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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Alzheimer's / May 2006Actions
I was wondering if any of you experienced your moms thinking they were a man.Occasionally my mom will say "Those are girl clothes,I am a man".Also she will be looking directly into space talking to someone.Do they actually see someone?It's spooky sometimes.LOL And if I leave the room and come back she will ask me where that lady went.I am assuming she is referring to me but thinking i am someone different when i come back in.Or if she see's a blanket she automatically thinks it's a baby or child.Or someone was just sitting by her and she wants to know where they went.Of course no one was.Strange this disease is.Thanx,Barb > I was wondering if any of you experienced your moms > thinking they were a man.Occasionally my mom will say [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > to know where they went.Of course no one was.Strange this > disease is.Thanx,Barb =============================== My MIL had lots of strange hallucinations... I think it's just a part of the disease.  SignatureJohn Inzer >> I was wondering if any of you experienced your moms >> thinking they were a man.Occasionally my mom will say [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > My MIL had lots of strange hallucinations... > I think it's just a part of the disease. I agree. So did my MIL. She imagined all kinds of things. Risperdol helped a lot, especially with the more anxiety producing delusions. SignatureBest Regards, Evelyn (to reply to me personally, remove 'sox') >> I was wondering if any of you experienced your moms >> thinking they were a man.Occasionally my mom will say [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > My MIL had lots of strange hallucinations... > I think it's just a part of the disease. My mother has imagined all sorts of things that haven't happened. A while back she was sure that some malevolent person had called her up and told her they had her personal information and were going to steal all her money. She closed all her bank accounts before my brother could find out and stop her. It's not that I don't believe that there are bad people out there who will prey on old people and steal their money -- I know there are. I just don't believe that they call up and warn you, first. Recently she told my brother she'd been to the funeral of a baby who'd died, with the mother sobbing "Don't put my baby into that dark hole!" She's never spoken of anything of the sort before in my 47 years -- sounds like she's having flashbacks to some novel she read; maybe the part of Gone With The Wind where Bonnie dies. She imagined her ex-brother-in-law (and we're talking about 40 years ex) called and wanted to get together with her to discuss some financial deal. And when she visited me recently, practically every building in town that she noticed, she was sure she'd been in before. I'm thinking, "Mom, I've lived here for 14 years, and *I've* never been in there..." It's hard, because if you point out that she's wrong, she gets annoyed, and if you say, "Okay, Mom, whatever you say" she gets annoyed... Dana Hey Dana, My MIL was fairly deaf, and hearing aids only helped so much. Once she got AD, she was not great about adjusting or even wearing her hearing aids - and as the dementia advanced, her ability to interpolate based on lip reading and intelligent guesses declined. She would relate these long involved and very specific conversations she claimed to have had with other residents, where they would argue with her about details of her own family history (i.e. conversations that could not have taken place, since the other residents didn't know her well, wouldn't have known any details about her family, and were mostly pretty confused themselves). Sample: she would tell us the lady she ate lunch with had been making rude comments about her sisters or mother, or saying that her clothing didn't belong to her (which resulted in her hiding a couple of outfits in balls in the closet). She insisted that the people in the room next to her were talking about her all the time - problem was, her room was at the end of the hall, and there WAS no room where she insisted these bad people lived. Oy. M. Vivid visual hallucinations are often a sign of Lewy Body as opposed to Alzheimer's. http://www.lewybodyjournal.org/whatlbdis.html M. I've been lurking in this group for a few weeks. I have to ask what "MIL" is. I believe it's Mother-in-Law????? Am I correct? Thanks Mike > I've been lurking in this group for a few weeks. I have > to ask what "MIL" is. > I believe it's Mother-in-Law????? Am I correct? ================================== Yes, you are correct...mother-in-law... SignatureJohn