The 17th of November I communicated with Tom's Doctors that Tom wanted and NEEDED something but he did not want to take anything he has taken before.
He had become someone I did not want to care for any more... someone I didn't know... mean and belligerent.
After going over what meds Tom had been on an the result of each and what he was like now.... We all came to an agreement to try "celexa"
After a month Tom has transformed back into someone I knew once..... He is once again engaging in life and his disposition is what it once was so long ago.
He still has the deficits that dementia has taken but just to have my "sunshine
" back is the Greatest Christmas present the girls and I could ever hope for.
We call it Our Christmas Miracle.....
Friday, December 16, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
He Is Cured......
Tom's stress test came out fine... no sign of every having a heart attack, blood flow was normal .... no blockage or anything......
We cancelled the sleep apnea test as Tom has been loosing weight and so he has been breathing better at night.
Tom went on a diet after his hospital stay... He said he had to take off all the weight he gained that the pills put on him.... So he quit eating a bag of chips a day, bread with a pound of butter per slice, helpings of food that would feed two people well, candy bars and chocolate assortments of all kinds,...........
In one month he has lost 15 lbs (he says 30 -50... depends on who he told)..... now exercise is NOT required for this diet. Tom calls it a starvation diet....... NO BODY else could ever do what he is doing... it is brutal!!!!!!
Tom seems so happy inside that he radiates happiness as he has declared himself fit as a fiddle and cured of his dementia.....
He speaks of all the energy he has now... as he sits on the phone or staring out the window talking about all he is going to do that day or already did from his chair at the kitchen table.......?
The weather has been more than great this past month... 70's - 80........ ONE out of four days he might leave the house to go bird hunting on his 4 wheeler....... as he tells every one he goes every day all day long...... AND oh my goodness the birds he has gotten.....
BUT he is happy inside and that's all that counts... he knows his stories are stories but it makes him and convinces himself... he IS OK....
Unfortunately he didn't get back what the disease already claimed and one of them being his filter for inappropriate language..... He over reacts to what he perceives was said and reacts with the foulest mouth I have ever heard in my entire 57 years on this earth....... with pure HATE in his voice... (if the devil had a voice... ummmm ☞ "TOM" )
AND he shares his miss - guided opinions with all who will listen and attack anyone he believes has wronged him in any way......
BUT he is happy and is cured so it's OK... he has always been like that?????
We cancelled the sleep apnea test as Tom has been loosing weight and so he has been breathing better at night.
Tom went on a diet after his hospital stay... He said he had to take off all the weight he gained that the pills put on him.... So he quit eating a bag of chips a day, bread with a pound of butter per slice, helpings of food that would feed two people well, candy bars and chocolate assortments of all kinds,...........
In one month he has lost 15 lbs (he says 30 -50... depends on who he told)..... now exercise is NOT required for this diet. Tom calls it a starvation diet....... NO BODY else could ever do what he is doing... it is brutal!!!!!!
Tom seems so happy inside that he radiates happiness as he has declared himself fit as a fiddle and cured of his dementia.....
He speaks of all the energy he has now... as he sits on the phone or staring out the window talking about all he is going to do that day or already did from his chair at the kitchen table.......?
The weather has been more than great this past month... 70's - 80........ ONE out of four days he might leave the house to go bird hunting on his 4 wheeler....... as he tells every one he goes every day all day long...... AND oh my goodness the birds he has gotten.....
BUT he is happy inside and that's all that counts... he knows his stories are stories but it makes him and convinces himself... he IS OK....
Unfortunately he didn't get back what the disease already claimed and one of them being his filter for inappropriate language..... He over reacts to what he perceives was said and reacts with the foulest mouth I have ever heard in my entire 57 years on this earth....... with pure HATE in his voice... (if the devil had a voice... ummmm ☞ "TOM" )
AND he shares his miss - guided opinions with all who will listen and attack anyone he believes has wronged him in any way......
BUT he is happy and is cured so it's OK... he has always been like that?????
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Follow Up Dr. Visit
Tom had a follow up visit with his own Dr. from his Hospital visit...... I had the hospital fax the records from that stay to Tom's Dr..... and because I have to watch what I say I sent a report to his Dr. ahead of his visit......
It really helps to do this as the Dr. can cut through the bull and I don't get my head bit off..... OKAY... I DID! ....... get my head bit off.
I SAID..." Tom struggles for air when he sleeps at night and has periods of not breathing." hence a sleep study test. It went down hill from there..... starting with a nice word " LIAR! "
Tom IS doing fine.... all his physical/health problems stem from his inability to get off his butt........ smoking, lack of fluids, exercise and sodium intake......
Tom IS doing his best to help himself BUT the disease limits his ability to follow through.
