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It& #39;s Alzheimer& #39;s Awareness day tomorrow. Just over 3 weeks before she died in March, my mother was finally diagnosed with mixed dementia (Alzheimers and vascular). I say finally, because I had to push hard to even get her assessed (thread)
I noticed that she was getting day and night mixed up, was accusing me and others of untrue (minor) things, she had delusions and hallucinations. Dementia isn& #39;t just about memory, it& #39;s about changes in behaviour, thinking processes and being able to do daily tasks.
She had a couple of hospital admissions where I requested referral to the local memory service. I heard nothing. Eventually, I took mum to the GP. His response? "She remembers me, she knows who you are, she& #39;s fine" 
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙄" title="Gesicht mit rollenden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit rollenden Augen">. But on my insistence, he went ahead and made the referral.
It took 5 months for mum to be seen, when we were given the diagnosis in February. I knew in my heart but it was still a shock to the system to hear. She struggled to remember basic things that she could& #39;ve said easily not long before.
Fortunately, mum was unaware what was going on, she was what some would called "happily demented". She forgot who I was once, I can& #39;t even begin tell you what that felt like. But I know she was content and luckily was never agitated.
Some family were in straight-up denial, others could see something was wrong. Carers can feel very alone when seeing these changes. The person living with dementia - their world can become small. Mum& #39;s did. She was once very outgoing, but then shut herself off from outside.
My late aunt died from vascular dementia. My cousins faced a similar battle with diagnosis and support, and her symptoms and signs were much more severe than my mum& #39;s. Mum was very distressed to see the changes in her, so when the consultant broke the news, she didn& #39;t even
notice, I realised that things were much more advanced than I thought. By this point, she needed help with almost all her daily activities, but she still seemed content.
If you& #39;re a carer for a loved one who has dementia, get the help you& #39;re entitled to. Call your local authority for help with social care if you need - mum didn& #39;t want outside carers, but the council can help with home adaptations and provide respite if you need it
Alzheimer& #39;s is the most common form of dementia. Vascular dementia is more prevalent in Black and Asian populations https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/sites/default/files/migrate/downloads/appg_2013_bame_report.pdf">https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/sites/def...
This short film highlights some typical signs of dementia https://youtu.be/Q7zJL8nPqFg ">https://youtu.be/Q7zJL8nPq...
https://youtu.be/VgVKw-Wfxy4 ">https://youtu.be/VgVKw-Wfx...
Despite mum& #39;s dementia and other health problems, she often said she felt happy, thankfully because she was rarely alone. I& #39;m fortunate that I could do much of my work from home, but in this day and age, many older people just cannot have that 1:1 family care
The Alzheimer& #39;s Society @alzheimerssoc website has a lot of helpful information, not just about Alzheimer& #39;s, but also other types including vascular, young-onset and frontotemporal dementia: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/types-dementia">https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dem...
The @CarersUK website https://www.carersuk.org"> https://www.carersuk.org has so much helpful information. As soon as you suspect memory changes, please please PLEASE look into sorting out a Power of Attorney, vital for helping look after financial and health affairs.
Check out @CultureDementia website for further support too: https://www.culturedementiauk.org"> https://www.culturedementiauk.org
I only described a fraction of what my mum was dealing with. I miss her greatly and struggle with it daily tbh. But I& #39;m glad I was able to help give her the quality of life she deserved. I& #39;m here to say it was overwhelming at times but there& #39;s help and you& #39;re not alone.
So if you& #39;re living with dementia or are a carer, look into getting benefits, support, home adaptations, respite and take care of yourselves (end thread)
