Spouse with cognitive problems and finances

I believe you made a wise decision about your financial arrangements staying with you.
I would almost make a guess that Bill may have talked to your younger family members since he has said you and Robin are planning to “take over” his money! In your Will, there should be a person named to take over your financial role.

Do you have Power of Attorney for your spouse, for Medical decisions, property, and finances?

Yes, I do have POAs. And we have wills in place as well. I do need to update my POAs.
Fortunately today is a good day. Maybe the new medication is starting to kick in and he will be calmer and not so angry about everything.

Well, maybe remind the family members who are causing problems of your POAs. I do hope the medication helps.

Good, it is very important to have your POA updated. Then let family or anyone else say what they want to take over your POA and you can just smile and say “it’s all taken care of, thank you.”
Glad to hear Bill is getting mellow. Prayers he will stay that way!

Just wanted to share this with you. I have had an underactive thyroid all
my life and am 81 with no Dementia so far.

Adobe Stock
Amy Norton

MONDAY, July 18, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Millions of older adults try to
manage an underactive thyroid gland with daily medication, but a new study
suggests they may still be vulnerable to developing dementia

as
they age.

Researchers found that among over 15,000 older Taiwanese adults, those
who'd been treated for hypothyroidism were substantially more likely to be
diagnosed with dementia. Hypothyroidism

occurs
when the body is not producing enough thyroid hormones, which control
metabolism.

That underproduction can cause an array of symptoms, including fatigue,
intolerance to cold, constipation, body aches, depression and weight gain.
Studies show that waning thyroid hormones may also dull a person's thinking
skills — in a way that's reversible with thyroid medication.

But whether hypothyroidism can contribute to irreversible dementia has been
unclear. And the new study, published recently in the journal *Neurology
, *does
not answer that question definitively.

"We found that for patients with hypothyroidism that required medication,
the risk of dementia was much higher," said researcher Dr. Chien-Hsiang
Weng, of Brown University's Alpert Medical School, in Providence, R.I.

"But it's hard to know why," he stressed. "We can't really say that
hypothyroidism causes dementia."

In addition, the vast majority of patients with dementia in the study had
no history of diagnosed hypothyroidism: Just under 1% did.

Still, Weng said, it's useful to know that older people with hypothyroidism
— for whatever reason — may have a heightened likelihood of developing
dementia. That way, patients and doctors can be on the lookout for
potential signs of declines in memory and thinking.

"We wanted to let clinicians know that hypothyroidism might be one of the
risk factors," Weng said.

The findings are based on medical records from over 15,000 older adults,
half of whom had been diagnosed with dementia. Each of those patients was
compared with a dementia-free patient of the same sex and age.

Among dementia patients, the study found, 0.9% had a history of
hypothyroidism, versus 0.4% of those without dementia.

After the researchers weighed other factors — including any history of heart
disease

, diabetes

, depression or alcohol
dependence —
they found that hypothyroidism, itself, was linked to a higher dementia
risk.

Among patients aged 65 and older, those with a history of hypothyroidism
were 81% more likely to be diagnosed with dementia. The difference was even
greater when the researchers looked at patients who'd been given
hormone-replacement medication for the condition: Their dementia risk was
threefold higher, versus people without hypothyroidism.

"We don't think it has anything to do with the medication itself," Weng
noted. "We think medication use is a marker of more severe hypothyroidism."

The study uncovered no connection between dementia risk and
hyperthyroidism, or overactivity in the thyroid gland.

A dementia expert who was not involved in the study emphasized that it
cannot pin the blame on hypothyroidism.

"More work is needed to understand what this may mean, if anything, in
terms of biological mechanisms and impact on [dementia] risk," said Heather
Snyder, vice president of medical and scientific relations at the
Alzheimer's Association.

Snyder noted that other research has been digging into the potential role
of thyroid hormones in mental acuity and dementia risk.

"Some recent studies have examined whether a thyroid hormone called T3
may be
linked to biological processes in Alzheimer's," she said.

The hormone apparently declines as people age, and lower T3 levels might
promote the generation of beta-amyloid
— a
protein that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer's.

"To date, however, scientists have not clarified the exact relationship
between abnormal thyroid hormone levels and dementia risk," Snyder said.

For now, she and Weng both said people should be aware that thyroid health
is important to overall health, and talk to their doctor if they have
potential symptoms of underactive thyroid.

I am having new symptoms going on with Will! He doesn’t speak very clearly and he mumbles to himself as he goes from room to room. I am getting worried because He is getting more difficult for me to understand. He is also getting very upset when he says I am wrong about something and has to prove to me he is right. He has always been a controller and likes things his way but he has gotten better until now.
He seems more forceful and emotional when arguing his case than he was before. I am almost thinking that his anger might occur again like he was when I first met him.
Want to find a therapist we will see if things seem to be changing so much, perhaps asking a social worker.

The med that the doctor put him on and the one they took him off seem to be helping - thank heavens as it was really getting bad. Now he is relaxed and smiling. Also admitting he does have dementia and needs help. Before he was claiming we were 'gaslighting' him! Among a lot of other 'charges'.

Both of his doctors were very concerned (as were we) about his anger - that it could turn violent.

He kept telling them that yes, he did erupt in sudden anger but had never physically abused me. He hadn't but mental abuse is a hidden one that does a lot of damage.

Do find help. Prayers are with you.

So a change in meds helped him! I’m assuming Dementia meds? Or Alzheimer’s meds?

I looked under “Social Workers for Caregivers of Dementia” and there is a lot of information about so many topics concerning caregivers and how social workers can help us.