threadbared :
Speaking from experience. 1st, Dementia and Alzheimer’s are very different. My experience is with dementia. I took her to all medical appointments. I had to convince medical professionals to stop taking to me! I explained she felt disrespected, discarded, frustrated, angry, frightened, invisible and was increasingly becoming more confused and depressed. Advice: Speak to the patient. Caregivers will eavesdrop and we’ll ask the patient questions as if we didn’t understand. I explain dementia in percentages. Some days they are only suffering 10%, other days wildly range. The higher percentage, the more they become angry, distrustful or scary normal. When they return to 0-10%, the paranoia steps in. Like an alcoholic living with blackouts. They don’t remember gaps or f time and become increasingly distrustful of the typical people around them. Accusations of stealing, lying or tricking them are common. They like you, then hate you, then remember you. Only to recess to terror. Then? They physically cling onto you in their mental terror, not knowing you. But you smell familiar or sound familiar or you’re the least scariest. Dementia and Alzheimer’s are the cruelest diseases.
2025-12-19 08:20:10