1. < Caregivers: Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) & Dementia
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“Showtime”: My husband hides his MCI by his humor and deflection.

Posted by marilynt @marilynt, 5 days ago

Do others deal with a loved one who is an expert at fooling others to believe he doesn’t have MCI? My husband of 52 years has had MRI’s and PET Scans, etc. confirming both CAA and Alzheimer’s Disease. Living with him, I see his irritability and his lack of processing new information. It is taking its toll on me and we are becoming more isolated.
I realize many of you have struggles much worse than this, but we are in the first 8 months of this diagnosis and I could use some ways to handle this.

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svensk | @svensk | 1 day ago
In reply to @methel "@svensk As my husband’s dementia progressed, I found it helpful to ask myself, Am I dealing..." + (show)
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@svensk

As my husband’s dementia progressed, I found it helpful to ask myself, Am I dealing with (husband) or am I dealing with the disease? In a particular situation. The answer helped me choose the correct way to respond to avoid escalating a problem and kept me from blaming him for things he couldn’t help. It sounds silly but I imagined that there were now 2 different personalities living in one brain and I must handle both of them. This helped me cope.

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Yes, coping this way makes so much sense. Sosnu times when someone is sick and grouchy, we say, "He isn't himself." It's no different with MCI or dementia. Just a different kind of illness.

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