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Real Life Dementia Experience: Try AlzConnected.org

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One of my goals for ElderAuthority.com is to have it be a FREE and SHARABLE repository for grassroots wisdom about all things aging.  We are not there yet.   ElderAuthority receives lots of private comments and thank you’s.  These are great, but we can only share the comments you provide through the site.  One of the greatest gifts you can give your fellow Boomers is the benefit of your experience.
We live in a world with 78 million Baby… More

LEWY BODY DEMENTIA SYMPTOMS

Lewy Body Dementia is one of the most misdiagnosed of dementias.  It can be confused with Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
Major Lewy Body Dementia Symptoms include the following:

Alzheimer-like dementia
Mild Parkinsonism symptoms
Hallucinations and delusions
Intolerance to old-fashioned anti-psychotic medications (neuroleptics)

Early signs:

Hand posturing
Change in mobility
Inconsistent gait

More signs:

Fine motor problems
Drowsiness… More

METAPHOR FOR CAREGIVER’S JOURNEY

The attached video includes a wonderful metaphor for the “Caregiver’s Journey” and reflects my own experience as a caregiver.  We may not love it, but if we can learn to go with the flow, we will be fine.
The video is the opening to a six part lecture on Lewy Body Dementia.  The other five parts of the lecture can be found on YouTube. The lecturer is Tanis J. Ferman, Ph.D., at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.

Copyright TheNewElder 2012… More

DEMENTIA WITH LEWY BODIES

PHONE CALL WITH LEWY BODIES
Late hour phone calls usually raise concern, particularly when you are a primary caregiver for a parent.  Muting the TV, I could tell from my wife’s side of the conversation that her mother, Lida, was agitated, worried, and particularly paranoid about something that evening.  After several minutes of trying to calm her mother, Kathy handed me the phone.  My tone of voice and joking nature usually put my mother-in-law at ease.  Most times she… More