Alzheimers

[Abi]

Does anyone else have any experience of Alzheimers in their family, or with friends?

My Grandparents both have Alzheimers, which has steadily got worse over the past 3 or 4 years. Now, they dont even realise my Uncle is their Son, they dont recognise any of my cousins or my sister, even though they're their Grandchildren. The only people they recognise as being related to them is my Mum and Myself, and even then, they're not sure.

They're so independant, that they refuse help from us in any form. They wont accept any shopping or anything, even though its just done to help them, because they're insistant that they are fine, even though they're not. They dont eat properly, and they rarely ever go out. Its understandable now, because they're both 85 in a couple of weeks time, but that doesn't mean it gets any easier.

They've both been to the Doctors, and nothing is physically wrong with them, its just in the mind. Theres nothing that can be done to help them though, so its just going to carry on getting worse and worse.

So has anyone else got any experience of Alzheimers? What did you do to cope with it?

Thanks x :D

[Debs]

My Grandad has alzheimers, its horrible to watch hin getting worse.

it started with forgetting little things like leaving the gas on, or not realising the milk was out of date and lumpy, then one day at his local shops he fell over, after that it as awful. he didnt know where he was, he didnt remember things from the days before, he didnt really know who we were.

Mum in the end put him into a home, it was horrid as it was something he never wanted and even though mum had tried years before to put him into warden controlled housong and he had refused this time she had to force him into tha home! The grandad i knew who bought me treast every week, and saved hios 5ps for me, the grandad who used to take us everywhere and play cricket with us was no more, afer his fall he didnt even no who i was!

over the years he has got really bad, now he is really frail and every year we say he wont be here by xmas, but his fall was 10 years ago now. Last time i saw him he was sooo skinny and he cant do anything for himself now ( apart from drink a cuppa and eat a kit kat, hes always managaed that!!) thsi is the first year i havent put his birthday on my calender as i am convinced by xmas he wont be here and i wont want to tempt fate and put his birthday in!

He also no longer recongnises my mum, he tells her im not your dad, she dosent say this upsets her but it does, he gets confused as to who we all are, when i had connor he thought i was my mum!! you just have to correct him, we have a larf with him about it he pretends he does really know and calls himself silly old fool! Funny thing is the things he remembers from years ago! he always talks about the time they lived in trinidad asnd the job he had there adn the war, he remembers all the people from years and years ago but not us!

watching someone with alzheimers is horrid, i dont visit gramps as much as i used to as it is upsetting. my brother wont visit at all, hed rather remember him as he used to be. The worst thing for me was he always used to say to me he would be there at my wedding, the proudest grandad ever and he would make sure he had a dance with me. But because of his illness he was unable to come to my wedding and that still upsets me now! shoewing him pics was not enough he should have been in them with me and we never did get that dance!

anyways that my expereince of alzheimers, i hope to god my mum and dador me or any body else in my family get it because i never want to have to watch another family member live with it.

[Tori]

Does anyone else have any experience of Alzheimers in their family, or with friends?

My Grandparents both have Alzheimers, which has steadily got worse over the past 3 or 4 years. Now, they dont even realise my Uncle is their Son, they dont recognise any of my cousins or my sister, even though they're their Grandchildren. The only people they recognise as being related to them is my Mum and Myself, and even then, they're not sure.

They're so independant, that they refuse help from us in any form. They wont accept any shopping or anything, even though its just done to help them, because they're insistant that they are fine, even though they're not. They dont eat properly, and they rarely ever go out. Its understandable now, because they're both 85 in a couple of weeks time, but that doesn't mean it gets any easier.

They've both been to the Doctors, and nothing is physically wrong with them, its just in the mind. Theres nothing that can be done to help them though, so its just going to carry on getting worse and worse.

So has anyone else got any experience of Alzheimers? What did you do to cope with it?

Thanks x :D

My aunt had alzheimers. She was also really independent, so it was awful to see her like that. She didn't recognise anyone, so every time my dad went she thought he was a burgular. my parents wouldn't let us see her, we only got to see her once before she died, so for me i wasn't as bad, but it did have a huge effect on the family though because no-one was sure what she would do next.

[Abi]

We went round there a few weeks ago, and we went into their fridge. It was absolutly filled with gone-off food. There was nothing left in there to eat at all- it stunk of decomposing rot...but even then, they didn't realise anything was wrong with it...

My Gran had a fall 2 years ago, and cracked her pelvis. Since then, shes been insistant that the home shes lived in for over 50 years isn't her home. She thinks shes on a Saga holiday, and that she'll be going home to her childhood house in a few days time. So everytime we go round there, if she can't find things, she insists that its not her house anyway.

My Gran has always been worse than my Grandad, but the worse thing was when i got a phonecall from her, saying that there was a strange man in the house, who she didn't even recognise (Meaning my Grandad). She even looked at the wedding photos, and didn't recognise him as being her husband, and whacked him, telling him to 'get out'.

Neither of them know how to use the Washing Machine, the Shower, the Microwave, the Video Recorder... and we get constant phonecalls from them, argueing with each other, asking how they work. They lose their tempers with each other, but because we're not on the doorstep to them, we can't do anything to stop them, or help...

Its just getting worse and worse, really...

[annaz]

Before my Great-Nana died on July 2005, she had it too. It was so sad when she said things like 'I'm gonna put on a pie for when Joe comes home.' Joe was her husband and he died in 1960.I hate to think that when she died, she could have been confused about herself and what she was doing.

[Jessie Wallace]

I work in an old people's home hun, and out of all the disease's it is one of the worst to have to watch. The changes in moods is incredable. It's one i find hard to cope with sometimes, especailly with people i knew before they became ill. I think the worst case's are when they actually knw they are becoming like it and are powerless to do anything about it.

[Abi]

I work in an old people's home hun, and out of all the disease's it is one of the worst to have to watch. The changes in moods is incredable. It's one i find hard to cope with sometimes, especailly with people i knew before they became ill. I think the worst case's are when they actually knw they are becoming like it and are powerless to do anything about it.

Social Services are now having meetings with my Mum and my Uncle about it, because their pushing for her to go into a home. But we're kind of reluctant, because it would mean spliting my Gran and Grandad up, and they're been married for 60 years this year, so its not something we're keen on.

But hey, we had a meeting today, and we'll have another one soon, and hopefully we'll sort something out, because they definatly can't cope on their own.

[Jessie Wallace]

We have the husband and wife's in with us. If the wife or husband is ok, then one can go into our flatlet, and the other comes into our nursing section, so that way they are as seperated as they could be.