Hi - I'm not sure if anyone will see this but if you do, I'd love a reply. Have tried calling Alzhiemers Society helpline a couple of times but they're busy.
After a long (18 months+) process my DM has been diagnosed with Alzheimers aged 73. It's between early and middle stages apparently. She's mostly OK and lucid but has had some episodes of not recognising my DF and leaving the house in the middle of the night. She's taking arceptin.
One of our main questions right now (me and my siblings) is whether/what to tell her about her diagnosis. She knows very well that something is wrong and that her memory is affected. She's mostly calm but sometimes (e.g. when seeing a doctor) becomes understandably very frightened and in denial about it. We've all talked openly about her memory issues but so far haven't used the word 'Alzheimers'. I don't think using the word would be helpful to her. She referred to her night escapes as 'sleepwalking' and said to me that she likes that word because - her words - 'there's no stigma to it'. Which suggests that she would feel the stigma of the word Alzheimers. However my brothers point out that it might become impossible to hide the word if for example she starts to have home visits from relevant professionals who leave leaflets etc. Any thoughts?
Also - if you do have a family member in similar situation, what do you wish you had known? Aside from spending as much time with her as poss, and making sure she knows we love her, I'd love some tips of what to bear in mind over the next while.
Thanks all.
Please or to access all these features
Please
or
to access all these features
Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.
Dementia & Alzheimer's
Do we tell our DM she has Alzheimers?
10 replies
RebeccaNoodles · 02/06/2015 15:12
OP posts:
Please create an account
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.