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I may get fussed at for this but here goes. My credentials are that I am a retired nurse, dealt with a lot of head injuries,AD, psych patients. To me dementia is a head injury,but the kind that won't heal or get better only worse.As for your teenager, the brain is still developing,there is no degenerative changes. I have had patients in their 40's with AD,it isn't always age related. Also dementia can come from brain tumors,sometimes these are fatal ,sometimes they can be "fixed" with chemo or surgery. But real dementia, the AD kind, you can't fix.Maybe someday their will be a "cure" pill but right now there isn't.You can only deal with it. Behavior modification won't work with it, especially if they are having short term memory loss.It can be maddening, there is no logic,no consistency.You can " solve" it, only deal with it, thru medication and care. By care, I mean make sure they eat, they are clean, they are in a safe environment.Unfortunately, AD is forever until there is a cure,and I don't believe they "enjoy" it.What's really awful is someone who already has psych issues and then develops AD on top of it, what a perfect storm.There is no predictability of their behavior, someone who was once peaceful can become violent and vice versa.You can get a handle on this, but you aren't going to "fix" him or modify his behavior.That will only bring more frustration on your part.This can be a very emotional journey as you see someone you know turn into someone you don't recognize anymore, you lose them twice.Please get him screened for dementia by an MD that specializes in AD and other types of dementia so you can know what you are dealing with and then formulate a care plan.Sometimes families have no choice but to place their loved one in a facility because they aren't able to have shifts of people watch over them,yes, shifts of people. Sometimes an AD person can go days without sleep,wander, restless despite meds,no one person can watch someone like this 24/7 with keeling over with exhaustion.Also,yes, they can get very violent and I mean really violent,like send you to the ER violent.Sometimes families just don't have a choice, AD doesn't give them one.We like to think we have control over a situation but you know, sometimes life just doesn't work out that way and you will drive yourself nuts if you think there is some "solution" that if you just do A,B,C everything will be fine.Dealing with a person that has dementia needs flexibility on the part of the caregiver, everyday is something new.
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