Sticky Notes Dealing With Dementia

Has anyone ever had a loved one with dementia? Dementia can effect anyone. It has twisted and wormed its way into our lives recently. This past year my mother in law was diagnosed with it. This wicked disease robs your memory slowly . Yes we are dealing with this beast. The medicine the doctor has given her helps. But we still deal with forgetting medicine, forgetting dad's work schedule, forgetting to pay bills, forgetting to lock doors and the list goes on. We are also dealing with a mild case of sun downers which is when you get your days and night mixed up.  I thought and with my husbands permission I would journal our experience with dealing with aging parents.  And so this post was born! Hopefully our experience will be helpful to others and we journal our experiences.

What is Dementia?


Dementia is not a specific disease. It is a descriptive term for a collection of symptoms that can be caused by a number of disorders that affect the brain. People with dementia have significantly impaired intellectual functioning that interferes with normal activities and relationships. They also lose their ability to solve problems and maintain emotional control, and they may experience personality changes and behavioral problems such as agitation, delusions, and hallucinations
While memory loss is a common symptom of dementia, memory loss by itself does not mean that a person has dementia. Doctors diagnose dementia only if two or more brain functions - such as memory, language skills, perception, or cognitive skills including reasoning and judgment - are significantly impaired without loss of consciousness.
How are we dealing with it at the moment?. Well for one she is not driving anymore. She also writes everything down she need to remember on sticky notes. Yes we have sticky notes posted everywhere! Also someone is home most of the time encase she has a problem. That is all we all we are doing at the moment. We have looking into getting hired help when the time comes. We are taking care of ourselves until we need help.
We keep a positive note and keep plugging along!

Sandra