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Alzheimer’s – how do you deal with it? {dementia diaries}

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Good morning, I recently got an email from a reader asking, “how do you deal with living with someone who has Alzheimer’s and dementia?” I paused after I read the email and thought to myself, “I don’t know. We just do.” It’s kind of sad all the people out there in the world living with their parents or grandparents in my case, and caring for them. Aging isn’t fun. Aging is scary, confusing and lonely. I think that’s what my grandparents feel sometimes, especially my grandfather. My grandmother is starting to get more forgetful too, although she will tell you she isn’t. She still has it together more than my grandfather though. I mean, I am forgetful in my 40’s so you are allowed to be forgetful in your 80’s!-ha. I guess when you have been married for 65+ years and been through what they have, getting old together can be challenging. Especially when you are both losing your mind.  A few weeks ago I shared a story about sitting with my grandfather on our front step and the moment of clarity and then concern he had for getting old and running out of money. Never in my wildest dreams did I think 10 years ago I would be having these conversations with my grandparents. Life is a pretty tricky thing as you age.  My grandfather has good moments of clarity and then all of a sudden it’s like a switch is turned on and he will do and say the craziest things. Alzheimer’s and dementia don’t go away, they just kind of hang around so to speak. You can’t change it and the best thing you can do is just “go” with it.

how do you deal with elderly confusion

So to answer your question, Carol J., we don’t really have a method for dealing with elderly confusion. Personally, when my grandfather gets confused, I just kind of go with it and play along. I find that correcting him makes him mad and it’s totally not worth the argument of proving him wrong. I mean, proving you are right isn’t necessary. You are dealing with a human who has no clue what even transpired never mind remembers what is really going on. So being right when dealing with an elder who has dementia and/or Alzheimer’s is a complete waste of time. In fact, I love to tell my grandfather he is right (even when he is completely wrong), that actually makes him feel good and it tends to settle him down. Sometimes he just needs someone to talk to. What he is saying usually makes no sense when he is having a forgetful spell but once he gets it out of his system and after I redirect him, he usually comes back to planet earth.-ha.

how do you deal with elderly confusion

I will tell you a little story that happened a month or so ago. I was headed to bed around 9:30pm and my grandfather appeared as though he was dressed and ready to go somewhere. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was going to work. My grandmother was so mad at him and I could tell they had been arguing. She was trying to tell him it was 9:30pm at night and she just kept telling him over and over to get back to bed. So I looked at my grandfather and said, lets have a snack and then we can talk about where you are going. So I went upstairs with him got him a drink and snack and by the time he sat down, he was ready to watch his tv show for the night. You see, redirecting him and slightly changing the subject seemed to work. I find that is helpful with my grandfather. Trust me, it’s not easy but I find that when I treat him like he is my toddler (I know that sounds horrible) it helps. When my grandfather is in a state of confusion, yelling, getting mad and being a dictator doesn’t work. Just like it doesn’t work with a kid. When my son was a toddler, redirecting him and taking his mind off what he was trying to do was what worked so that’s what I do with my grandfather when he is having a “moment of confusion.”  It’s a strange and scary thing as people get old. It’s amazing how roles reverse as you get older. As a kid your parents are the ones who take care of you and then 60+ years later, the kid is taking care of the parent. The circle of life is certainly unpredictable and challenging but I wouldn’t trade these moments for anything. Family needs to care for family and that’s just the way it is. Be sure to check out our About Us page, multigenerational living page and dementia diaries page for more information and family stories.

Meet Jessica

What started as a hobby, Jessica’s blog now has millions of people visit yearly and while many of the projects and posts look and sound perfect, life hasn’t always been easy. Read Jessica’s story and how overcoming death, divorce and dementia was one of her biggest life lessons to date.

6 Comments

  1. My mom has had dementia for many years. Having to change roles and be the parent is very hard because it is so un-natural! My mom is 95. She has been bedridden in a nursing home for over 3 years. My dad was always in the room right beside her. He passed away in May and she has never understood that he is dead. She has never said one word about it even the day we told her aboutit. He was the love of her life that she was married to for 75 years! He was in the room with her becaus he never would leave her by herself. This has to be God’s way of comforting her.
    Last week I realized for the first time that she did not have a clue who I was. Now that is a very strange feeling.

    1. Oh wow Nancy, so sorry to hear about your mom and that your dad passed. That must be so difficult to watch your mom. I don’t know what I would do if my parents didn’t know me or my grandparents. That must be so strange. Aging and memory loss is so hard to understand. Hang in there 🙂

  2. I have heard that from a lot of people, that it’s just better to tell them they’re right, rather than tell them they’re wrong. A teacher at my son’s school, her mom has alzheimers and she’ll just go along with the conversation, even if her mom thinks she’s someone else. That was great thinking for you to redirect your grandfather!

    1. I actually took my grandfather to the doctor a couple days ago and we talked about his memory loss and getting confused and the doctor said as long as he can be redirected, he should be ok…..well for now I guess. Hopefully he always knows who we are and follows redirection 🙂

  3. You are a precious granddaughter and such a wonderful help to your parents and grandparents! I believe families would be much happier and healthier if we all lived together in multi-generational homes. Neither of my children are married, both in their 40’s, so I know they will unable to care for us and I’m ok with assisted living, etc. This is a tough world and a hard economy and they must work to ensure their retirement years. However, for those who are able, you are setting a society changing example. Thanks for your lovely blog.

    1. Thank you Judi! I really can’t even imagine it any other way. This just happens to be what I am suppose to be doing at this point in my life. God has a plan 🙂 You are right, I think society could learn a thing or two from multigen homes.

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