Boomers And Parents :: Senile Dementia Articles :: Signs of Senile Dementia
Signs of Senile Dementia
If your parent is having difficulty with their daily life such as memory loss, performing familiar tasks such as paying bills, forgetting to eat, having trouble finding the right words when they try to tell you something, getting lost when going somewhere familiar, putting things away in very wrong places such as milk in a cupboard, moody outbusts, changes in sleep patterns, they need to see a doctor as soon as possible.
Although there are no cures for any type of senile dementia including Alzheimer's which is the most common form, there are treatments which can slow down the progress of Alzheimer's. Also there are some medical conditions which may be aggravating and causing senile dementia. If your parent is embarrased about the possibility of having senile dementia visit with their physiscian first, give him some history so that your parent does not have to answer a bunch of questions that may make them feel worse about it.
If the outcome is senile dementia you need to talk to your siblings and parent and work out a plan for their long term care. Such as who will handle the finances, a health care proxy should be made, and your parents end-of-life preferences should be discussed and recorded. If a member of the family wants to live with the parent the other siblings need to agree to help in other ways. While it's true that one sibling may be more willing and able to take care of your parent than you, don't assume they think things are great being the only one involved in the 24/7 situation. There is plenty you can do though you may live in another state, such as paying for a maid service, spending your vacation at your siblings and insisting and paying for them to go away for a few of those days while you stay home with the parent.
Calling the parent and care giver often and sending gifts such as food that your sibling and parent can enjoy together, there are a lot of monthly food clubs on the internet with imported and domestic cheeses, fruits, coffee. You will be filled with a lot less guilt if you do things for your sibling and parent that impact your life in some way as well. Not just say thank you I do not know how you do it! Because you don't know how they do it!
There may come a time you can no longer care for a parent with Alzheimer's or senile dementia on your own. You may still be working and cannot be there to consistently take care of their needs. There are daycare facilities, we ourselves used one for two years with my aunt. However it was as expensive as the facility we eventually put her in full time 24/7. You can also hire someone to come into your home and take care of them either daily or
occasionally through a service. It is very hard to clean your house, pay the bills, cook a meal when your parent is agitated and trying to get to greener pastures! We had to change our doors to keyed type as she could get out pretty quietly and we lived near a busy street. Boy was she fast at getting down the street ! You may get away with using a day care permanently however you need to remember that caring for a parent with senile dementia can be very stressful, when this happens you need to find a residential home that will take them for a few days at a time while you get away for a break. Do this at least every two months if you can. This is also good because when and if it becomes neccessary to procure full time facilities for your parent it will make the transistion easier for you and them. Having a place you know they get good care is always better.
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