Some interesting and useful products here for anyone whose been afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease and their caregivers. http://www.alzstore.com/
Alzheimer's Products for Patients and Their Caregivers
- Thread starter SeaBreeze
- Start date
Wilberforce
Jeannine
- Location
- BC Canada
I have looked at the site and do not feel that most of the things shown are of much use.
My husband has Alzheimers, he s currently in the last stage. I have looked after him for almost 16 years and am pretty much experienced with most of what can happen.
The things shown may be useful in the very early stages but at the same time so would most anything one has around the home anyway.
It is not just memory as most folks think, it is a gradual loss of body functions, mobility and everything else.
My husband was a member of Mensa yet now he rarely makes an understandable sentence, he is however mobile although he has the typical Alzeimers shuffle. I am expecting my husband to lose his swallow next.
There is very little that will help with sundowning, we found it was different in the winter to the summer and by closing blinds and putting on lights we could fake the light changes a bit which actually did help.
Alzeimers disease is a terminal illness and if a person has no other health problems it can take a long time till the person dies.
We found little satisfaction with anything that was available over the counter and believe me we tried.
What does work is patience, an ability to distract and redirect and the sensibility to be totally aware of the stage your family member is going through, they are often worse than you think.
I have been offered a great many gadgets and "cures" over the years to such and extent that I now know that many health professionals don't really know what the disease does on a daily basis.
My advice to anyone starting this journey with a loved one is to educate yourself, try to be ahead of the disease so you are prepared for the next phase and get all the help you can . There are some very good books out there, thete are also some duds so pick wisely, take advice form someone who has been there.
The description in the blue box above is really only a vague description of the very early stage and believe me there is nothing that can combat the "hindrances" of sundowning or memory loss. The very word hindrances. is a joke, anyone who has sundowning is suffering form something far far greater than a hindrance.
I do appreciate the link being posted but realistically I saw nothing on the site that would have helped me.
My husband has Alzheimers, he s currently in the last stage. I have looked after him for almost 16 years and am pretty much experienced with most of what can happen.
The things shown may be useful in the very early stages but at the same time so would most anything one has around the home anyway.
It is not just memory as most folks think, it is a gradual loss of body functions, mobility and everything else.
My husband was a member of Mensa yet now he rarely makes an understandable sentence, he is however mobile although he has the typical Alzeimers shuffle. I am expecting my husband to lose his swallow next.
There is very little that will help with sundowning, we found it was different in the winter to the summer and by closing blinds and putting on lights we could fake the light changes a bit which actually did help.
Alzeimers disease is a terminal illness and if a person has no other health problems it can take a long time till the person dies.
We found little satisfaction with anything that was available over the counter and believe me we tried.
What does work is patience, an ability to distract and redirect and the sensibility to be totally aware of the stage your family member is going through, they are often worse than you think.
I have been offered a great many gadgets and "cures" over the years to such and extent that I now know that many health professionals don't really know what the disease does on a daily basis.
My advice to anyone starting this journey with a loved one is to educate yourself, try to be ahead of the disease so you are prepared for the next phase and get all the help you can . There are some very good books out there, thete are also some duds so pick wisely, take advice form someone who has been there.
The description in the blue box above is really only a vague description of the very early stage and believe me there is nothing that can combat the "hindrances" of sundowning or memory loss. The very word hindrances. is a joke, anyone who has sundowning is suffering form something far far greater than a hindrance.
I do appreciate the link being posted but realistically I saw nothing on the site that would have helped me.
Sorry there was nothing there of help to you Jeannine, I lost my aunt on my mother's side to Alzheimer's when I was young and I know it goes much further than memory loss. My heart goes out to you, I can't imagine what you and your husband have gone through....hugs. :rose:
Wilberforce
Jeannine
- Location
- BC Canada
Seabreeze, the problem is most manufacturers of stuff for A D patients really don't know what it is.
Take one item, eg the door alarm, it sounds when someone opens the door but.. and here is the problem. If an AD patient goes through an alarmed door all it oes ids let you know.. t does not stop them going.
My husband went in and out of the house a 100 times a day but when he got out he could get no further as the gates were kept locked. He was safe walking in the garden. When it became unsafe to do that then the door was kept locked. So the gadget would work when it was not needed and was useless further down the line.
