aeren944 Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 I need some help. My father is showing a few signs of Alzheimer's Disease, in my opinion. I've looked it up and nearly every symptom of mild Alzheimer's is something he exhibits. I'm 26, the baby of the family, and my father is 60. My father was always the head of the house, and his rule was law. He was a pastor of a church of more than 300 people and an active person in the community. It's killing me emotionally to see him like he is now. He's a mere shadow of what he once was, and the whol family sees it. The thing is, he's very prideful and a very, very good man. We've pressed him to go to the doctor, and he did, but they could find nothing physically wrong with him. But, they said nothing about Alzheimer's. I really want to get him checked for it, but I don't know how without hurting his feelings. Like I said, he's an awesome man, and he's given me more than I could ask, and I just don't want to hurt him or drive some sort of wedge between us in forcing him to go to the doctor. My mom seems content to just wait it out with him, and stick by him... but I want her to be happy, and not be a prisoner if he gets worse. He's very nice, and always has a nice thing to say to everyone, but we can tell that he's not all there. If you look up Mild Alzheimer's, you'll see what I'm talking about. I love him to death and I want him to be okay, but I don't know what to do. What type of doctor should I bring him to? How do I get him to go without hurting his feelings or forcing him in some way? How do I cope with it if it gets worse? Any advice at all would be greatly, greatly appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites
blind_otter Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Unless you have a family history of Alzheimer's I don't think the doctor would usually check it out. There are actually a lot of different types of senial dementia, and not all of them are related to Alzheimer's Disease. There are also a lot of medications now out on the market for people who are suffering from mild to severe dementia. But, I have to caution you that the side effects can be bad. My grandmother is demented and when she was put on her medication she became aggressive as well. Maybe if you mention to your Dad that there are treatment options out there (back in the old days, there weren't really ANY treatment options) he might be interested. But IMO unless you get the whole family together to do an intervention where you tell your Dad that you want him to seek out treatment, there's not much you can do until he is either too incapacitated to make decisions for himself, or until he realizes that something is amiss and that he needs help. :/ Maybe someone else could help more.... Link to post Share on other sites
whichwayisup Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 Is he on any heart medication? Certain kinds can give symptoms of Alt. and become dementia. He should see a Neurologist for starters and go from there. Good luck and keep posting. I know how difficult it is dealing with someone who has Alzheimer's. My mother-in-law had suffered from it for many years and afew months ago died. It's not easy to see the one you love forget who you are. Link to post Share on other sites
Author aeren944 Posted December 21, 2006 Author Share Posted December 21, 2006 Thanks, both of you, for your replies. I really appreciate it. No, he's not on any heart medication. In fact, he doesn't seem to want to eat very healthy. He eats weird meals sometimes... like a chocolate shake for lunch, or a bowl of ice cream for dinner. I'm a diabetic, so I'm always thinking about what is right to eat, so maybe I'm just being a little too scrutinous. Anyway, when he did see the doctor the last time, they did a CAT scan type thing of his brain and they did say that he'd had one or two tiny strokes sometime in the past. Maybe that could be what's causing this? After reading Otter's post, I checked out a few different types of dementia and one seems to happen after certain strokes. But, doesn't all dementia get progressively worse? Or am I just being a pessimist? It is extremely difficult seeing him like this and remembering who he used to be. He used to be such a strong man... a leader. It's frustrating because, if I didn't suspect it was something else, I'd think he just changed and didn't care about anything anymore. It's not that he's unhappy (as far as I know) because he's his usual joking self, but he just seems so puzzled by some of the simplest things. Link to post Share on other sites
blind_otter Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 Maybe, because you're so attached to your Dad, it's difficult to see the aging process because that reminds you of his mortality? Before my Dad passed away I had a lot of trouble dealing with the way his health failed him slowly over the years leading up to his death. It is just natural for us to lose our abilities as we age and that can be difficult to witness, for children, especially when you are close to your parent... Link to post Share on other sites
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