Inzer Mike, You are correct. Hope everyones having a great weekend.Got all my bird feeders put out.Well have a good one.Barb > Hope everyones having a great weekend.Got all my bird feeders put > out.Well have a good one.Barb Hi Barb, It's been gorgeous so far :-) My son took us out to dinner for hubby's birthday, and an early mothers day. It is nice that I have come to the age when my son takes us out for dinner, and pays too! Hope you all have a nice weekend too. SignatureBest Regards, Evelyn (to reply to me personally, remove 'sox') Evelyn, Yes,our kids can be awesome.When i said "I" put up my feeders I should have said I sat on our porch and told my hubby and son where i wanted them.Ha-Ha They did it all for me.Barb Hello, Where is everyone? Had a good weekend.My mom was in an especially good mood.No clue why,but i enjoyed it.Well hope someone comes around.Barb > Hello, > Where is everyone? Had a good weekend.My mom was in an especially > good mood.No clue why,but i enjoyed it.Well hope someone comes > around.Barb Hi Barb, Nobody around but us 'chickens' I guess ! :-) Maybe they are all taking advantage of the lovely spring weather and doing some gardening? I do hope everybody is OK. My news is boring but nice.....The lilacs and wisteria are blooming all around here now. We have had incredibly gorgeous weather. I have been looking for some time now to find some perfect pillows to put on my sofa and loveseat, and yesterday I found them! They really are just the thing and they make the look of the room. Got some new finely stitched quilts for summer too. Nothing cheers me up like some nice crisp new linens and stuff for the house. Got great deals on everything too. I also ordered some new clothes for summer (which haven't yet arrived) so I watch each day for the UPS man. Boring, mundane little things, but nice. They always say that 'no news is good news.' So in that sense, it's all good. Hope your lives are good too. :-) SignatureBest Regards, Evelyn (to reply to me personally, remove 'sox') Barb, you just take all the good you can get! There's little enough to enjoy. Gwen > Hello, > Where is everyone? Had a good weekend.My mom was in an especially > good mood.No clue why,but i enjoyed it.Well hope someone comes > around.Barb I'm around... THOUGHT things would be all slowed down by now and I'd have lots of free time but hasn't worked out that way... just too darned popular for my own good - start school tomorrow (as a student this time, not the teacher) and my face is all mashed up (fainted yesterday - something I do with somewhat alarming regularity *sigh* Usually manage to land better than I did this time though) Running around fixing people's computers.... keep raising my prices and they keep right on calling. making major changes at our store, which means I'm spending tons of time researching, talking to people, etc... mostly things are still going well with MIL ... she continues to deteriorate, of course ... but its manageable. Went thru a period of very bratty 2 year old behaviour... not as extreme now, but still bratty.... wants to eat with her hands, throwing spoons, food, whatever on the floor.... all so much cuter when it's a wee one!!!! > Hello, > Where is everyone? Had a good weekend.My mom was in an especially > good mood.No clue why,but i enjoyed it.Well hope someone comes > around.Barb Hi, everyone, It's been a while since I've contributed - not much uninterrupted computer time these days. It was a year ago that my husband stopped driving (very reluctantly). At first he stayed home for an hour or two while I did errands or had a cup of coffee with my friends. That didn't last long - he was getting into mischief. So it has been 24/7 supervision since then. We were fortunate to find a home companion that comes twice a week and more recently a day care center three times a week. He's not thrilled about me being away from him for any length of time. But it's important for him to know there are others who will take good care of him. Just as importantly, I know that I NEED time for myself. This is not something I can do by myself. I've seen recent deficits - not remembering how to shave, confusing day and night, forgetting that he's just eaten. And so it goes - a slow macabre dance in reverse. Thanks to all of you for being here, your posts are a great help and comfort. Ruth Ruth, Thank You for the update.Good luck and I will be thinking of you.Barb Ruth,you are very wise to realize you need time for yourself, and to make arrangements to get it. My husbands neurologist stressed that to me every time we saw him. Gwen > Hi, everyone, > It's been a while since I've contributed - not much uninterrupted computer [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Ruth Hello, I am Dale, a former caregiver