Spouse with cognitive problems and finances

Posted by Julie Chitwood @billchitwood, Feb 25, 2022

Bill uses a computer everyday, and has nothing but problems with it. He blames his Dell and I'm pretty sure it is the user lol. He has decided to buy another one (second in a year) and going to very suspect sites. If he does get a new one it won't 'work' for him either! Once again he asked me for our address.

He still has enough memory to think he knows what he is doing. I've had to get us out of quite a few scams that he has fallen for (keeps buying hearing aids while having an excellent pair). I don't know how to protect our finances from him - at least not without major battles. So far in the past year he has bought two computers. One I could give our math teacher daughter for her school (non returnable). The other is his Dell. He also has a working Lenovo, which he says is bad - besides having a crack from his throwing it, it does work ok.

He wants to buy every ad he sees on TV - especially supplements that his doctor says are bad for him. I hid the credit card but some sites we use are auto pay and in spite of everything he remembers how to access those.

Any suggestions?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Caregivers: Dementia Support Group.

@billchitwood

Doctor doesn't want Bill to nap during the day as he has life-long problems sleeping at night. At the moment he is napping and I can't bring myself to wake him up. All morning he made singing nonsense noises and kept talking non-stop! I know I'm being selfish but his 'sounds' are like chalk on a blackboard! He will go on for hours at a time. Once he had a very good singing voice, but no longer. Plus he often wakes up angry about something.

I also read where people with dementia do tend to nap a lot - not sure how true that is.

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Will takes little naps almost every day but they are less than half an hour. During the night, he has a habit of going to his lounger and playing games on his tablet. He also has a BiPap because he has severe Sleep Apnea and should be using it all night. I have tried talking to him about not being on the BiPap but it is a habit now.
I think I will ask his Neurologist if she has any suggestions, maybe referring us to a Geriatric doctor. He gets sick and tired if he doesn’t use the BiPap and this could be why he naps.

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Kitties wanted to sit in his lap, which he normally loves. He was roughly pushing the two of them off. Kitties thought it was a game but I quickly removed them before one got hurt (he was getting rougher and rougher with them). Now he is mad at me. Now kitties and I are in another room while he is sulking with his TV. Yikes!

Along with his CKD he has dementia, which has gotten worse lately. I read where CKD and dementia are not that uncommon? Has anyone else had to deal with both? His doctors are trying to get the anger under control but so far it seems to rotate day by day with one being good the next bad. No idea what will trigger it. Seems to be a different trigger most of the time. Finding out he is no longer allowed to drive was a major trigger. Since selling the car he seems to have forgotten that he was planning on driving to Vegas. Since he gets lost easily he would probably have ended up in New York!
At least he hasn't fallen for over a week. One blessing.
No idea what to do about the kitties.

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What is CKD? I’ve heard that Alzheimer’s patients can have angry outbursts but not Dementia patients. I’m looking up CKD and Dementia and see if there are anger issues with this combo. I’ll let you know what I find.

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@billchitwood

Kitties wanted to sit in his lap, which he normally loves. He was roughly pushing the two of them off. Kitties thought it was a game but I quickly removed them before one got hurt (he was getting rougher and rougher with them). Now he is mad at me. Now kitties and I are in another room while he is sulking with his TV. Yikes!

Along with his CKD he has dementia, which has gotten worse lately. I read where CKD and dementia are not that uncommon? Has anyone else had to deal with both? His doctors are trying to get the anger under control but so far it seems to rotate day by day with one being good the next bad. No idea what will trigger it. Seems to be a different trigger most of the time. Finding out he is no longer allowed to drive was a major trigger. Since selling the car he seems to have forgotten that he was planning on driving to Vegas. Since he gets lost easily he would probably have ended up in New York!
At least he hasn't fallen for over a week. One blessing.
No idea what to do about the kitties.

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Found this article among many about Dementia and Anger.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/anger-and-aggression-in-dementia-4134488

It is interesting and may help us understand why our loved ones are so angry.
Please let me know what you find out after reading this article.
The kitties are better off without him until his anger subsides.

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@janet7

Found this article among many about Dementia and Anger.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/anger-and-aggression-in-dementia-4134488

It is interesting and may help us understand why our loved ones are so angry.
Please let me know what you find out after reading this article.
The kitties are better off without him until his anger subsides.

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Bill's father was physically and verbally abusive to Bill's Mom and Sister - never to him, but he had to sit by and watch, unable to do anything until he hit his teen years. His parents did divorce when he was fairly young but his father continued to come around. He has used anger to get his way - usually the silent treatment. I think the dementia has unleashed some of the anger he had managed to keep under tight control. Just my uneducated guess. That was a good article.

CKD is chronic kidney disease. He is Stage 3. He also has problems with veins in his legs - valves don't work well. Recently showing signs of Bradycardia (slow heart beat) and has had arrhythmia for years (not requiring treatment). He does take medication for gout; high blood pressure - which is very low now; and a thyroid problem. Those are all under control. His biggest problem is he became inactive ten-fifteen years ago (claiming he hurt too much to do anything). Doctors tried to get him to do therapy; exercise; move, etc. but he wouldn't. Wouldn't go to family functions - basically isolated himself. I would go without him, which made him madder than all get out so silent treatment when I would get home.
Doctors are sure if his anger is part of the dementia or just being a 'grumpy old man'. Trying to figure it out so they will know how to treat him.

