have questions new to this help please

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ldylstn

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have questions new to this help please

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1901.1

from:

ldylstn

date:

4/29/2005 7:28 am

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I posted a few mths ago and you all were so helpful I hope you can be the same now. Last night my father in law, the one with the alzheimers and his wife stayed with us. Five mths ago when I saw him he was in and out of knowing people and not. He was seeing people who were not there and talking to himself. Last night I got to see he is not doing as well as then. His wife is having a hard time. He does not know her for long periods of time now and has talked to my husband and I about the strange lady in his home who claims to be his wife and he knows she is not. We know that is not true...He is getting angry and has hard time at night. Today my dh is driving them home to long Island where they live and so here are my questions. What kind of doctor should my mom in law take him to see at this point He has not been told he has alsheimers or anything else. each time he has gone to see the doctor down here he has been clear headed and they tell my mom that there is not much wrong. I say take him to see a doctor when he is in one of his episodes, something not too easy to do. Also are there any groups of support she can join or go to so she can talk with others who are going through this. Can she get help to come in to their home as she does not want to put him in a home, they do not have much money but great insurance and he is a vet. His youngest son does have power of attorney and that was done to protect mom and hopefully she wont stand to loose what little they have saved in their lifetime. I guess what I am asking is what is the next step and how to go about it. He needs a doctor first he needs meds and she needs support and the rest of the family needs to come to terms with what is going on. Any help any one please. I am more worried about my mom now as the stress is showing. Thanks oh how do I find a support group near Port Jefferson Long Island for her. Diann

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cl-calley7

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have questions new to this help please

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1901.2 in response to 1901.1

from:

cl-calley7

to:

ldylstn

date:

4/30/2005 5:43 pm

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Hi Diann,

From your description, it does sound as though your FIL's symptoms are getting worse. My suggestion would be to find a good neurologist to get him diagnosed and put on some sort of treatment - medication. Hopefully, the meds can slow down the process.

As for support groups, I would check with the Alzheimer's Association (either call or go online). They should be able to direct you to some groups as well as help you with contacting some healthcare professionals that could come into the home. Your FIL's doctor should also be able to refer him to in-home care.

You might also want to write down all the symptoms you noticed and have your MIL write down what she has seen and present them to the neurologist. That will help in case your FIL is having a "good" day and doesn't display them. It would also be good to check into a doctor that deals with geriatric patients since they deal with the elderly all the time.

Here is the link to the Alzheimer's Association:

http://www.alz.org/

Find your chapter:

http://www.alz.org/findchapter.asp

Resource Lists:

http://www.alz.org/Resources/Diversity/overview.asp

Let us know if we can find any more help for you.

Hugs,

Calley7