dementia and re inforcement

Ted_Hutchinson

These are what I've used see alsoThe Heart Scan Blog: Melatonin for high blood pressure
As with Vitamin D melatonin is bio identical to the stuff our bodies make.
The Safety Of Bio-Identical Hormones by Jeffrey Dach MD

It might also help to try to get him outside into bright light early in the day to switch off natural melatonin production and use subdued lighting from about 9pm in the evening and keep his bedroom as DARK as possible, get rid of any nightlights digital displays, line the curtains, the idea being to ensure there is a significant difference between light levels during the day and at night to improve circadian rhythm.

margaretclare

Ted_Hutchinson wrote: »

It might also help to try to get him outside into bright light early in the day to switch off natural melatonin production and use subdued lighting from about 9pm in the evening and keep his bedroom as DARK as possible, get rid of any nightlights digital displays, line the curtains, the idea being to ensure there is a significant difference between light levels during the day and at night to improve circadian rhythm.

This is really useful, and obvious when you come to think about it! Most sufferers whose condition is at all advanced, i.e. no longer able to live independently at home, will be kept indoors all the time and therefore not in bright light early in the day.

It may possibly be a helpful thought for all those non-demented older people who spend their days indoors in front of the TV and then complain of not being able to sleep at nights, need sleeping tablets etc.

The saying 'You should get out more' has a lot of meaning!

nuttywoman

Dementia does`nt only affect the elderly as you all know,plus like Terry Pratchett there`s different types.I know only too well because my hubby has early dementia.He started with symptoms when he was 58, he`s 60 in nov and he`s slowly getting a bit worse with his memory.In his case its genetic, his dad was the same at that age.My hubby is very much childlike in lots of ways, eager to please, talking non stop, but always trying to put the world to right, i despair at that because he `butts`in to other peoples business and i`m dreading the day someone gives him a clout.Mind you if they did i won`t be responsible for my actions,lol

Ted_Hutchinson

Dementia patient makes 'amazing' progress after using infra-red helmet

Thought readers of this thread may in interested in this article. I appreciate that in the particular circumstanced of the OP the article is not relevant but it does show there may be a way to slow the progress of Alzheimer's for some.
It is (encouraging the brain to make new growth) that underlies Dr McCleary's nutritional approach.

EdInvestor

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?xml=/health/2008/07/28/hdementiaint128.xml

Very interesting article about a new way to "connect" with dementia patients so as to make their lives much more relaxed and happy.

Primrose

As somebody who had to cope with a parent with dementia, I know there are times when whatever you want to do may seem the wrong thing. However, all I can say from my own experience is that anything which gives extra stress to the patient is best avoided, especially if they have violent tendencies. Simply agreeing and having non confrontational conversations is often best, since if you flag up a situation which is untrue, the patient gets distressed, then shortly afterwards can't remember why they were distressed, but the anxiety of that situation remains with them. One of the best ways of deflecting such situations is to use the topic to naturally veer away to another thread of conversation which is related. i.e. If somebody was telling you about recently having a conversation with his mother who had been dead ten years, simply use the topic of his mother to start another conversational thread about his mother such as "I remember your mother used to make lovely fruit cakes. Did you help her bake them when you were young? Often the distraction and move to a new thread of the conversation will seem seamless to the listener and the need to avoid confronting them with the truth is avoided.

evelyn-b_2

Thank you for giving the link to the Telegraph article. I found it very interesting, and I found the readers' comments at the end particularly useful.

Merrywidow

Thanks everybody for a wealth of information. My mother is 95, blind, chair bound and a sufferer of mini strokes. Until recently she was mentally fine and together we compiled most of her family tree for my research. The last few months she has disappeared into fantasy land of lifting ceilings, moving walls and general confusion. Could this be vascular dementia or another throw back of urine track infection? I have however learnt a few valuable lessons from your comments on how to reply to her comments and certainly not to argue, which I am ashamed to admit I did for a while because she was blaming me for some terrible things I had naturally not done. Thanks.

soolin

That article is fascinating and does answer some of the questions I had in my mind.

For instance he and my mother were divorced 30+ years ago and it was very acrimonius (can't spell that sorry), but he doesn't want to remember that now so he always tells me that Mum is just out the back pegging out washing. She's been out there now for months, but dad's brain copes with her being just outside better than he does with being divorced and alone.

Likewsie dad loved his holidays and mainly went on coach tours, so he now explains his waiting in a chair as waiting for the coach to come back for him, sometimes his room is a hotel room and the food is nice considering it is a restaurant. I have no problems with smiling and agreeing with him when he says that.

Errata

Edinvestor, thanks so much for posting the link, it's so informative about a method that's easy to understand and put into practice.
Soolin, I think we all push the 'bad bits' to the back of our mind if we can. Looks like your dad has the knack of pushing them out of sight altogether - I wish I could do it with some things as effectively as he does.
Merrywidow - your mum's GP can do a very quick test for any remaining infection and treat it.
This may help others: my mum slowly lost the ability to initiate a conversation but if I started it off on some topic or other we could have quite a good conversation. We particularly enjoyed gossipping with each other about the doings of the royal family !