and new to the group. I want to share a fun moment for my Aunt and I in re to bird feeders. I had put two shepard hooks with bird feeders on them to amuse my elder and I had a problem with squirrels eating all of the bird food. So one day I told my Aunt that I was going to fix them. I got some KY jelly out and lubed the sheppard hooks real good. The next day the squirrel came and I was a little dissappointed when he reached 3/4 of the way up the pole. But that is as far as he got. My Aunt and I got the biggest laugh looking at the face on that squirrel as he slid all the way down the pole and sprinted off. Wishing you all the amusement and stress free moments you can get. Kindly, Dale > Ruth,you are very wise to realize you need time for yourself, and to make > arrangements to get it. My husbands neurologist stressed that to me every [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > > > Ruth > I am Dale, a former caregiver and new to the group. I want to share a >fun moment for my Aunt and I in re to bird feeders. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >and sprinted off. > Wishing you all the amusement and stress free moments you can get. If that's what you consider fun, why not put your aunt up the tree too! anthony shipley Run away with me; I can make you unhappy. Dale, thanks for sharing. Gwen > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] >> > >> > Ruth > (fainted yesterday - something I do > with somewhat alarming regularity *sigh* this is something you need to discuss with a doctor, ASAP. seriously. been there, done that... he says cough synchope *shrug* him shrugging like it just doesn't matter, NOT ME it's scary ...and damned inconvenient to boot >> (fainted yesterday - something I do >> with somewhat alarming regularity *sigh* > > this is something you need to discuss with a doctor, ASAP. > seriously. Grayson did one time, and our cardiologist did all kinds of tests on him after just one time. Gwen > been there, done that... he says cough synchope *shrug* > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >> this is something you need to discuss with a doctor, ASAP. >> seriously. I spent 3 weeks in hospital a couple of years ago and had all sorts of tests re: angina.... they decided I was fine ... at that point, I'd never fainted or anything ... just angina.... my doctor seems to feel that since they didn't find anything concrete then, there's nothing to worry about now > Grayson did one time, and our cardiologist did all kinds of tests on him > after just one time. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >>> this is something you need to discuss with a doctor, ASAP. >>> seriously. Lee, I think getting a new doctor is a very good idea. Gwen >I spent 3 weeks in hospital a couple of years ago and had all sorts of >tests re: angina.... they decided I was fine ... at that point, I'd never [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >>>> this is something you need to discuss with a doctor, ASAP. >>>> seriously. not generally an easy thing to do up here...there's a shortage!.... but if MILs - or maybe hubby's? doc will see me, I'll try that, I think > Lee, I think getting a new doctor is a very good idea. > Gwen [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] >>>>> this is something you need to discuss with a doctor, ASAP. >>>>> seriously. > Lee, I think getting a new doctor is a very good idea. > Gwen I would tend to agree. I have a friend who fainted, struck his head in falling, and ended up having brain surgery to get rid of the clot, etc. etc. Not a good thing at all. You should get it checked further, Lee. If I were you, I'd want to know more. SignatureBest Regards, Evelyn (to reply to me personally, remove 'sox') >>I spent 3 weeks in hospital a couple of years ago and had all sorts of >>tests re: angina.... they decided I was fine ... at that point, I'd never [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >>>>> this is something you need to discuss with a doctor, ASAP. >>>>> seriously. this last time is the first time i've really hurt myself.... broke my new glasses by mashing them into my face ... whole left side of my face mashed... I still look like I've been beaten or something, although at least my nose and lip are back to their normal size *sigh* >> Lee, I think getting a new doctor is a very good idea. >> Gwen [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] >>>>>> this is something you need to discuss with a doctor, ASAP. >>>>>> seriously. > this last time is the first time i've really hurt myself.... broke my new > glasses by mashing them into my face ... whole left side of my face > mashed... I still look like I've been beaten or something, although at > least my nose and lip are back to their normal size *sigh* Definitely time to look into it further with some real diagnostics etc. It could've been nothing (like landing on a soft carpet) or it could've been like the guy I know who ended up in such a jam. Too dangerous to take the chance, not knowing which. SignatureBest Regards, Evelyn (to reply to me personally, remove 'sox') > at that point, I'd never fainted > or anything ... just angina.... my doctor seems to feel that since they > didn't find anything concrete then, there's nothing to worry about now it really is time for a new doc. angina is a VERY SERIOUS heart problem. surely you're getting treatment for it? nope... not really ... had the full work up 2/3 years ago and they decided it wasn't indicitive of anything serious... said "its safe to ignore" At the time, the doctor said that it would be important for me to have regular monitoring re: cholesterol and blood pressure and so on, because I would ignore any chest pain because it's ongoing... but he's never once done either without my asking him to ... nor given me results of anything... I do have diuretics for the really bad days ... left up to me as to whether to take them or not ... and nitro spray ... used to use a patch, as well, but it's not as constant now, so I don't use those any more (partly because I have enough problems with fainting WITHOUT using medications that can cause dizziness & fainting) bad days tend to be days when my kidney function can't keep up .... fluid retention is not uncommon for women at times... for me, it leads to a great deal of back pain/discomfort (cranky kidneys) and angina .... haven't had a normal urinalysis in about 8 years, but that too seems to not concern the Dr. at all... just says "you must just always have elevated protein" I've made an appointment with him for Monday (need a note for school since my profs aren't 'comfortable' with my asking them to not call an ambulance if I should happen to faint in class without one - go figure) .... but unless he suddenly decides to start shiving a git all of a sudden, think you're right, and it will be time to explore other options. Much as I've always liked him ... I really don't feel that I'm getting good care at this point. >> at that point, I'd never fainted >> or anything ... just angina.... my doctor seems to feel that since they >> didn't find anything concrete then, there's nothing to worry about now >> > it really is time for a new doc. angina is a VERY SERIOUS heart > problem. surely you're getting treatment for it? Lee, you certainly are not getting good care with that doctor. Please find another one! Gwen > nope... not really ... had the full work up 2/3 years ago and they > decided it wasn't indicitive of anything serious... said "its safe to [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] >> it really is time for a new doc. angina is a VERY SERIOUS heart >> problem. surely you're getting treatment for it? > haven't had a > normal urinalysis in about 8 years, but that too seems to not concern the > Dr. at all... just says "you must just always have elevated protein" can you say malpractice? ya know, folks complain that malpractice litigation drives up medical costs, but i think that the threat of being sued is what keeps US doctors paying attention. > Much as I've always liked him ... I really don't feel that I'm getting good > care at this point. i would have got another doc at the *first* blow-me-off. i guess i'm lucky because i have such a good one now. > Much as I've always liked him ... I really don't feel that I'm getting > good care at this point. Lee, it sounds to me from what you have said that you probably aren't. You need a nephrologist and a cardiologist and maybe an endocrinologist too. Don't waste time with GP's, sometimes they just don't have the know-how. SignatureBest Regards, Evelyn (to reply to me personally, remove 'sox') I did see a cardiologist ... once... he's the one that decided the angina wasn't anything to worry about. Told me one thing, then wrote a report to my GP that said something else entirely ... but both ~diagnosis~ of no importance *sigh* it's nice that we have free health care here... but then again, perhaps "you get what you pay for" applies >> Much as I've always liked him ... I really don't feel that I'm getting >> good care at this point. