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@kristin816

Hello @hbjuniperflat & @hopeful33250 - Thanks for inviting me to this conversation on LBD- I enjoyed the recent LBD Summit - and learned a lot of tips - one was to try different Melatonin supplements to see which one works best. I was ordering one on Amazon - and found a time-release one - and thought why not? and WOW! that has keep my father asleep for 6+ hours most nights. My parents do sleep in separate bedrooms now- so my mother can get some good rest each night- because my father was "active" in the night and would lash out. (his room is smaller and has only the minimum of furniture - and far away from the bed).

I also agree with the "don't wake 'em" and I am the queen of "agree & re-direct" with some of his stranger comments/ visualizations. I have a few "regular" subjects to discuss with him in those situations - the birds at the feeders, fishing & camping, and family vacations.

Joining online caregiving groups has also helped us to learn more about Alz and LBD and other peoples experiences - I am attending via zoom my local Alz group as well as a LBD group.

Other thoughts - Consider moving before you need to -This was the best decision my parents made at the beginning of 2020.

My parents moved to a retirement community in March 2020 - and even thought it was a lot of hard work and super disruptive for my father - my mother (and I) have enjoyed a lot of peace / relief that she is not "alone" at night with my father in their house - she can call on people if she needs help with anything etc ... She was super worried about him falling down the stairs at their home - how would she cope etc ... what would happen to him if she fell, got sick, had an accident, lost power in a storm etc ...

One of the social workers at our local hospital system recommended we look for places (assisted living / memory care / independent living) - before we "needed" a place for my parents to go - so that we did not have to make a decision in an rush due to an "emergency" situation. That turned out to be the best advise ever! My parents found a lovely apartment in a community they can "grow" into (as their care needs change).

My father gets turned around a lot in the new place - and has trouble remembering his bedroom is to the left not the right - but hey - he was doing that at their house too. It was hard for both of them to make a lot of decisions at once with all their stuff - so we have a storage unit - so we can re-visit at a later time - that brought my father a lot of peace that we were not tossing out all his camping stuff (in case he wanted to go again) but rather storing it for a future trip.

Hope this crazy morning ramble is helpful - sending you lots of positive vibes! Kristin

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Replies to "Hello @hbjuniperflat & @hopeful33250 - Thanks for inviting me to this conversation on LBD- I enjoyed..."

Great ideas, @kristin816. I'm sure that @hbjuniperflat will appreciate all of your ideas. I really like how you proactively pursued the changes that you needed to make before a crisis came about!