for a little while. Then she became very hostile saying she doesn't need the meds and she doesn't have Alzheimer's and she wouldn't take the test. My grandmother could never convince her again. I initially disassembled my great grandmother's car so she couldn't go anywhere while my grandmother was at work, she was livid. But she kept "Going to Wal-Mart" then we would go out to look for her and she wasn't there, then we would get a call from a Police Officer and she would be in Jay or Rumford, ME, she lived in Norway, ME. Its a considerable distance from the closest Wal-Mart in Oxford, ME. Then it got to the point where she forgot who people are. Now she vaguely knows who I am, and my grandmother has to introduce herself everyday when she goes and sees her in the Veterans Home. My great grandmother is in her early 80's and she was one of the healthiest older people I knew. She used to jog everyday up to she was 78 years old I believe, she twisted her ankle and never got back out after that.

My grandfather, I believe is going down the road of severe dementia . Right before I deployed my Grandfather fell real sick and was hanging on by a thread. He had a Blood Infection and it took the doctors awhile to figure that out, so now he isn't the same. My grandfather went from being an unstoppable hard working man to can't swing an axe. It was extremely worried I was going to lose my grandfather and I still am. He forgets everything, including his diabetes medication. Its rough, real rough. My grandfather is a super hero in my mind, always has been and always will be. He is too young for this (he is 67 years old).

turboguy327- I wish you and your family the best. I hope that your family will be supportive. Its going to be a rough road if he does have Alzheimer's. I would get him to a doctor ASAP to see if he does or not. If he does have Alzheimer's, now would be the time to get his affairs in order (living will and things like that), my great grandmother refused to do one because she was in denial so now my grandmother is fighting against her brothers and sisters because they have already raided my great grandmother's house because they felt that they are entitled to certain things. I am not saying this is your family, so please don't take it the wrong way. I have seen this twice now (Uncle and Great Grandmother) and it seems death or near death does strange things to families and greed rears its ugly head. I refused to inherit anything, nothing can replace my Uncle or my Great Grandmother.

Again, I wish you and your family the best. I hope this isn't the case with your father because it is absolutely one of the worst ways to go and I wish it upon nobody. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have if I have the answer.

quote Originally posted by turboguy327: His primary knows all the meds he is on. He does experience sundowners. He has a great attitude in the am. He never messes up his pills in the am. Around dinner time I would say is when he gets grumpy and moody and paranoid. But in general its always at night where things arent good.

That does sound like meds. If it is strictly dementia, you would not have a daily pattern like that. If you can find out the name of his meds, go on line and find out the side effects for each one. I'll bet you find it.

Arn

quote Originally posted by craigsfiero2007: I lost my Great Uncle to Alzheimer's. He was one of those happy go luck guys when I was younger, loved to joke around and give people a hard time. Then when I was about 13 years old he started slipping away and was in full denial of having Alzheimer's. He had a chance to fight it when the doctor's diagnosed him with Alzheimer's, but he refused treatment and was in full denial. Kept saying the Doctor's were stupid and had no idea what they were talking about. He was young when he was diagnosed, 48 years old. He slipped away very fast, turned into a complete vegetable in a few years. I remember the first year he was always in denial about, then later on in the year he went to forgetting things and simple daily tasks, then to being angry alot (which was never like him). Then by the time I was 15, his was not there at all. His body couldn't function properly, he was eventually placed on a feeding tube. He starting choking on his food alot. Then by my 16th Birthday, his body slowly shut down and his heart finally stopped. Absolutely one of the worst ways to pass away. I currently have my Great Grandmother (my mothers side) who has Alzheimer's. She is mid-stage of it. First year the doctor thought she had Alzheimer's but the Doctor wanted to put her on Razadyne and start testing her for Alzheimer's. My grandmother convinced her to do it, so she did for a little while. Then she became very hostile saying she doesn't need the meds and she doesn't have Alzheimer's and she wouldn't take the test. My grandmother could never convince her again. I initially disassembled my great grandmother's car so she couldn't go anywhere while my grandmother was at work, she was livid. But she kept "Going to Wal-Mart" then we would go out to look for her and she wasn't there, then we would get a call from a Police Officer and she would be in Jay or Rumford, ME, she lived in Norway, ME. Its a considerable distance from the closest Wal-Mart in Oxford, ME. Then it got to the point where she forgot who people are. Now she vaguely knows who I am, and my grandmother has to introduce herself everyday when she goes and sees her in the Veterans Home. My great grandmother is in her early 80's and she was one of the healthiest older people I knew. She used to jog everyday up to she was 78 years old I believe, she twisted her ankle and never got back out after that. My grandfather, I believe is going down the road of severe dementia . Right before I deployed my Grandfather fell real sick and was hanging on by a thread. He had a Blood Infection and it took the doctors awhile to figure that out, so now he isn't the same. My grandfather went from being an unstoppable hard working man to can't swing an axe. It was extremely worried I was going to lose my grandfather and I still am. He forgets everything, including his diabetes medication. Its rough, real rough. My grandfather is a super hero in my mind, always has been and always will be. He is too young for this (he is 67 years old). turboguy327- I wish you and your family the best. I hope that your family will be supportive. Its going to be a rough road if he does have Alzheimer's. I would get him to a doctor ASAP to see if he does or not. If he does have Alzheimer's, now would be the time to get his affairs in order (living will and things like that), my great grandmother refused to do one because she was in denial so now my grandmother is fighting against her brothers and sisters because they have already raided my great grandmother's house because they felt that they are entitled to certain things. I am not saying this is your family, so please don't take it the wrong way. I have seen this twice now (Uncle and Great Grandmother) and it seems death or near death does strange things to families and greed rears its ugly head. I refused to inherit anything, nothing can replace my Uncle or my Great Grandmother. Again, I wish you and your family the best. I hope this isn't the case with your father because it is absolutely one of the worst ways to go and I wish it upon nobody. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have if I have the answer.

