General Chat

Does anyone have any experience of their loved ones having vascular dementia.

My husband had a memory test some time ago and the doctor said he was ok. He is 78.

Just lately he has been having trouble with walking and often starts to lean forward when he is walking and says he feels as though his legs wont move with his body.

He does get quite confused at times but strongly refuses to go back to see the doctor.

I am a worrier (: but not too sure if I am worrying over nothing.

Oh the joys of getting old. lol.

My father had this. The worst aspect, from both our points of view, was the hallucinations.

He’d hold a conversation with an empty room, image he was at the hospital & want picking up despite ringing from his home phone . Most incidents occurred as a form of sleep walking or within minutes of wakening up.

If you own a car, please hide the keys. Your OH might decide he needs to drive somewhere, fall back asleep & crash. Been there, done that & wrote the car off.

Medication has improved since my father died in 2006 - a stroke, not the car accident! If you can persuade him to go back to the GP, there might be something appropriate to slow the decline.

Unfortunately feet dragging is very common with dementia patients. Their legs can’t catch up with their body & over they go. If you’re out with him, you might be able to tell him to stop, stand up straight & walk at your slower pace.

Look after yourself & accept all the help offered to you. You’ll be no good to anyone if you get to the end of your tether. <3

Its an illness that needs medial advise and proper diagnosis as a number of causes can have likeness symptoms.

Have a word with the doctor who may write an invite to have a MOT.

Its an illness that go in leaps and bounds or progress at a slow rate,medical help can be given.

Dont cope alone though.

Try an persuade him to go back to the doctors or go with him for something else and bring up your concerns

That's what I did with my hubby.. he had a cold that went on and on and I made an appointment for him saying he probably needed antibiotics

I voiced my concern over his balance , hand shakes, memory problems with word recall and said I was worried about Parkinson's.
Doc said he was thinking the same so lets get bloods done and I will refer him too

After extensive tests including several different scans he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's with associated Lewy Body Dementia that was causing the balance. Hand shakes etc
His memory was Alzheimer's which was a loss of brain cells that held word recall


Alzheimer's has many different types and effects on the body .

His wasn't vascular but brain cell loss

Detective, Kay and Shirley.
Thank you for your response and advice.

I will try to get him back to the docs or will try to bring it up next time he has to see her.

He has lots of other problems as well so maybe they are causing his slowness and stumbling.

Its hard to know what to do for the best. :-S

My FIL had both Vascular Dementia and Alzheimers and died a couple of years ago aged 95. Apart from his forgetfulness and memory problems we noticed he started to shuffle along when he was walking and like Shirley, we wondered about Parkinsons at that point. He used to say 'come on legs' as if they were holding him back.Then he kept having falls he couldn't explain, which we realised after were probably mini strokes, which he'd had in the past and which I think I have read can cause vascular dementia with the temporary starvation of blood to the brain.

Like others have said, try some pretext to get him back to the doctor's. You need a diagnosis to know what is wrong and what to expect. Best wishes to you both and do take care of yourself as well.

There may be some medication that can slow down the progress of the illness

Hubby was put on 24 hour patches to slow done the brain cell loss and he ticked over for 4 plus years

His Mobility did worsen and he had several falls but that was the Lewy body Dementia not the Alzheimer's

There are some cases of improvement linked to ingesting a teaspoon full of tumeric every day. Many Asian and S. Europe diets have turmeric anyway. Alzheimer is V uncommon there even with very old people.
I am sorry for you.

I believe you have to have Tumeric from early on for any real effects to show but as it almost certainly can't do any harm....

Thank you everyone for your kind replies. Hubby has to see the doc next week so I think I will casually bring it up. <3 <3 <3

My o.h. is 64 and had a memory test recently. He did well with the score, 96/100. He was diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, and the psychiatrist said to put Very in front of the M.C.I. This despite his constant confusion, disorientation and frustration.

He was told to stop drinking strong cider and to cut back slowly to no alcohol but not to stop immediately. He has been put on thiamine to help his liver but today I found another half empty bottle of strong cider in the bathroom which he can't remember drinking or leaving there. Needless to say, I poured the remainder down the sink.