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > too. Don't waste time with GP's, sometimes they just don't have the > know-how. >I did see a cardiologist ... once... he's the one that decided the angina >wasn't anything to worry about. Told me one thing, then wrote a report to [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > it's nice that we have free health care here... but then again, perhaps > "you get what you pay for" applies If you're in the UK, I know what you mean. A friend of mine just was diagnosed with breast cancer. She's fortunate in that she is going for private medical advice and treatment. She was not really trusting of the regular coverage. SignatureBest Regards, Evelyn (to reply to me personally, remove 'sox') Ontario Canada.... we don't (yet) have the option of purchasing health care services... lots of whinging and carrying on about creating a two tier system (except that we basically have that already .... sports stars, politicians and people with money jump waiting lists all the time - or failing that, go to the US for whatever) .... supposedly a great health care system... except that it's not. SOOOOOOOOOOO many problems- necessary things not covered, or only available to people that are IN hospital (so you end up with people IN hospital for 3 weeks because it's the only way to get the tests that are needed - even though you just need the tests, not the 3 weeks as an inpatient), huge waiting lists, stOOpid criteria for treatment/transplants/etc, and so on and so on and so on The theory is so much better than the reality, unfortunately. >>I did see a cardiologist ... once... he's the one that decided the angina >>wasn't anything to worry about. Told me one thing, then wrote a report to [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > private medical advice and treatment. She was not really trusting of the > regular coverage. > The theory is so much better than the reality, unfortunately. what you canadians have is still better than what about 60% of US citizens have, since about 20% of the "insured" here have such crappy coverage. no argument from me >> The theory is so much better than the reality, unfortunately. > > what you canadians have is still better than what about 60% of US > citizens have, since about 20% of the "insured" here have such > crappy coverage. >> The theory is so much better than the reality, unfortunately. > > what you canadians have is still better than what about 60% of US > citizens have, since about 20% of the "insured" here have such > crappy coverage. A depressing article was in the news on infant mortality that kind of says it all... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060509/ap_on_he_me/infant_mortality U.S. Newborn Survival Rate Ranks Low By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer Tue May 9, 4:19 AM ET CHICAGO - America may be the world's superpower, but its survival rate for newborn babies ranks near the bottom among modern nations, better only than Latvia. Among 33 industrialized nations, the United States is tied with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia with a death rate of nearly 5 per 1,000 babies, according to a new report. Latvia's rate is 6 per 1,000. ... The U.S. ranking is driven partly by racial and income health care disparities. (article continues) --------------------------- In the US, if you're dealing with insurance you have to be your own advocate at exactly the time when you are least able to do so. I just finished with 2 family members that had hospital stays and from what I saw, no family member should be left on their own in the hospital. The nurses are doing as much as they can and doing it as fast as they can but there just are not enough of them. That seems to be the motto for health care in general. Karen >> The theory is so much better than the reality, unfortunately. > >what you canadians have is still better than what about 60% of US >citizens have, since about 20% of the "insured" here have such >crappy coverage. .... and most of the rest of the world are even more disadvantage. Consider yourself lucky to be within the1st world!!! Alzheimer's with money and good health services is much better than without it!!! anthony shipley Run away with me; I can make you unhappy. why do I bother to post here? Beats the hell out of me.... *sigh* >>> The theory is so much better than the reality, unfortunately. >> [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Run away with me; I can make you unhappy. Lee, one reason is we like to hear from you! Gwen > why do I bother to post here? > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >> >> Run away with me; I can make you unhappy. > why do I bother to post here? > > Beats the hell out of me.... *sigh* Because some of us are your friends and we do care. :-) SignatureBest Regards, Evelyn (to reply to me personally, remove 'sox') >>>> The theory is so much better than the reality, unfortunately. >>> [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >> >> Run away with me; I can make you unhappy. > been there, done that... he says cough synchope *shrug* > > him shrugging like it just doesn't matter, NOT ME > > it's scary ...and damned inconvenient to boot when a doctor treats me