Can anyone describe in some detail the later stages of AD. I've read what books and articles have to say but they are so generalized it is hard for me to compare. Plus many of the descriptions I read don't really fit my wife. How can you tell what stage a person may be in in the disease process?
Thank you for your kind words. It is true that I am probably the only one that knows what and how to care for my wife but most times I feel very inadequate. I just keep hoping I can find answers to help me do better.
Hi Billy, To bad you are not in Ohio. Our local Alz group has a monthly meeting which is both for the person with dementia and the care- giver. We split into 2 groups. The caregivers could vent and support each other. There were a wide range of ages and degree of dementia but wife enjoys the meetings. I think we all question if we are making the right decisions or if we should be doing things differently for our spouses. You are the expert caring for your wife since you spend the most time with her. Pat yourself on the back for doing such a good job. Don
Yes Janie, there are support groups here but I can't leave my wife alone to attend any and at present I don't have anyone to leave her with. I am working on that. I have interviewed one person so far as a paid caregiver. I have also heard of group support where the spouse can attend but so far I haven't been able to follow up on that.
Thanks Melissa for your feedback. Also, thanks for remembering. The copper poisoning was ruled out at the Mayo Clinic before we left so for now, I don't know of any other physical conditions that are a factor in her current condition. Your right though, everyone is different and doesn't always fit into the mold by the Alz Org listing. At this point I can only guess that my wife is in stages 5, 6 and 7 with some of her characteristics. She can no longer do much of anything for herself except eat, drink and walk. She can only eat if I put the food or utensils in her hand. Many times it is easier to just feed her myself. The same for the drink except I can put the drink on the table with a straw and she will drink that way. Her speach is very simple and most times she doesn't say anything at all. Also, she doesn't really understand half of what I say to her. I have to repeat myself several times to get her to understand and most the time she just looks at me and smiles or laughs like I just told her a joke. When she wants something she generally uses simple sign language. She will reach for me and I know she wants something but then I have to guess what it is. Sometimes she will touch her throat and then I know she is thirsty. If she gets real antsy then I guess she needs to go to the bathroom. Sometimes I am wrong but I would rather be wrong rather than to have an accident. So far there haven't been any. She is not incontenent at this time.
I was just hoping someone might have some similar characteristic to share. Maybe some that might occur after this point that my wife is at so that I can have a little headsup.
Hi Billy. I can understand your frustration trying to get a better handle on your wife's status. I can certainly say that my mother's progression with AD never fit quite neatly into any one particular stage. I think part of the problem with classifying AD is that our loved ones are often suffering from other illnesses initally, or complications can arise along the way. for example, my mother developed hydrocephalus during her illness, which took her problems to a whole new level. As I recall, you mentioned that your wife was diagnosed with possible copper poisoning. If that is still true, then could it be that some of her problems are a result of that rather than AD - or the two combined?
I can tell you that as my mother progressed, she began having more motor deficit problems, had difficulties with hearing and vision ( in a couple ways), lost her ability to read, began having major problems with her teeth (literally the were falling apart),could not complete a task if it required following more than one step, developed incontinence, and her ability to speak became severly impaired. This didn't all happen at once (though some of it became much worse or developed when the hydrocephalus set in), but these are some of the problems that arose along the way.
Of course, my mother had AD, not EOAD, so there are certainly going to be differences due to that as well between my mother and your wife.I don't know if that helps, but I hope so. Take care.
Thanks all. I appreciate your feedback. I know about a lot of the links and what Alz Org has to say on the subject but I thought there might be someone that might be little more experienced than I that might be able to give me something more.
Don,
I hear what you are saying and can certainly appreciate it. Our spouses are all that matters but, as you know, conditions change regularly and I was just hoping I could get some info so I can be better prepared to do a better job of providing for my wife. I feel like I am in a box and just don't know what to do next, or what to expect.
Billy, here's a link I found. Take heed that I have not read all the way though it, so I don't necessarily recommend it. I just found it through a search engine.
~ Janie ~
Posts: 5223 | Location: NC - USA | Registered: September 14, 2000
Hi Billy, This is Don. Boy do I wish I had a road map to know what my wife is going through or where we are heading. I think each person has a unique experience since they are a unique person. Does that mean that there is nothing I can do? No, I just stick with what works and reject what doesn't.I use the info from books etc but dont't try to fit Suzanne into any lists of symptoms. I don't really care what "stage" Suzanne is in - I am just happy that she is with me today. Just my view of things. Take Care. Don
