5 Shocking Facts About Dementia I Wish Everyone Knew

[@sallieschuetz1796]

Oh boy you hit the nail right on the head. People tell me my husband seems fine and they don’t see his dementia and it really gets under my skin.

[@dallasguidroz9350]

YEP! EXACTLY 👍

[@bethneel6749]

YES!!!

[@RayneRuth]

Thank you for mentioning the feelings of those in our care. I am a caregiver, and a witness to caregiving delivered by others. I have witnessed some caregivers impose their will on people with dementia. I observed a caregiver force their parent's jaw open, then force food into their mouth. I have seen a caregiver physically manhandle and force a patient from their bed, then force them to sit on the toilet. I have heard caregivers say things like, "She's just being dramatic, she doesn't really need help with that." Even a caregiver's dismissive behavior is making a choice on behalf of the care recipient. I witnessed caregivers withhold a critical medication, because they claimed that it was causing a side effect that incovenienced the caregiver. We can be frustrated, we can be angry, we can be exhausted, and we can be impatient. But our feelings do not justify manhandling human beings or forcing them, against their will, to be put in situations they do not want to be in. There is no way that anyone will convince me that people with dementia cannot feel the genuine intent behind the type of interactions I described. There is zero dignity in substandard care.

[@joanne371]

Unfortunately, when the loved one "seems fine" or "looks fine", people don't consider the work that we, as caregivers, have put into the process to promote, foster and keep the life of the loved one in a level of homeostasis. Everything appears as fine and there are no problems or issues, and the caregiver is forgotten. Seldom are we offered any help. Moreover, the appearance of "fine" seems to put us in the realm of exaggerating the disease. It's sad that there is little awareness or a desire to learn about the vast array of day to day issues that aspire and creep up out of nowhere--- yet we keep giving our hearts and souls to make our loved ones feel loved, comfortable and important while they live out this dreadful disease. Yes, a series on this would be most helpful. God Bless You for your love and inspiration in helping us.

[@markchin8256]

But stay positive as a caregiver. Be of good cheer as far as possible.😊❤

[@passionatesingle]

You couldn't have said it any better! That is what everyone tells me too,your mum looks fine. But things fall apart when someone else tries to help her in my place as she doesn't want anyone else,even her other daughters.

[@markchin8256]

Some helpful techniques to alleviate, but not cure, dementia include: 1. Good dementia daycare, 2. Proper and regular medication, 3. Adequate & appropriate diet, 4. Essential personal hygiene and a good living environment, 5. Adequate sleep and no deprivation of rest. 6. Spiritual care (religious or otherwise), 7. Good social interaction with good humour and appropriate distractions, 8. Help for caregiver in all his or her needs - dignity, care, love, time off, food and entertainment, spiritual - daily and personally. Thank you for this new video, Dr. Natalie!❤ From Singapore 🇸🇬

[@kayokolindenberger3754]

Another great video! My mom had vascular dementia, and I wished some of her friends understood that just because she remembers them but can't remember how to cook, take a shower or do the laundry, doesn't mean that she doesn't have dementia. Thank you Dr. Natali! 🙏

[@pintsizestories196]

Thank you for this video. My husband's executive function was the thing most impaired but that is not apparent to those who don't spend much time with him. Only after many years has his memory started to deteriorate. No. 4 - so true. My husband could not live independently but because I "prop" him up on a regular basis, he can seem fine if someone is visiting. The other thing with his memory is that it is so unpredictable. Things you would think would be important to him can be unretrievable but other less important things can be super clear to him. I never know what he remembers.

[@JessDeeganIIPhD]

You live with two people, one you know and one who you do not!

[@judyfeldman1315]

Exactly.

[@greeniejeannie]

A seven year old and a 17 year old and a 60 year old.

[@lunasalco]

Couldn't agree more with the last 2 minutes! Noone who is on the outside looking in will ever see how much work and effort goes into making someone with dementia look presentable to there family/friends who come to visit.

[@KarenGreene51]

I’m in mild stage, I enjoy listening to you. Any information you can give us is appreciated

[@nancymandle5215]

yes, a series, please. Topic suggestions: the difficult behaviors (throwing things, violence, trying to escape, etc.). MAID does not apply to the dementia patient Family will likely drain their savings. This will likely be a very long journey - 10+ years, so get prepared Opting out of helping your family should not be an option - this will be the most difficult, life-changing experience for the primary caregiver, and could absolutely take away some of their life options (career, hobbies, education, impact on their relationships with partners and friends, etc.

[@encryptedme6418]

I would love to hear more like this! It made me feel better just knowing that other ppl are having the same thoughts! There are days I feel like I'm crazy bc my mother can be so normal and handle things with other ppl or Drs and I'm shaking my head!