Out of curiosity... what was your great uncle's profession during life? What did he work around a lot? Thanks....

quote Originally posted by 1985FieroGT: Out of curiosity... what was your great uncle's profession during life? What did he work around a lot? Thanks....

My Great Uncle did some Home Building for a while, then Decided to work at Disney World in Florida and did some investing at that time. Then he retired.

I was asking because one of the theories behind Alzheimer's is that aluminum causes it or something like that... somehow aluminum builds up in the system that they think might cause it, or alzheimer's causes it to build up... because after autopsies performed on the deceased always have aluminum in them...

Anyone that uses aluminum metal cook things, please get rid of them...

My best wishes to you and your family.

My 62 year old brother has dementia and battled serious depression (bi-polar / manive depressive) for nearly forty years. From my studies have found that 40% of all dementia patiences suffer from depression. The biggest symtom is the short-term memory loss. Due to the depression, he overdoses on over the counter sleeping pills to kill the pain of his depression. He used to use beer constantly. Because of the depression, he doesn't eat or drink fluids. This makes his dementia symtoms even worse.

In his most reacent epsoide, (12/4) a neighbor took him to the hospital badly dehydrated to the point his kidneys were about to shutdown. This gave him an opportunity to get fed and fluids. Get the sleeping pills out of his sytems, etc. However, the hospital would not releae him and we started tempory guardianship on him. He was/is okay with me being appointed his guardian. I am trying to get him into assisted living, but he is absolutly fighting me and everyone on giving up his independence including his financial independence. He cut his wriists on Christmas day and escaped from the hospital the night before I was to take him to assisted living. He went home to his apartment and neither me or the police could make him go. I would need the county to issue a medical warrant. I will see what happens when I go to court in February for full guardianship.

Some things I have observed and the information I found is good nutrition and drinking fluids is important. Once study suggested vitimin B12 may help. Of coarse, avoiding alcohol and illegal drugs is important.

Thanks for allowing me to vent.

Jeff

I haven't been through it with my parents, but my parents had to deal with my Grandfather, and I got to witness some of it first hand. When he started peeing in the corner is when they had all they could take, and they put him in a nursing home. It's as hard on the family as it is the patient, don't feel guilty if you become frustrated. However, I read, in your first post, that the Doctors say it might be medicine induced, so maybe this is short term. No matter what the issue, I'll say a pray for you and your family.

Jim

Alzheimers is a mean disease. My folks are going through it and our family has tried to come together to frabricate help however we can. Its something new every day till the next new delima. Some days are better than others but no day is normal to the uneffected. There is just not enough that can be done if you are the effected.

Once a man twice a child if you live long enough. Growing up is encouraging. Growing out is un-nerving!! Each situation is different even know many of the issues of the situation are the same. I have found alzheimers to turn the most easiest folks to deal with into the most difficult folks to deal with. What a test of one's abilities to maintain sanity for all those people that have to deal with alzheimers.

With Alzheimers Science has no answers for God's test of will.

Peace be with us all!!