Tom has a stress test coming up to see the heart is fine.... the Dr. doesn't think we will find anything there but we must make sure........
ANONYMOUS
It really helps to do this as the Dr. can cut through the bull and I don't get my head bit off..... OKAY... I DID! ....... get my head bit off.
I SAID..." Tom struggles for air when he sleeps at night and has periods of not breathing." hence a sleep study test. It went down hill from there..... starting with a nice word " LIAR! "
Tom IS doing fine.... all his physical/health problems stem from his inability to get off his butt........ smoking, lack of fluids, exercise and sodium intake......
Tom IS doing his best to help himself BUT the disease limits his ability to follow through.
Tom has a stress test coming up to see the heart is fine.... the Dr. doesn't think we will find anything there but we must make sure........
|
There are times in
life when everything you attempt will seem to go wrong. Your faith may
be strong and your commitment deep, yet adversity will come knocking on
your door. The power of prayer will strengthen and stabilize you. But
you can't pray away life's seasons. God has a purpose for not allowing
you to be fruitful all the time. Real growth requires seasons of
struggle as well as seasons of success
|
Monday, September 5, 2011
Field Trip
Unfortunately Tom's symptoms are a result of the damage the disease is doing to his brain.... I understand the confusion some people have over the fact Tom is convincing in his stories and goes out of his way to prove there is nothing wrong with his memory as he and everyone else feel there can't be anything wrong because he "can remember"...............and his stories ARE convincing.
HELLO!!!!!!! To those who have NOT bothered to learn anything about Alzheimer or any related dementia live in the false belief we are discussing "MEMORY ISSUES ONLY"
With Alzheimer, memory is one of the first symptom that makes you realize what the issue might be..... That's usually after living with and dealing with or not , with the behavior changes that creep in ........
What else you might not know IS that the first symptoms of dementia start out looking like Alzheimer and as it progresses the symptoms than appear or not that points to a variant of another dementia and or an entirely different one.....
Diagnosis is largely made by an experienced neurologist base on symptoms......and what skills and functions they are losing.... and in what order.
ALL dementias take you down the same basic road of loss of brain function to the point of death. Rate at which one travels this journey varies...... the path it takes through ones brain varies.....medication to help through the symptoms varies....... What is inevitable is DEATH.
So that is where we are..... The parts of Tom's brain that is damaged by what ever dementia Tom has, which now is appearing to be different than Alzheimer or a variant of another with it..... What ever the case is the result of the diseases is ....... apathy, sleep issues, anger issues, inability to reason, lack of judgment, he shadows....... the list goes on BUT for all that he has lost, his memory is better (BUT not good) than it should be if it was Alzheimer...... and his stories are SO BELIEVABLE!
So what is killing him? In the past year he quit doing what little he was that may have given him some exercise.... He now walks from his bed to the kitchen table and the bathroom. (We have a small home)..... out side he gets on his 4-wheeler that he parks by the door to go anywhere in the yard......
He has a cigarette in his mouth day and night except for when food or drink is going in his mouth. When he can't breath he grabs a cigarette, same with chest pain or anything else......
The rest should be self explanatory.... No oxygen =- heart damage = heart failure.....
No exercise = XYZ
The results of the tests at the hospital showed he did NOT have a heart attack or congested heart failure.... his oxygen ran low.....his sodium and potassium were a bit low....... And he more than likely has emphysema as his lungs were diminished.
ON discharge he heard..... No heart attack.. no congested heart failure, the swelling was gone ...... he was in GREAT SHAPE and could go home and smoke all he wanted and drink all he wanted and his salt intake was no big deal.....because he was just fine! Here is where I bang my head against the wall.
Tom has a follow up with his own doctor, stress test was ordered and a sleep apnea study. All we can do is see where this takes us..... You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink........
Tom blames his weight gain on medications.....
He went on Aricept in 2007..... his weight gain started 5/26/10 he weighed 223 lb and by 9/17/10 he weighed 240 lb.......4/21/11 he weighed 261 lbs and now weighed out at 271 with water weight included........
His other meds that he claims put on ALL the weight was started in Jan. of 2011
HELLO!!!!!!! To those who have NOT bothered to learn anything about Alzheimer or any related dementia live in the false belief we are discussing "MEMORY ISSUES ONLY"
With Alzheimer, memory is one of the first symptom that makes you realize what the issue might be..... That's usually after living with and dealing with or not , with the behavior changes that creep in ........
What else you might not know IS that the first symptoms of dementia start out looking like Alzheimer and as it progresses the symptoms than appear or not that points to a variant of another dementia and or an entirely different one.....