like that, i find a new doc. to be honest, thought has crossed my mind.... I've always LIKED mine... but he really doesn't seem to take anything seriously any more.... I have several significant issues that I would suspect are interrelated ... but he shrugs everything off... oh well, guess that's just the way you are to repeated abnormal tests; prescriptions for symptoms with no real interest in finding CAUSES... maybe you're right .... think tomorrow I'll call my MILs doc up here and see if he'd accept me as a patient >> been there, done that... he says cough synchope *shrug* >> [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >> > when a doctor treats me like that, i find a new doc. if it's important to YOU, it should be important to him. In fairness, fainting is a tough one. I had recurring near-fainting spells for 30 years (the first one taught me what to look for and how to stop it before I totally faded out.) Stress tests, glucose tolerance tests, everything normal. Then other symptoms led to testing for food allergies -- and as soon as they injected the soy "test" bubble, down went my blood pressure, the color in my face, and my head between my legs. The RN got quite a start -- turned out I was very allergic to soy. In the 10 years since then, I have only had one of those episodes, when a restaurant served me a piece of fish that had been brushed with vegetable oil. (I had warned them no soy sauce, no teriyaki, no margarine, blah, blah, blah but they didn't equate SOYBEAN oil (which is most vegetable oil) with SOY.) Keep as many notes as you can on when you feel ill -- what you have eaten, the weather, your surroundings, time of day, time of month -- yes hormones make my soy allergy worse! <G>, anything and everything. You never know the clue. Mine should have been that I always got these spells on Sunday mornings growing up, right after my mother made me eat a piece of toast (also allergic to baker's yeast) slathered with margarine (killer dose of soy) with a glass of milk (which I am also allergic to!) Then I put on hot choir vestments in a Southern un-air conditioned church -- recipe for disaster! Keep digging, Lee! Songbird we know what's causing it though... mostly anyway ... I cough ~wrong~ Just have to never cough again ... a tall order given that I have asthma, and every time I get a cold, I end up with a cough that lasts forEVER (that's what's going on these days *sigh*...cold is long gone, but my lungs are still full of crap) > if it's important to YOU, it should be important to him. > [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > Songbird > we know what's causing it though... mostly anyway ... I cough ~wrong~ > Just have to never cough again ... a tall order given that I have asthma, > and every time I get a cold, I end up with a cough that lasts forEVER > (that's what's going on these days *sigh*...cold is long gone, but my > lungs are still full of crap) There seems to be an especially awful "cold" going around these days. I know a couple of people who have gotten very sick with it. SignatureBest Regards, Evelyn (to reply to me personally, remove 'sox') > yes hormones make my soy allergy worse! because there are some soybean compounds that mimic estrogen... That would explain why it's supposed to be a menopause cure-all. Guess I wouldn't notice the hot flashes if I were passed out cold! <G> Songbird > That would explain why it's supposed to be a menopause cure-all. Guess > I wouldn't notice the hot flashes if I were passed out cold! <G> > > Songbird Songbird, the best menopause cure for me, was the herb "motherwort" which was recommended by Susun Weed, the herbalist. Got rid of the hot flashes better than anything else did. She wrote the book "Menopause the wise woman way" and I think she is on the umpteenth printing by now..... SignatureBest Regards, Evelyn (to reply to me personally, remove 'sox') Barb how long has your mother had alzheimers it keeps me wondering....I think mine has been 3years.....I know the first meds i got was worthless....then the exelon whitch was next to nothing....and then I eventually got aricept and now have been given the nemenda to go with it.....sometimes I feel sane others I just want to crawl back in bed......did you hear about the alzheimers and diabetes theory....I printed it up out of our news paper..... Easter, My mom has had alzheimers nearing 10 yrs.now.She also has diabetes type 2.Caused by her zyprexa.She takes aricept.Tried namenda but it made her worse.My mom is an easier case though as she seems to have plateaued.I have been very lucky.She takes a zillion other meds also but not related to her alzheimers.Barb OH no I'm never a man like girley clothes except for my denims..... |
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