[@kathleenguerin8619]

This almost makes me cry to hear. My kids don’t see my husband that often and he seems “fine”to them. They have no idea what goes on when they aren’t here and if I try to tell them they don’t want to hear it. They get on me if I seem stressed or cranky. 😢

[@vivianbunch1963]

God bless you. I heard some say once in regard to caregiving, “This is holy work”.

[@cathygarneau]

I understand.. my heart goes out to you 💙

[@jacqui3837]

I wish that I knew how the final decline can come on super suddenly. My mother was her normal stage 6, entering stage 7, and totally lost her ability to swallow at dinner on a Friday. She entered hospice the next day. I also wish that I knew that not all who cannot swallow lose the desire to eat and drink-- they just cannot do it, and usually artificial hydration and nutrition is not allowed in hospice. She endured a horrific 12 days, never losing consciousness. Last, I wish that I knew that end stage behaviors can be clues that there is not much time left; I would have had infinitely more patience with my mom understanding that she truly could not control many of the movements that her body was doing. She would scoot off of the sofa, for instance, and end up on the floor repetitively. I asked her why she was doing that out of exasperation one day, and she told me that she didn't know why she was and that she just wanted to sit and rest, but her body wouldn't let her.

[@willchristie2650]

My husband has a large lazy boy chair. With sundowning, he is always slipping down and ends up on the floor.

[@bran9730]

Thank you for sharing, this is so helpful. Blessings to you.

[@peterwatters]

I just lost my wife of 30 years. She started having difficulty swallowing and then stopped eating and drinking. The doctors said that often dementia patients will pull out a feeding tube and choke on the fluid. The hospice doctor prescribed sublingual morphine which helped whenever she showed signs of discomfort. She slept all day for the next 3 days and then she died peacefully.

[@kimfromarkansas2084]

I’m very sorry Mr. Watters.

[@AnnSteeves]

Love this so much!! this was so incredibly validating and helpful. I loved your last point and especially 7:10 "dignity in care is crucial" ..... absolutely! Thank you for making such great content!

[@kathynall8226]

I wish our politicians and insurance companies and people who control money for things like medicaid knew how impossible it is to get support and how important it is to straighten this out.

[@kathynall8226]

I also wish that more resources like day programs could be funded for people who need them.

[@kathynall8226]

I wish I knew how to lobby for early onset- people under 70 get deme tia and its not always Altzeimers. I wish we could educate rhis better for the politicians.

[@TimTim-r4u8j]

Yes. I wish more people understood that behaviors and uglyness, refusals, and alot of things are because of the disease and brain damage and not the person purposly being ugly or defiant. For people to not take a defensive stance, but rather a proactive stance and different approach to solve the issue or task at hand !

[@jesusisGod1434]

That asking questions can give the loved one with dementia frustration and anxiety.

[@lindagraham8884]

I no longer have my mom but I still continue to learn about dementia and hope the public can be better informed and educated about dementia. Thanks for explaining those significant details.

[@bzh7648]

Thank you. I didn’t have anything like this when both my parents were sick. I’m so happy to see more information like this available to caregivers and patients now.

[@seltzer7496]

I wish people would visit the loved one with dementia even if they seem to not be with it. They know who does all the work. Other family members need to CARE and visit not just give excuses for not being there and patronizing the caregiver.

[@patriciarackliff1559]

I remarried my ex husband after married 28 years divorced 23 only to find out he most likely has dementia.

[@MegaHitmanx]

please continue this as a series. ill be sharing this with several less understanding family . Thank you :)

[@raeanncycenas8688]

Something important to know is that they may not be able to sign documents related to their more advanced care, so a conservatorship is needed.

[@leeannulrich9874]

True but it is extremely expensive & time involved

[@raeanncycenas8688]

You can get a combination key lock box for their front door so home health care providers or other helpers can get in to help.

[@judyfeldman1315]

My husband gets cruel. Really cruel. He’s angry most of every day.

[@vivianbunch1963]

Bless your heart. I hope you can find a good support group and have friends and mostly a true faith in God to sustain you. Love and prayers.

[@KarenGreene51]

@@judyfeldman1315 does his doctor know about his behavior. There are medications for this

[@chrismcgatha3094]

​Has medication been tried?

[@DementiaCareblazers]

I’m so sorry to hear this. ❤️‍🩹

[@stucklescrafter5712]

Could you please Talk about adhd and dementia? This combination is so hard to handle😢

[@susanb5058]

Thank you for the info. I’m my mom’s caregiver and a series with any additional info would be great and so helpful.

[@donnaaloisio8920]

Thank you. It is also wearisome to have family tell me that “he’s not as bad as so-and-so.”