Diagnosis is largely made by an experienced neurologist base on symptoms......and what skills and functions they are losing.... and in what order.
ALL dementias take you down the same basic road of loss of brain function to the point of death. Rate at which one travels this journey varies...... the path it takes through ones brain varies.....medication to help through the symptoms varies....... What is inevitable is DEATH.
So that is where we are..... The parts of Tom's brain that is damaged by what ever dementia Tom has, which now is appearing to be different than Alzheimer or a variant of another with it..... What ever the case is the result of the diseases is ....... apathy, sleep issues, anger issues, inability to reason, lack of judgment, he shadows....... the list goes on BUT for all that he has lost, his memory is better (BUT not good) than it should be if it was Alzheimer...... and his stories are SO BELIEVABLE!
So what is killing him? In the past year he quit doing what little he was that may have given him some exercise.... He now walks from his bed to the kitchen table and the bathroom. (We have a small home)..... out side he gets on his 4-wheeler that he parks by the door to go anywhere in the yard......
He has a cigarette in his mouth day and night except for when food or drink is going in his mouth. When he can't breath he grabs a cigarette, same with chest pain or anything else......
The rest should be self explanatory.... No oxygen =- heart damage = heart failure.....
No exercise = XYZ
The results of the tests at the hospital showed he did NOT have a heart attack or congested heart failure.... his oxygen ran low.....his sodium and potassium were a bit low....... And he more than likely has emphysema as his lungs were diminished.
ON discharge he heard..... No heart attack.. no congested heart failure, the swelling was gone ...... he was in GREAT SHAPE and could go home and smoke all he wanted and drink all he wanted and his salt intake was no big deal.....because he was just fine! Here is where I bang my head against the wall.
Tom has a follow up with his own doctor, stress test was ordered and a sleep apnea study. All we can do is see where this takes us..... You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink........
Tom blames his weight gain on medications.....
He went on Aricept in 2007..... his weight gain started 5/26/10 he weighed 223 lb and by 9/17/10 he weighed 240 lb.......4/21/11 he weighed 261 lbs and now weighed out at 271 with water weight included........
His other meds that he claims put on ALL the weight was started in Jan. of 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
OOPs... Missed July!
Guess I missed July's Update..... Probably because there isn't much change.
At Tom's request and the encouragement of those that stay in touch with him but don't have to care for him and put up with his behavioral issues which is common and typical of this disease, have backed off on some of his behaviors meds which helped me stay safe and keep him in the realms of our 30 acres. He feels better he says in the fact he is more alert WHEN he does get up and more energy which only puts him back on his 4-wheeler and out of the safety of our home.
I totally understand the people who love Tom don't like to see him in a calm submissive state because it is so out of character from who he was...... BUT what they do NOT get is that he IS NOT who he was....... AT ALL. Not even kind-a.
I know they do not realize they are putting him in danger and me. They make excuses for his behavior not wanting to accept what is but that is not helping him or me.......
Anyway.... here is a little story that took place last evening......
Tom was out bumming around on his 4-wheeler most of the day. He popped in now and then just to take off again to who knows where. I don't.......
I'll take a moment here to respond to those that say I need to make him stay in the yard... do what you have to to keep him off the 4-wheeler.
Well A.... I had that problem solved peacefully with meds. KEY word HAD!
B.... Have you ever tried to stop a train?
C.....Have you ever stirred up a hornets nest?
I'll leave you to ponder that.....
Back to story......
SO..... around 5:00 p.m....... Tom came in the house chuckling. The "old couple" down the road had some guy with a small boat pulling their pontoon boat from their place to the landing close to our place......
He was chuckling because he thought it was going to really funny to sit on the bridge and watch them struggle to get that pontoon boat loaded on the trailer.
Now the "Old Lady for some ? reason does not like Tom. The Old Man is Tom's buddy. The other guy with the small boat is some Good Samaritan who offered to help this Old Couple get their pontoon out of the water.
SO I asked to go watch the ordeal with him. He was happy to have someone along to laugh with him. (NOT MY INTENTION)..... Birds eye view from the bridge.
Soon the little boat came around the corner of the river pulling the pontoon boat into sight. The Old Lady (respectively) was on the pontoon and the Old Man was in the small boat.....
I seen trouble arising as they were nearing the landing.... "Should we go help them?" I asked? "I don't know if we should or not" was his answer. "I think we should... it's what God would want us to do".... I replied.
He responded to that and and drove us down to the landing. They threw Tom the line from the pontoon.... He looked confused but I figured he was okay because he only had to hang on to it.....
I pulled the small boat to shore so the men could get out..... I had to help the Old Man who was not very stead on his feet. I grabbed hold of him to steady him as he was stepping out... teasing him that he was on his own if he fell in the river.