When he was capable of playing games he would play and enjoy regular games like dominoes, cards etc once he was past that stage the toys they sell would be no use to him. He can still read although he cannot follow the directions . He can no longer write except in an alphabet that is not our 26 letters, and it was correct so what he writes is nonsense, then he used to be able to read it back. I could not read it but he could.
He no longer chews food, so everything he eats is minced. Soon he will be on puree. He can not use a straw or hold a cup so the feeding gadgets are useless to him and in the past he could use a normal cup, so the aids were not needed.
I think a lot of companies confuse AD with other forms of dementia, it is a dementia but there are many and AD is only one of them. Some of the dementias only do affect memory and speech. A D gradually kills off the patient one function at a time until finally breathing goes. It is a very much misused term often used for other forms of aging.
Take one item, eg the door alarm, it sounds when someone opens the door but.. and here is the problem. If an AD patient goes through an alarmed door all it oes ids let you know.. t does not stop them going.
My husband went in and out of the house a 100 times a day but when he got out he could get no further as the gates were kept locked. He was safe walking in the garden. When it became unsafe to do that then the door was kept locked. So the gadget would work when it was not needed and was useless further down the line.
When he was capable of playing games he would play and enjoy regular games like dominoes, cards etc once he was past that stage the toys they sell would be no use to him. He can still read although he cannot follow the directions . He can no longer write except in an alphabet that is not our 26 letters, and it was correct so what he writes is nonsense, then he used to be able to read it back. I could not read it but he could.
He no longer chews food, so everything he eats is minced. Soon he will be on puree. He can not use a straw or hold a cup so the feeding gadgets are useless to him and in the past he could use a normal cup, so the aids were not needed.
I think a lot of companies confuse AD with other forms of dementia, it is a dementia but there are many and AD is only one of them. Some of the dementias only do affect memory and speech. A D gradually kills off the patient one function at a time until finally breathing goes. It is a very much misused term often used for other forms of aging.
Butterfly
SF VIP
- Location
- Albuquerque, New Mexico USA
Jeannine, I helped care for a friend's mother with AD, and she seemed to always be in an alternate world back in the 60s, peopled with people only she could see. I've always wondered if she realized her body and mind were failing her, or if she was just unaware of the whole present world and happily back in another time. Do you have any idea about that? I always hoped she was just happily back in her own world, where her husband was still alive and her children were still kids. She would talk away with them and talk about starting supper, going to the store, etc.
Wilberforce
Jeannine
- Location
- BC Canada
Truly, I believe my husband has no idea that he is where he is.
When he first got his diagnosis, he read all he could and fully educated himself about what was coming. I believe 100% that the knowledge he had he has since forgotten . This is the only decent thing in this terrible disease. He has no idea what is coming tomorrow or indeed 5 minutes from now. I cannot stress that enough. I believe that. I would recognize sadness in him if it was there, and it is not.
He was aware he would lose his memory, his speech, his balance, his continence , his swallow and his sight. Some folks have other health problems which may take them before the AD goes the full circle, he does not .
He made all his own plans for later , made his own rules etc, I don't agree with all of them but have agreed to carry them out. I think this is very important.
My husband went through a phase last year where he was back in his teens to twenties, He was still talking etc then and would talk endlessly about friends he had not seen for 50 odd years, and talk about them like he saw them yesterday. He would also hallucinate and it was very clear he was visiting with people I could not see . So I think you may be right about your friend. I do know my husband is in no discomfort, neither physical or mental and that supports me.
When he first got his diagnosis, he read all he could and fully educated himself about what was coming. I believe 100% that the knowledge he had he has since forgotten . This is the only decent thing in this terrible disease. He has no idea what is coming tomorrow or indeed 5 minutes from now. I cannot stress that enough. I believe that. I would recognize sadness in him if it was there, and it is not.
He was aware he would lose his memory, his speech, his balance, his continence , his swallow and his sight. Some folks have other health problems which may take them before the AD goes the full circle, he does not .
He made all his own plans for later , made his own rules etc, I don't agree with all of them but have agreed to carry them out. I think this is very important.
My husband went through a phase last year where he was back in his teens to twenties, He was still talking etc then and would talk endlessly about friends he had not seen for 50 odd years, and talk about them like he saw them yesterday. He would also hallucinate and it was very clear he was visiting with people I could not see . So I think you may be right about your friend. I do know my husband is in no discomfort, neither physical or mental and that supports me.