Connect
← Return to My wife forgetting: Diagnosed with MCI
Discussion
My wife forgetting: Diagnosed with MCI
Caregivers: Dementia | Last Active: Oct 12, 2021 | Replies (65)Comment receiving replies
I appreciate you sharing Dan. My husband has become worse in the past few months as well. He no longer drives without me as he will get lost and I accompany him to his medical (all) appointments because he has no recall once the appointment is over. I have gotten out bikes equipped with new tires and we ride bikes and take walks. I spend my lunch hour walking or riding with him when I work from home. He also has spinal stenosis which makes much exercise difficult, but he enjoys what we do together. Our neurologist put him on Aricept a year ago. It made him very confused and seemed to make him much worse. Dr. took him off and said that happens sometimes. I have a white board for him and I write things down so he will remember things. But, lately he forgets to look at the white board. He gets very agitated easily. He actually had to retire 10 years ago since the condition interfered with his confidence level. I agree and would like to retire, but healthcare is an issue since I am only 60 and won't qualify for Medicare until 65. I have him on my employee insurance plan. I wish there was a solution to that problem. He is also a cancer survivor, so keeping his physicians is important. Thank you again for sharing, it helps. Taking one day at a time is so important. And keep smiling.
Replies to "I appreciate you sharing Dan. My husband has become worse in the past few months as..."
Connect
Orca59
It's difficult but important to reassess your partner's condition each day. My wife will go to the grocery store (about 1/2 mile away) once a week by her self. But even with that I make sure she has her phone with her all the time when she leaves the house. I can track the phone and if she is in trouble she can call. She has called twice in the last 3 months. Once because she “lost” her debit/credit card and couldn’t pay for the groceries. I met her at the store and paid for the groceries and when we got home, I found her debit/credit card in her wallet. She was so anxious, she didn’t see the debit/credit card. The 2nd time was when she “lost” her car keys because she got anxious, she didn’t see the keys in her pocketbook.
The other day we went out to our favorite breakfast place (which we have been to at least a hundred times and is only a couple of miles away) but I asked her to drive home. After a while, I asked her where we were going and she said “I want to go home” but she didn’t know where she was 😞. We were only a couples miles from home and on a portion of the road that we have travelled hundreds of times but she just did not recognize any landmarks, stores or signs. Needless to say this is a progression that I was not expecting but I need to keep in mind as we travel in the future.
I wish there was some medication that could slow the process but from what my wife's neurologist has told us, there isn't any medications that will work for everyone with MCI.
Friends and neighbors have come up to me a few times asking if my wife is ok because she is repeating herself. I let them know she has MCI and describe her condition. I asked my wife awhile ago if it was ok to let other people know about her MCI because she knows she repeats herself and she said it was ok. Some of the neighbors stay away but the friends (true friends) still stop by.
At night, we will talk about the day's activities and see if she remembers everything. If not, I will fill her in and discuss any issues we had because of her MCI. We both think it is VERY important to keep our communication open and not hide anything. We might hide something from outsiders but not between ourselves.
Sorry for the long winded response.
Dan