does anyone know about dementia?

[punch*drunk]

---

@kengillard wrote:

OH is on Aricept.......but they took him off it for a week in hospital...I suspect that did some damage....can't think of anything else.He's been back on that for 2 weeks.   It seemed to be helping him up until then.

what's this **bleep** about "post flooding detected".....??? for goodness sake I was only replying to a post.

---

What dose is he on? I just googled it to see what it does and I notice they say if you've forgotten to take it for a week or more you should see your doctor before starting up again. Perhaps he shouldbr started back on the lower dose?

Apparently it can make you tired too.

[kengillard]

he's taking 5 mg twice a day.

ACAT rang me back this morning.  they say they have a 3 to 4 month WAITING LIST for assessments....and they'll put him on the list.Lovely!    
However, "if things go pear shaped" they said to ring them.

[kengillard]

they also said Aricept can take up to 6 weeks to 'kick in'

[kengillard]

OH has been taken to hospital via ambulance.  He was not able to stand up out of his chair without my help and kept falling back into his chair...I rang the hospital and they said to bring him in or ring and ambulance.  I rang the ambos and they said his blood sugar levels were so high they couldn't get it to register!....so he's now in hospital AGAIN. being treated for the opposite of low blood sugar levels.......a hypo.......to one off the scale..a Hyper....

Here we go again.

[azureline**]

Sorry to hear that Gill, ask to see the social worker at the hospital and see if they can get him higher on the list for ACAT, or do what they said and call them, saying things have detiorated overnight. My FIL was assessed in hospital.

[lyndal1838]

This could be a blessing in disguise Gill.

My father's initial ACAT assessment was for living at home with support...meals on wheels, someone to come in for 30 minutes a day to check on him and do middle of the day meds, supervise his lunch (often forgot to eat if not prompted) etc.  It was moderately successful for a few weeks but we felt that his dementia was progressing rather more quickly than expected and requested another assessment.....6 months wait.

He developed an infection and the doctor hospitalised him, where he had a fall.  He really had the medical staff worried as he literally curled up in a ball and was unresponsive to everyone and everything, although the doctors could find no reason for it.  It took several weeks for him to come out of it, by which time the hospital had arranged an new ACAT assessment.  It took just 48 hours to get it and 3 days later he was in high dependency nursing home care.

Try and see a social worker at the hospital...they can be very helpful in pushing for an ACAT assessment.  They tend to look at the overall family situation rather than just the medical condition of the patient.  Stress that you have limited family support.

Good luck with getting the outcome that you want.

BTW, my mother was a very well controlled Type 2 diabetic using only tablets but after a major operation her diabetes went haywire...nothing seemed to control it successfully....her doctor was coming to the house doing blood tests every second day to try and pin point the problem.

[punch*drunk]

Hope he's ok ♥

As the others said, hospital might be the best place for him to get assessed, make sure you push them and stress that you're not coping.

[kengillard]

unfortunately the original hospital that he was in 2 weeks ago was full in emergency so they sent him to another one.  So far they've been very good and a doctor has rung me to keep me informed.   They're admitting him to try and get his high blood sugar levels down to a manageable level.   I'm going to ring the ACAT people now  (they operate out of this same hospital) to try and get him asssessed while he's in there.

The doc. just rang again to say he's been referred to the endicronology dept. and is being admitted. so I ring tomorrow and found out some more details hopefully.

[kengillard]

find out.   it's been a long day

[jvharrison]

Hi Gil and sorry to hear that hubby has vascular dementia the same type of dementia that my late mother had.11.5 years from diagnosis till her demise.

Its a very hard road in front of you but just try and do a couple of things per day to sort through all the issues.

Reading through looks like you are in need or trying to get another ACAT assessment......and very important to tell them you are not coping that well.

My mother was on the same meds that your hubby is/was on and had no effect ...........horses for courses.

If you belong to a church group or hubby is a Mason and or a returned man call in the favours you would be surprised just how helpful everyone can be........we cared for mother for over 6 years.....and had the carers come in 3 times a day till she was placed in care.  Personally we found that Blue Care provided fantastic home care and also nursing care

Wishing you the best on the journey its a tough one but suddenly things do start falling into place:)