Your message struck a cord with me. My husband is 74 and was diagnosed with MCI three years and a half years ago. It has progressed quickly to moderate Alzheimer's and like your husband his days are much better than his evenings and some days are better than others days. Often he sleeps in his chair most of the evening. I did some internet research to see if I could find out if this was one of the symptoms of the disease but it didn't show up. His neurologist said perhaps it was partially a side effect of the medication he was taking. It bothered me so much because his sleep is so deep that he seems lost to me--not the short nodding off he might do in better days. Another symptom that seems to be getting much worse is the ability to communicate. Word retrieval and the ability to narrate even a short story are a huge struggle. I happened across this site and read several of the posts where people mentioned many of these problems and it gave me a great sense of community and comfort--knowing others were experiencing the same things. My husband has worked with a speech therapist and, unfortunately, it was not a particularly successful experience. He's aware of the fact that the words he's using and what he's trying to say are not clear and it's so hard for him. It breaks my heart. He used to be a wonderful conversationalist and very quick-witted. It seems impossible that this could be lost. This is my first time writing on this site and I'm pretty sure I'm starting to ramble so I'll sign off and just say thank you to all the people who have shared their own experiences. If anyone has found strategies that were helpful when communicating with those suffering from Alzheimer's, I'd appreciate hearing about them. We often end up irritated with each other and then I feel guilty. I want, above all, to be kind and patient and get irritated with myself when I'm not.

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