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@billchitwood

Kitties wanted to sit in his lap, which he normally loves. He was roughly pushing the two of them off. Kitties thought it was a game but I quickly removed them before one got hurt (he was getting rougher and rougher with them). Now he is mad at me. Now kitties and I are in another room while he is sulking with his TV. Yikes!

Along with his CKD he has dementia, which has gotten worse lately. I read where CKD and dementia are not that uncommon? Has anyone else had to deal with both? His doctors are trying to get the anger under control but so far it seems to rotate day by day with one being good the next bad. No idea what will trigger it. Seems to be a different trigger most of the time. Finding out he is no longer allowed to drive was a major trigger. Since selling the car he seems to have forgotten that he was planning on driving to Vegas. Since he gets lost easily he would probably have ended up in New York!
At least he hasn't fallen for over a week. One blessing.
No idea what to do about the kitties.

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Julie, I am curious, when did the extreme anger begin with Bill? Did he always have this tendency and now it is worse or has this developed recently?

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@liv4now

Julie, I am curious, when did the extreme anger begin with Bill? Did he always have this tendency and now it is worse or has this developed recently?

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He always could be quick to anger over the oddest things. If a guest used the wastebasket in the guest bath and didn't empty it before they left it would trigger an outburst! Now he is using the wastebasket which he wouldn't before lol. The anger has gotten more in the past ten, twelve years. He would get mad at one commercial (which played a lot) - wanting to kill the spokesman - I would tell him to just put it on pause, or turn the sound off; which he didn't. He so totally over reacted that it raised alarm bells. Fortunately he has forgotten about that channel!

So the tendency towards anger has always been there but with the dementia it isn't as controlled. He is also using swear words towards Robin and me that he never used towards family.

He is also getting where he is sure we are plotting against him. One of those times was when Robin and I were figuring out which TV and lift chair would be best for him. According to him 'TV" and "chair" were code words. So just very odd things showing up. Magnified?

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Will always got upset about money and would get angry whenever I sent money to my family. Now he sends money to his family and once In awhile gets angry when I do. I diffuse his ranting before he even finishes his complaint, by telling him I have lived with his anger about my sending money to my family almost the entire time we have been married, and I don’t want to listen to his complaints any more. It worked!
One of the triggers for Dementia patients could be they are sick and resent anyone who isn’t. I remember meeting an older woman in my Dad’s nursing home who was extremely jealous of me and “if looks could kill”, I would be gone. I did feel a little guilty because I understood why she was jealous of me. Her attitude would prevail as long as she stayed there, but her anger had nothing to do with me.
Not being able to eat food he likes can trigger anger.
Not being able to communicate his feelings or wants can be a triggers.
Not being to walk and get around by himself can be trigger.
And there are many more triggers and how to solve them in the article I sent you. I like the article so much that I am going to print a copy for myself.
I also remember visiting my Dad in the nursing home just before Will and I were going to the beach. When I told him about our plans, he got very quiet and started drumming on the table with his fingers. I knew he wanted to come with us, but Will and I didn’t have much alone time because of our visiting Dad. He really wanted all of our time. He wouldn’t tell me why he was upset but I knew. Our relationship was an on again/off again one I can tell you about when you want to know.
God’s blessings to you, Julie

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@billchitwood

Bill's father was physically and verbally abusive to Bill's Mom and Sister - never to him, but he had to sit by and watch, unable to do anything until he hit his teen years. His parents did divorce when he was fairly young but his father continued to come around. He has used anger to get his way - usually the silent treatment. I think the dementia has unleashed some of the anger he had managed to keep under tight control. Just my uneducated guess. That was a good article.

CKD is chronic kidney disease. He is Stage 3. He also has problems with veins in his legs - valves don't work well. Recently showing signs of Bradycardia (slow heart beat) and has had arrhythmia for years (not requiring treatment). He does take medication for gout; high blood pressure - which is very low now; and a thyroid problem. Those are all under control. His biggest problem is he became inactive ten-fifteen years ago (claiming he hurt too much to do anything). Doctors tried to get him to do therapy; exercise; move, etc. but he wouldn't. Wouldn't go to family functions - basically isolated himself. I would go without him, which made him madder than all get out so silent treatment when I would get home.
Doctors are sure if his anger is part of the dementia or just being a 'grumpy old man'. Trying to figure it out so they will know how to treat him.

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I wonder if antidepressants may help Bill? He could be depressed or has he been tested for that? Does music calm him down? There are apps for tension that have the sound of water, and just listening to the sound of rain or the ocean, calms me down considerably.
All suggestions to try to calm Bill down. At least it’s worth a try!

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@janet7

I wonder if antidepressants may help Bill? He could be depressed or has he been tested for that? Does music calm him down? There are apps for tension that have the sound of water, and just listening to the sound of rain or the ocean, calms me down considerably.
All suggestions to try to calm Bill down. At least it’s worth a try!

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They are trying some meds. He sings - hours at a time, which soothes him and is like water torture for everyone else. He used to have a very good voice but not now. And most of what he 'sings' are just sounds. Cats go hide lol.

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