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How does sharing diagnosis of Alzheimer's affect patient?
Caregivers: Dementia | Last Active: Oct 9 10:08pm | Replies (31)Comment receiving replies
The sad part of all of these comments is that it seems that so many people treat this disease like something we should not talk about when it is not talked about enough. So many people have a form of dementia or will get it, we should be talking about it more. How to treat it, cope with it, understand it. Not ostracize those who have it. My husband has multifactorial dementia and Alzheimer's, as a retired career nurse nothing prepared me for this, he denies there is anything "wrong" with him every day. He ran multi-billion dollar projects for a major utility company 8 years ago and now can't operate the TV remote or find the cheese in the fridge. We need to educate, support caregivers, reduce stress, find the cause and improve care and treatments!
Replies to "The sad part of all of these comments is that it seems that so many people..."
@maggy9
I agree that we need to be open to conversation about this disease and not feel we need to hide a diagnosis. But I think the issue here is about what is best for the person who is ill. When and how to tell them.
My husband as been impaired for many years but I only truly recognized it about 2 years ago. Hindsight shows me that it's been much longer. I now tell people so they know what we are going through, though family and friends are aware after a few minutes of conversation.
My concern is about telling him. I know my hubby will not handle it well since he has never handled medical diagnoses well. I would like to have more assistance from the medical community but he is resistant to any sort of testing that would help with that. I'm the one who is alone with the resulting anger and suspicion. Right now, it seems best to not rock the boat and maintain the status quo as long as I can.
It's different for everyone but this is my situation.
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Maggy - We are dealing with this now with my "best cousin" - she knows something is wrong, but every suggestion meets with the response "I'm NOT stupid!" Her partner, sisters, BFF and I are working really hard to figure out how to approach each new issue as it arises. Her (adult) kids are in denial. My friend and I are the only ones who have ever dealt with dementia and live 900 miles away.
I wish we could snap our fingers and help people understand how brain changes affect people...
Sue