The Old Man went to back his truck and trailer down the ramp. Tom continued to hold the rope not really knowing what to do. It could have been tied to tree......
The Old Man released the rope and hook from the trailer to attach to the pontoon to pull the pontoon onto the trailer. There it lay..... We then had Old Lady sitting on the pontoon... Tom standing there holding a rope .... the Good Samaritan in his boat, trying to pull the pontoon back into the water to line it up on the trailer....
This is where I realized Tom was not barking orders at me to help him get the pontoon lined up etc...... he was standing there NOT knowing what to do.
I jumped into action and went into the water up to my waist to hook the rope to the pontoon and releasing the one Tom was holding and then guide it over some posts on the trailer ........ The Old Man pulled ahead and the pontoon was loaded........
The reason I am telling this story is to point out how Tom did not know what to do.... if he got in trouble on the trails .... weather he got stuck or broke down.... HE WOULD NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!!!!!
I think I will end here.... I think the rest is self explanatory to anyone who still has a full deck...... Tom is missing way to many cards to be out playing any more. And I think he is out of wild cards too.
At Tom's request and the encouragement of those that stay in touch with him but don't have to care for him and put up with his behavioral issues which is common and typical of this disease, have backed off on some of his behaviors meds which helped me stay safe and keep him in the realms of our 30 acres. He feels better he says in the fact he is more alert WHEN he does get up and more energy which only puts him back on his 4-wheeler and out of the safety of our home.
I totally understand the people who love Tom don't like to see him in a calm submissive state because it is so out of character from who he was...... BUT what they do NOT get is that he IS NOT who he was....... AT ALL. Not even kind-a.
I know they do not realize they are putting him in danger and me. They make excuses for his behavior not wanting to accept what is but that is not helping him or me.......
Anyway.... here is a little story that took place last evening......
Tom was out bumming around on his 4-wheeler most of the day. He popped in now and then just to take off again to who knows where. I don't.......
I'll take a moment here to respond to those that say I need to make him stay in the yard... do what you have to to keep him off the 4-wheeler.
Well A.... I had that problem solved peacefully with meds. KEY word HAD!
B.... Have you ever tried to stop a train?
C.....Have you ever stirred up a hornets nest?
I'll leave you to ponder that.....
Back to story......
SO..... around 5:00 p.m....... Tom came in the house chuckling. The "old couple" down the road had some guy with a small boat pulling their pontoon boat from their place to the landing close to our place......
He was chuckling because he thought it was going to really funny to sit on the bridge and watch them struggle to get that pontoon boat loaded on the trailer.
Now the "Old Lady for some ? reason does not like Tom. The Old Man is Tom's buddy. The other guy with the small boat is some Good Samaritan who offered to help this Old Couple get their pontoon out of the water.
SO I asked to go watch the ordeal with him. He was happy to have someone along to laugh with him. (NOT MY INTENTION)..... Birds eye view from the bridge.
Soon the little boat came around the corner of the river pulling the pontoon boat into sight. The Old Lady (respectively) was on the pontoon and the Old Man was in the small boat.....
I seen trouble arising as they were nearing the landing.... "Should we go help them?" I asked? "I don't know if we should or not" was his answer. "I think we should... it's what God would want us to do".... I replied.
He responded to that and and drove us down to the landing. They threw Tom the line from the pontoon.... He looked confused but I figured he was okay because he only had to hang on to it.....
I pulled the small boat to shore so the men could get out..... I had to help the Old Man who was not very stead on his feet. I grabbed hold of him to steady him as he was stepping out... teasing him that he was on his own if he fell in the river.
The Old Man went to back his truck and trailer down the ramp. Tom continued to hold the rope not really knowing what to do. It could have been tied to tree......
The Old Man released the rope and hook from the trailer to attach to the pontoon to pull the pontoon onto the trailer. There it lay..... We then had Old Lady sitting on the pontoon... Tom standing there holding a rope .... the Good Samaritan in his boat, trying to pull the pontoon back into the water to line it up on the trailer....
This is where I realized Tom was not barking orders at me to help him get the pontoon lined up etc...... he was standing there NOT knowing what to do.
I jumped into action and went into the water up to my waist to hook the rope to the pontoon and releasing the one Tom was holding and then guide it over some posts on the trailer ........ The Old Man pulled ahead and the pontoon was loaded........
The reason I am telling this story is to point out how Tom did not know what to do.... if he got in trouble on the trails .... weather he got stuck or broke down.... HE WOULD NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!!!!!
I think I will end here.... I think the rest is self explanatory to anyone who still has a full deck...... Tom is missing way to many cards to be out playing any more. And I think he is out of wild cards too.
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