Are these symptoms the later stages of dementia?
Mik...@anon.com
below as a late stage of dementia; or not.
I ask because my GP who saw my wife today gave me no real confidence
that she will supply any useful answer.
My wife Rosemarie who is 80 has been diagnosed with extreme dementia
(multi-infarct/mini-strokes) for two- and- a- half years. I am
helping to look after her, in our own flat within a care home. It
means also that albeit she cannot communicate she knows daily that her
husband is still with her and loves her. She is wheelchair bound,
after breaking her leg in hospital two years ago.
During recent months she has been increasingly sleepy for periods
during the day. She is not sound asleep, as if offered drinks she will
open her mouth and drink, without necessarily opening her eyes. For
about a year she has been very slow to open her mouth to be fed; this
slowness increased in recent months, to the extent that for the past
month her food has been pur�ed; at first it seemed to help but then
less so. Several times after eating in the past couple of months she
has been sick. Eating or drinking has increasingly been making her
cough.
In recent weeks her sleepiness during the day increased. A few days
before Christmas it reached the stage where she would not awake enough
to be dressed. She has been in bed ever since. She does not open her
eyes. And the strength has gone out of her voice. After eating (very
little) or drinking, her coughing is very chesty, and the chestiness
rumbles as she breathes out. This dies down after a time, but bouts of
coughing continues.
Yet Rosemarie's pulse, blood pressure, and temperature are virtually
normal.I know when I tell her I am there, and hold her hand, she is
aware of me.
The doctor found nothing wrong listening to her chest. Her main
conclusion is that she is dehydrated - but I am sure this happened
after she was confined to bed, and myself and carers have been
reluctant to keep waking her out of her deep sleep. (I can now make
sure she gets woken to drink). I gathered the doc would like to see
Rosemarie in hospital. If her symptoms are those of dementia, this
would be, I am sure, a vey retrograde step.
This seeming sleeping sickness, and choking, while maintaining vital
signals. Is it 'simply' one of the downward steps to be expected in a
late stage for dementia patients? Or dehydration? Or what else?
With much thanks for your patience in reading this far; and in the
hope I may learn something to help Rosemarie.
Kind regards to all
MikeHi
Brick
On 31-Dec-2009, Mik...@anon.com wrote:
My heart goes out to you Mike. It is not the purpose of this group
to diagnose ailments. No one here has the expertise to do that. You
need a doctor that knows what he/she is doing. I know it isn't easy
to find one. My wife went without treatment for two or three years
before we found (by accident) a doctor that had some experience
and interest in dementia. Before that, we wasted two years with
a neurologist that swore that Nathalie did not have Alzheimers
Disease.
My wife is 72 and in stage 6 Alzheimers. She cannot dress herself,
but can still eat with one hand. She cannot cut up her own food. She
does have a reasonably good appetite, but she has been losing
interesting in eating in just the last few days.
My wife also has problems with choking. She simply does not have
the normal motor controls to handling the task of swallowing without
mishap.
Call your state department of elder affairs. They can help you to find
the expertise and or funding you need for your wife. Go online.
Search (Your state) Elder Affairs. Email them or call them on the phone.
If you can't find that, call your local department of Children and
Families,
(DCF). They can help you find the resources you need including
appropriate doctors.
--
Brick (Youth is wasted on young people)
Evelyn
"Brick" <hrbr...@NOSPAMverizon.net> wrote in message
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Brick is right.
May I gently suggest, that if the doctor advises it, it may be time to let
Hospice help?
--
Evelyn
"Even as a mother protects with her life her only child, So with a boundless
heart let one cherish all living beings." --Sutta Nipata 1.8
M
Sorry you are going thru this. These do seem like the pretty
late stage symptoms I saw my Mom go thru. Has she been checked
for a UTI? Pneumonia? Also when choking started the Dr put Mom
on a thickening agent added to her food since puree was to
thin. I also had a big concern for pain management so my Mom
was on pain meds which you have to be careful about since they
can cause other(constipation etc) problems. Sorry to say but
it does sound to me like hospice should be called for an
evaluation. My Mom was under hospice care for a year while she
was in a nursing home and "graduated" because of the extra
good care she received. She then lived fairly happily for
another 6 months until an infection took her. I think you are
from outside the US so I'm not sure how you can get hospice
involved but that would be my recommendation to help figure
out what is going on with her.
Hope this helps,
Mare
--
http://www.mariannefcoleman.com/
<Mik...@anon.com> wrote in message
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Mik...@anon.com
important fact I have learned from you is that choking is a stage in
the illness, as part of lack of motor control; I was worried it might
be a different medical problem genuinely requiring a hospital stay.
I have been making sure Rosemarie gets at least two litres of liquid a
day since the doctor's advice. I'm sure you'll be glad to hear she has
become more aware the last couple of days; and what is great has been
the several really beautiful smiles of recognition.
Kind regards and my very best to you and your own loved ones
MikeHi
>
Evelyn
<Mik...@anon.com> wrote in message
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Mike, those few nice moments can be SOOOO heartening, aren't they? I
recall a few moments like that while caring for my mother in law, and it
just made all the difference. Although they were fleeting, it was as
though just for a moment, the person was themselves, their real persona,
again.
Lynn Lynn
A year before Mom passed she suffered a stroke and was unable to
swallow. She, as Mare also said, had to use a thickening agent in order
to get the liquids down.
I agree with Evelyn that Hospice would be so helpful if you are able to
utilize services in your area.
Enjoy all those special moments when communication is there. I never
realized how valuable they were until one day I no longer had them.
Lynn
Pongfoot
get her on a drip to deal with the dehydration as soon as you can.
D.
<Mik...@anon.com> wrote in message
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