Questions about Alzheimer's and Other Dementias

1. My 88 year old father is uncharacteristically making accussions of my mother. What could be wrong?

   Question - My 88 year old father is convinced that my mother has been unfaithful to him and berates her every day about it. What is wrong with him and what can I do?
   1 Expert Answer

2. Are hallucinations common in people with Alzheimer's?

   Question - Are Alzheimer's hallucinations common? My parent who has Alzheimer's has been experiencing hallucinations. Yes, hallucinations are fairly common.
   1 Expert Answer, 3 Community Answers

3. How can my dad help my mom, who has Alzheimer's, when she has a crying spell?

   Question - My mother has Alzheimer's and has been crying a lot. My father is unable to calm her down when the crying spells begin. What can we do to help her with the emotions behind the tears?
   1 Expert Answer

4. Why do Alzheimer's patients remember certain things and forget others?

   Question - Why do Alzheimer's patients remember certain things and not others? Alzheimer's patients tend to remember things that happened longer ago better.
   1 Expert Answer

5. Can someone with Alzheimer's forget something then remember it?

   Question - Can someone with Alzheimer's? forget something, then remember it after some time?
   1 Expert Answer

6. Why won't my parents and their friends use the word Alzheimer's?

   Question - I know Alzheimer's can't be definitively diagnosed, but my mother surely has it. Yet she and my dad have never called her memory loss and confusion by that name, and none of their friends or my older relatives will use the word Alzheimer's either. Why does it have such a stigma for them?
   1 Expert Answer, 1 Community Answer

7. How can I make a hospital stay easier for my mother with dementia?

   Question - On top of her Alzheimer's disease, my mom faces surgery for colon cancer. She's 84, and her dementia symptoms are still relatively mild. Do you have any suggestions for how to make hospitalization easier on her?
   1 Expert Answer

8. Does Alzheimer's disease cause my mother's rummaging behavior?

   Question - Rummaging is a common Alzheimer's behavior, though you may feel like it's driving you crazy. Alzheimer's behaviors like rummaging help calm a patient.
   1 Expert Answer

9. How can my mother handle my father's poor nutrition and eating habits?

   Question - My parents recently moved to a senior retirement residence because my dad has Alzheimers. In the dining room, while waitng for a meal to be served, he will snack on crackers so that he's no longer hungry. My mother is embarassed that he wastes his meal, as well as being concerned about nutrition...
   1 Expert Answer

10. Alzheimer's versus dementia

    Question - Is there some reason your site insists on only discussing "Alzheimers" and not dementia? Yes, the are very similar and often follow the same progression BUT they are NOT THE SAME. At the least, the planning and care giving is different. Life can be long for Alzheimer's patients, it is shorter for dementia patients (more likely than not)...
    1 Expert Answer

11. How do I tell strangers about my parent's Alzheimer's disease?

    Question - What's a good way to let strangers we encounter -- in stores, walking on the sidewalk, and elsewhere -- know that my 74-year-old mom has dementia? Sometimes I feel the need to explain her behavior.
    1 Expert Answer, 1 Community Answer

12. What is the life expectancy of someone with Alzheimer's?

    Question - My 80 yr old Mother has had Alzheimer's since age 69. How much longer can this last? She lived with my father until his death nearly four years ago. Since then, she has lived with me, my husband and two daughters.
    1 Expert Answer

13. Who is doing the most promising research for an Alzheimer's cure?

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14. Are Alzheimer's and dementia basically the same thing?

    1 Expert Answer

15. Could my mother have Alzheimer's, rather than dementia?

    Question - Regarding symptoms of dementia if new situations seem to stimulate a more "connected" response rather than confusion could that indicate that mom's symptoms could be related to something else rather than Alzheimers? Mom had a stroke 7 years ago. She recovered pretty well from the stroke but has really been going downhill rapidly lately...
    1 Expert Answer

16. How do I know if my mom has Alzheimer's?

    1 Expert Answer

17. What are the first signs of Alzheimer's?

    1 Expert Answer, 1 Community Answer

18. Is it common for Alzheimer's patients to have good and bad days with their memory?

    Question - If a parent with early Alzheimer's or dementia has both good and bad days, it can mean that some situations are more confusing or stressful.
    1 Expert Answer, 1 Community Answer

19. Can legal documents be changed after an Alzheimer's diagnosis?

    Question - Caregivers usually don't need to be consulted about changes to legal documents, but the one who changes them must have the mental capacity to do so.
    1 Expert Answer

20. Any suggestions for talking to my father, who has Alzheimer's, about his finances?

    Question - I'd like to have a discussion about my parents' assets before my 79-year-old dad, who's been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, worsens. I'm already noticing that he has trouble paying bills, and I'm beginning to worry about long-term care, and I don't really know what his income and assets are.
    1 Expert Answer