Hello everyone, and before I continue, please let me say that my prayers are with each and every one of you.

My mom is 74. Over the past couple of years she seemed to have a bit of trouble with remembering, but my brother and I assumed it was part of the ageing process. Then about three weeks ago she experienced a stroke in her eye, followed by a mild stroke in her thalamus. Her nerologist told us that she had AD, that the stroke in her thalamus had pronounced the AD.

Currently, her short term memory has vanished, yet she can remember back 50 years to perfection.

Her doctor has put her on a patch that may help her memory and says it may give her an extra year (possibly more) before she starts going downhill. He also said that with the patch, she should be like she was 6 months ago.

I was so shocked by the diagnosis which was dually confirmed by her primary doctor, that I wasn't prepared to ask the 'right' questions. What I am curious to learn is if my mom might possibly become her 'old self' of 6 months ago, or if she is just 6 months better off in regards to the advancement of AD.

Anyone here with a similar experience?

Thank you so much.

Sharen

I have Cigna,wouldn't change for the world.Saves me a ton of money.

Merrwid & Moms Buddy - also thank you to you, too for all your help!! Greatly appreciated.

Sharen

Bunny, you're an angel. I appreciate all the information and the helpful links.

quote:

quote:
He is mom's favorite (he has the penis).


GOTTA LOVE IT!! See how quick that can change when someone needs help toileting and putting on a bra...

LMAO! Good one MB I love it

Awww wass a matter bro? a lil poop never hurt anyone...where ya goin? Come back!

Eh dont worry Sharen we all have one like this in our lives! Mine would be my hunny...one lil sighting of a boobie or poop sends him screaming from the room like the devils nippin at his heels...I tried ta tell him "Its only skin" yeah like that'll work right
You should see him when I get the lube and rubber gloves out for an evacuation Have mercy! "But hunny what if Im not here"??? *Ill send her to the ER thats what Ill do*!
Heeeheehehehehehe Im a lil stinker!

Seriously though these folks that man the phones at half these places couldnt find a....well you know...
This is why I love AARP they can and do answer the hard questions and if they cant they stay with you an find it
Heres the Drug plans link on the Medicare site:
http://www.medicare.gov/pdphome.asp

An heres an AARP article that helps you navigate the Medicare Drug plans to help you choose the one thats right for you and your mom:
http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourhealth/medicare/articles/m...stions_answered.html

I think ALL of the drug plans have the do-nut hole.
There are tons of plans out there. Besides the difference in premiums, there are some differences in formularies - the drugs that they will cover.
Make sure the plan you choose covers the drugs you need. And when you pay the premium, try to put a little more money away each time just in case you reach that out-of-pocket hole.
And be sure to check out (yes, it really is on the Medicare website) the provision for really low incomes, if Mom falls there.
Don't forget - we're all here to share the journey.

quote:

He is mom's favorite (he has the penis).

GOTTA LOVE IT!! See how quick that can change when someone needs help toileting and putting on a bra...

Bunny, thank you again for being so kind. Right now, my brother is handling everything (cough, cough as my nose grows). He is mom's favorite (he has the penis).

The Cigna costs $34 a year on the second tier and there is that dreaded donut hole that you mentioned.

I called Medicare after I got home from the hospital with mom and they weren't very informative. The rep actually told me to go online, that their website would answer all my questions. I never could find their RX plan.

Thank you very much for the best wishes Sharen
The double vision lasts a while thats pretty common.
MIL had this as well as not being able to see certain colors directly after it happened that lasted a couple of months.
Hun if she has Medicare parts A & B they will send out to you a choice of Rx coverages Medicare provides to its recipients. If not I would call up Medicare personally to get the ball rolling.
How much is Cigna a month if you dont mind me asking.
I also went outside of Medicare's plans and be careful if Medicare tries to push secondary/supplemental insurance at you I could go into a big ole tirade on that note real fast so if you want to know just holler
Drug plans are another topic of discussion here now the costs have went up since this posting I have MIL on the AARP plan and pay I believe its 24.80 a month *just say 25 bucks* but beware of the "Donut hole" thats when you surpass Tier 2 coverage and go into Tier 3.
http://eldercare.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1196030151/m/4001043693

Now onto a couple of questions...
Are you her primary caregiver? And if so do you hold her POA & DPOA? Or is this your brothers responsibility?

Bunny, thank you for sharing your story of your MIL with me. I have a feeling that most of us here are going through some of the toughest times in our lives. It really helps to have support of friends, and so again, thank you for taking time to respond so thoroughly and so kindly. And here is wishing the best possible outcome for your MIL, and much peace and less stress for you and all those involved in her care.

The name of the patch my mom was put on is Exelon. If this medication does not provide results, the doctor has suggested Razadyne as the next option. Mom only has Part A & B (thank goodness we talked her into that in 1999!!), but has no Part D to cover the RX expenses. I signed her up for an RX plan yesterday with Cigna (haven't mailed it off yet as I need to discuss the monthly cost with brother first).

Bunny, my mom has always been very stubborn where doctors are concerned. Before the stokes, she hadn't been to the doctor in about 10 years. Before that, it had been about 40 years since she had seen a doctor.

Although she has embraced a lifetime daily diet of fried foods and is a cheese and dessert lover, her blood work turned out impeccable. Excellent cholesterol, no significant blockages and so forth. She has also been moderately overweight for about 30 years.

Her strokes occured back to back; first the eye, then a couple of weeks later, the thalamus.
Starting at the beginning of summer until her first stroke, she had fallen multiple times. Right before her eye stroke, she went through a 2-3 week ordeal where she was breaking out and experiencing hive-like conditions. After her eye stroke, she was 'normal' as to brain activity, but I would notice small things that raised a red flag like - she couldn't remember having the bout with hives. BUT, she had just had the eye stroke and we were told she might be fuzzy at times. She still has double vision from the eye stroke.

On one hand, I'm just hoping that I'll get my mom back the way she was 6 months ago. On the other hand, do I really want her to know the terrible path that follows? I feel it would be selfish of me to wish for such high hopes.

Thank you again, Bunny!

Howdy Sharen welcome in
Well not every person is the same but my MIL comes close to this.
She has AD and has had several small strokes in the occipital lobe.
She is different in that she also has psychosis on top of her AD diagnosis and this is something she has had for many years.
Before medication this lil lady was all over the board in behaviors short term memory loss being one symptom, prone to agitation, self harm tendencies, hallucinating, the list goes on.
Any AD med only exacerbated these symptoms so we went to Psychotropic class drugs to quell behaviors and they were pretty successful but this is because she has psychosis so this is where the similarities end.
I understand what your asking but the answer to this is not so cut and dry as you can see...
All people are unique just like all prescription meds react differently with each person...you may or may not see a change in your mom but if this is offered to her and you can afford it, try it.
What is the name of this patch their suggesting?
Somehow or another I dont think the patch would last very long on my mil with her tendencies towards picking *I know, put it somewhere she cant reach right? Girl if you saw this woman huntin to pick at something you'd be amazed the places she can reach! *
So Sharen why dont you ask the questions now. Were here ready and willing to listen if you have more.
You can still ask her PCP these questions theres no time limit