[@DeAnnaD777]

Cachexia in Dementia patients. Could you touch base on this as my husband is still eating, but he is wasting away .😢 He has lost 110 pounds

[@ChildoftheLIGHT]

Please talk about over medicating in facilities to make it easier on staff.

[@jkgermany2182]

Lol "popular type of dementia" Thanks for making me laugh 😊

[@suehastings8355]

Hi. Can you do a clip about Hospice? It doesn’t mean the parent isn’t put in a home. But they can come to our house. I didn’t know that. My mom went down hill quickly, over a 2 1/2 week period. By the time I got hospice to the house it was 3 days before she passed. I was so tired only getting 4 -6 hours of sleep broken up. Please let those who on Medicare about this paid benefit. Unfortunately it was over the Thanksgiving holiday which made getting help longer.

[@johnhaller5851]

My mom is having problems with swallowing, among other dementia symptoms. I understand this is a late stage dementia symptom, but it's not easy to see what was a people pleaser to just play with her food instead of eating or drinking normally. Drinking a couple mouthfuls of water and a couple of mouthfuls of food will not make them survive longer. I don't expect more support, but this is what the end stage looks like. Mom has vascular dementia diagnosis.

[@cyndykated1083]

It is astonishing when you realize how a functioning mind keeps so many things in place and when the mind starts failing..things merge together. My 86 year old mom does have some delusions that are so real to her. And she doesn’t think anything is out of the ordinary. It’s sad and confusing to see.

[@cyndykated1083]

Thank you so much!❤

[@lydiakinnaman3679]

Some times the dementia person says something inappropriate... what do you say to the person just doesn't understands... or even try ...

[@vivianbunch1963]

I know some people have business size cards made up that say something like, “please forgive my mother, (father, sister, etc.). They have dementia”. They discretely hand one to the offended person when these circumstances occur. People are usually very understanding.

[@KiKiQuiQuiKiKi]

Please don’t forget about normal pressure hydrocephalus. It can be treated and reversed with surgery. The key is getting diagnosed ASAP.

[@ik818]

This ist a great Channel! My father has a dementia diagnosis, but a three weeks ago I got a call from the neurologist that he has chronical lyme-disease. He now becomes antibiotica and its getting better, all sigs of dementia decrease. He is 87 and I believe most of the time people this old will not be checked if there ist a differtential disease.

[@DementiaCareblazers]

Kudos to that neurologist for doing a thorough evaluation! So glad your father is doing better!

[@ik818]

Thank you 💜 Greetings from Germany

[@susanmann5286]

I think most physicians absolutely believe if the memory is intact the person definitely does not have dementia.

[@DementiaCareblazers]

Most physicians know very little about dementia, unfortunately 😢

[@mrc9549]

Is dropping your head a sigh of dementia? My wife started dropping her head and leaning back about three years ago. I’m starting to see memory issues just now. She’s only 60 years old.

[@TiseniaAlombro]

❤❤❤❤

[@RealMycoNation]

There is a cure. I've seen it 1st hand.........Mushrooms.

[@56kumkum]

Please be brief-- you repeat yourself.

[@vzeimen]

I would love a series on this. It's so hard to put all the work in and run ourselves ragged in order to keep a certain status quo for our loved one. Right now I'm dealing with a big dilemma. My mom is 97, has had vascular dementia for at least 11 years. She has a deep Squamous cell carcinoma on her wrist. When they did the biopsy, they took a lot of it out and it's healed nice enough that it doesn't really look like anything was there, It's about the size of a dime. We had an appointment to have the rest of it excised tomorrow, but after remembering the 25+ (no exaggeration) wound care appointments we had to go to when she had one taken off her leg, I've decided to cancel the appointment for the excision and think about it some more. As a caregiver, it's really tough to make a decision about these things. The loved one can't remember from minute to minute why there is a bandage or what was done, or that she ever needed anything done. She won't keep the bandage on, doesn't understand how to take care of the wound etc. I don't live with her so it's a daily if not twice a day trip to her home to care for the wound. I just want someone to tell me what's the right thing to do but no one will tell me, because it's not their mom. Of course the dermatologist says it has to be done. I'm thinking even if it grows, it's not skin cancer that's going to take out a 97 year old woman with dementia and it's not even bothering her to have the skin cancer. Just venting now but maybe someone out there has been through this and would like to comment.

[@DementiaCareblazers]

This video may be of some help to you. kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5SXoJ6oYquiiq8si=IsX6q3xBqzerhIMy

[@jkgermany2182]

Lol "popular type of dementia" Thanks for making me laugh 😊

[@DementiaCareblazers]

😂😂 sometimes it’s better for me to just “roll” with my mistakes :)