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My step sister says we need to find out which my stepdad has.

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I guess I'm a weirdo. I've never felt it necessary to give it a name . . . And truth be told, I'm not at all sure doctors really know for sure.. Either is devastating. I wish ya'all well.
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There are about 50 different kinds of dementia. The most common one is Alzheimer's -- possibly as many as 60% of all dementia patients have Alzhiemer's.

The second most common is a group of dementias known as Lewy Body Dementia. Possibly 20% of dementia patients have that. (My husband did.)

Then there are other fairly commons ones, like Vascular dementia, and frontotemporal dementia. And there are dozens of them you may never have heard of unless someone who know has been diagnosed with one.

Do you need to know what kind of dementia your stepdad has? The first things I'd ask is how old is her and how managed are his symptoms? My husband was in his 70s when he displayed out-of-control symptoms. It was very helpful -- critical, really -- to have an accurate diagnosis of the kind of dementia he had. His treatment plan was developed and monitored by an expert in that field.

My mother started to show dementia symptoms in her late 80s. Now 95 she is in a Nursing Home. We don't know what kind of dementia she has. I know it isn't LBD and I'm pretty sure it isn't ALZ. She is being well cared-for, she is comfortable, and doesn't have behavioral problems. Her family and her doctor don't think it would be useful to know the exact kind she has.

So, tell us more about your stepdad. Is he living alone? With family? At a care center? Is he relatively young or quite elderly? What would be different for him and for you if you knew what kind of dementia he has?

(This may seem odd, but one of the big benefits of knowing what my husband had was for me to join an online group and a local group of caregivers who were dealing with the same issues I was!)

Also know that most kinds of dementia can only be tentatively identified before autopsy. My husband's diagnosis was confirmed after he died. but many people are diagnosed with one kind of dementia and an autopsy shows that was incorrect and they had another type.
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I think it will be increasingly important to distinguish what kind of dementia someone has when we have more treatment options aimed at specific brain defects. Right now, even if you know the exact kind of dementia, mostly all that can be done is treat the symptoms anyway.

Right now, identifying LBD might be worth the extra tests and care since there are some drugs that can make that condition worse and anyone suspected of that kind of dementia should avoid those!
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My dad has always refused any discussion or testing for alz and dementia. His doc says he has the classic symptoms of alz. I've learned how to deal with him from participating in this website, and also have taken a couple classes.

In our case it's not that important to know exactly what the diagnosis is. Mom and I learn to deal with each new aspect of his dementia as it progresses. We avoid arguing with him and constantly correcting him. We try not to hurt his feelings and make him feel useful.
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Thanks Jeanne. My stepdad is 86, resides in an Alz facility. He regularly tosses rooms, flips
Furniture then loses his balance and goes to ER because he says he bumped his head. My mom and I go there, transport him back. My fear is that he will really hurt himself or worse hurt someone else. This man was one of the kindest, religious, helpful person I k ow (pretty boring overall). Meds calm him for a couple hours, then he's up and very 'busy'. Next wk we see a neurologist but I'm not even sure what questions to ask. Any input would be appreciated. Is there some type of scan that can assist in determining what Medici e may calm him down without making him so doped that it causes falls?
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Ask the doctor about the possibility of placing your stepdad in a lockdown psychiatric hospital to level out his drugs. That's what they did with dad and it helped a lot. He was in there for about 2-3 weeks and we were able to visit him. It's been a few years so I don't remember the details exactly and I wasn't the one taking care of the admission. I remember that he went in through the ER of the local hospital, that's the way they said do it. Anyway, while there they tried different combinations of drugs and the side effects and came up with a plan that allowed him to be calmer without being overmedicated.
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we have an appt appt with the HMO's GP in an effort to be referred to a behavioral health center for evaluation. his activities have escalated to hitting staff, we're now paying for an outside aide to distract/shadow him. if referral isn't done, not sure what our next step is. since prayers aren't working, pls wish us luck!
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I'm glad you are able to get him evaluated. Maybe they can help him. Like I said, it was a Godsend for Dad and he was to the point of really hurting Mom, hitting, kicking, getting in her face and yelling. And say stuff that was just rude, he lost his filter. Before, he was a lot like your dad, helpful to the family and neighbors, very religious, would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. He also, as his dementia progressed, needed to be busy. We fixed up a tub of toys and gadgets for him to mess with and he loved old western movies. He had a tool shed and he would sit out there and sort nuts and bolts and nails and stuff into jars and cans. He loved garage sales so he could buy more stuff to mess with.

I do wish you luck and will keep you in our prayers anyway.
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