He doesn't walk well, but that's down to his dodgy knees, he has a knee brace now. He copes well enough at work mentally but has to have help with physical stuff - he fixes computerised machinery that makes corrugated board. He retires next February, and is already working a 4 day week, going down to 3 days soon, but I hope he can stay fairly well after retirement.

I hope your hubby can get whatever help he needs to keep him mobile and no more confused than he already is. I saw something about turmeric recently, on tv, and I think you have to take it for several weeks before it shows any effect.

Good luck

Lizx

Thank you Liz. Oh. is 78 and I suppose some confusion and memory loss is expected at his age, I'm 71 and my memory isn't too good sometimes either. Hope your hubby enjoys his retirement in Feb. I will look into the thing about turmeric too.

Keeps safe and well.
Ann

Awww AnnmarieG unfortunately I do my poor Mum died of this last year it is a vile cruel disease. She had 2 brain scans about 5 years ago in the space of 3mths, it show how her brain was shrinking. The biggest part of the brain to shrink was the part that controls her balance hence her fails. She often described the same feeling that her legs wouldn't move or felt they were racing as your husband has. Also the hand shakes and when I would be helping her to the bathroom she would struggle as she was passing through the door, this was because the flooring was different to her it was like stepping in to a deep hole this was linked to Parkinson's. She eventually progressed to her childhood . She was never given any medication for this disgusting condition.

How sad for you and your Mum, Madge, it's wrong that there was nothing offered to help her.

Lizx

We was told Liz that there was nothing no cure.



Hayley

I know there is no cure but surely there must have been some medication to help your Mum cope a little.

I dread my o.h. getting worse. He is already on antidepressants for anxiety.

Lizx

All I can say is shout loud and clear for help even if says he does not need it, you may need help and suppport, I am sure Shirley will tell you this. In the early days we ( my sisters and I ) thought we was protecting mum by refusing help. We tired to control her diet, stop the sugar do you remember the threads between BC and I over my mums cream cakes. One of us visited her everyday she managed to stay independant for years. Then she started having mini strokes and became conffused, she was having heart problems as well. She began to loose all concept of time. Didn't know if it was morning or night. Then she was having a bath one morning and had a fall she lay there for 8 hrs till my sister got there after work, we had to get the police to break in. We visited every single day, she was taken for days out she was loved and cherished and we was all with her to the very end for 5 days we sat with her day and night. To my shame I had no patience at the begining till she was diagnosed.

Oh yes indeed you do need all the support you can get .

Once hubby was diagnosed he had regular check ups at the memory clinic and his prescription was passed to our doctors so I could get his repeat prescription every two months
He was also referred to the falls clinic and I took him every week to an exercise class which helped him enormously.
They knew he wasn't able to do some exercises but he was encouraged to do what he could . He enjoyed it and too it got him out of the house again as he had to stop coming weekly shopping with me as he just couldn't manage the walking .

Got too a disabled parking badge

Through one of the folks who was at the clinic I learnt about Age UK having a Dementia Day Care centre fairly locally and managed to get him a place ,
They picked him up from home in a minibus and he spent the day there .with meals
They would have activities he could join in with ,or not if he didn't feel like it.He was brought home late afternoon .

Having him looked after one day a week recharged my batteries and I was able to get out and do the shopping .make appointments for things I needed like dentist ,hairdresser etc.

As his Lewy Body Dementia increasing deteriorated he had more and more falls and the ambulance was called out every time as I was told not to try and get him up for my sake as well as his .

I also contacted his church.he was a practicing RC . I used to take him and park and he would walk the short way to church . When this became very difficult they arranged for me to park outside and he would be helped into the church and later back to the car for me to pick him up

It is a long journey i,m afraid and seeing them struggle is worrying and indeed heartbreaking as you know what the final outcome is going to be

You did need though to accept all the help you can get for both of you .

You can't help them if you wear yourself out

xx

There was 3 of us , so you must of been absolutely drained shirley

Madge, so sorry about your Mum. Its so hard to know what to do for the best. Hubby has been on tablets for migraine and is under a neurologist. He has seen him again and taken him off the tablets as he thinks they may be causing the symptoms he is getting. Its just a waiting game to see if he improves now he is not taking the tablets.

Take care xx