Best products from r/dementia

The biggest help I've found is lowering carbs and increasing good fats in their diet. A lot of recent studies have started coining Alzhiemer's as "type-3 diabetes" - linking high blood sugar and insulin resistance to the death of cells in the brain (as they can't get enough energy). I'd definitely recommend a couple of books that opened my eyes to the disease as well as giving me some hope.

The End of Alzheimer's by Dr. Dale Bredesen, MD

The Alzheimer's Antidote by Amy Berger, MS, CNS, MTP

As mentioned in other comments, there are plenty of supplements that can help with some of the side effects of dementia like anxiety as well as others to counter vitamin deficiencies.

My main recommendations:

• Aim for a low carb diet filled with as many different nutrient-dense whole (unprocessed) foods as possible. It won't be perfect at first, but make whatever small changes you can over time! As mentioned in other comments, eggs are great, I'd also recommend lots of cruciferous vegetables and any foods high in antioxidants.
  
• Intermittent fasting periods (>12 hours) have also helped - this ties in with lowering carbs and increasing fat in the diet. IF has many benefits including kickstarting processes like autophagy and ketosis.
  
• Get some blood tests to identify any vitamin deficiencies (D, B6, B12, Folate, Zinc, etc.) and check inflammation markers. Basically look for any red flags that can be easily fixed!
  
• Daily exercise - a 30 minute walk in the morning is enough.
  
• Reduce stress.
  
• Get plenty of sleep (>8 hours).
  
• Plenty of water.
  
  If you have any questions please let me know!

Oh you're welcome! One more idea that you might consider - for kids with ADHD, anxiety, etc, they make toys called "fidgets". They are objects/toys that are meant to be held in the hand and fidgeted with. Here is one such example:
https://www.amazon.com/Warm-Fuzzy-Toys-815895011242-Jeliku/dp/B004USM7D6/ref=sr_1_39?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1482344447&sr=1-39&keywords=Fidget

There are many other types of fidgets out there. Occupational therapy blogs are a great source of info for stuff like that.

Best of luck to you with your Grandma. It's really wonderful that you care enough about her to try and figure out things for her to do.

Hi. My grandma had dementia and we had the same idea for her, especially after she had a hard time following what she was reading in books. We asked her if that is something she would like and she said "yes". We got her a machine that had big buttons like this: https://www.amazon.com/JENSEN-MCR-100-Cassette-Player-Recorder/dp/B00UY8QEGW?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_2. They're called retro tape players - they also have them on websites for elderly people.

She could operate it. However, she just wasn't able to follow what they were saying on the tapes and didn't enjoy listening to music anymore. To be honest, the only things she wanted to do were watch TV and look out the window. She didn't even want to watch movies, go out with her friends, or do anything else besides watch TV and look out the window. I think the only reason why she agreed to the tape player was because it sounded like a good idea, but when it came right down to being interested in using it, she just wasn't. Even if I started a tape for her, she would turn it off and turn on the TV.

So before you make a purchase, you may want to play your grandfather some tapes while you are there to see if he can follow whatever is on them and if he stays interested. Hope this helps.

Oh man! I'm taking care of my dad with dementia full time and half the time I want to murder him. It is HARD.

I strongly suggest that you find a psychotherapist to talk to and work this out with. It will take a few years but the earlier you start working through your emotions and feelings, the sooner you can move on with your life.

There are things worse than death. Anybody telling you "at least she's still alive," is not speaking through experience. They have no idea... Forgive them. And try not to let their words affect you. They are speaking through ignorance.

I cannot imagine being raised by a parent with dementia... Your feelings are valid. In case you cannot afford a therapist (totally plausible in our country), I suggest reading books. These suggestions may seem off topic, but i have found them to be very helpful in learning how people should interact, how the brain develops, and that there are people out there who interact with the people in their lives with empathy and compassion. You may find it empowering to educate yourself about brain development and psychology.

Parenting from the Inside Out: How a Deeper Self-Understanding Can Help You Raise Children Who Thrive, Dan Siegel

Beyond Behaviors: Using Brain Science and Compassion to Understand and Solve Children's Behavioral Challenges

Emotional Intelligence 2.0

I wish you luck in life!

This looks perfect (and cheap)! It’s on Amazon.

Universal Big Button TV Remote - EasyMote DT-R08W Backlit, Easy Use, Smart, Learning Television & Cable Box Controller, Perfect for Assisted Living Elderly Care. White TV Remote Control https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M1UV2T2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_epqxCbY5B7SXA

https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Rechargeable-Neodymium-Speaker-Automatically/dp/B07415WG1L/ref=sr_1_9?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI27ev-tiQ5gIVCtvACh0rEgsQEAAYASAAEgJ2DPD_BwE&hvadid=267948026588&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9027285&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=3734980745988898742&hvtargid=kwd-304790733260&hydadcr=24627_9648891&keywords=radio+for+dementia+patients&qid=1575074290&sr=8-9

not sure if this would work but have a look. Could also consider a device like Alexa, maybe a Christmas sale. You could set it up for her to just ask to play music. her voice has to be clear tho. My dad has PD and his voice fluctuates alot and his Alexa has a hard time with him. But you can even set her up an amazon prime acct and add her fav tunes to her playlist.

As someone that is seeing one of their parents go through mid-stage dementia, I ended up looking for help in places that I never would have thought to before. Despite my not being religious, I picked up a copy of No Act of Love is Ever Wasted: The Spirituality of Caring for Persons with Dementia, and am grateful for having had spent the time reading it (so much so that I emailed the authors just to thank them for their work.

I also picked up another book (which I've not yet read) that I believe was mentioned in the text above, that may be more apt to your situation than it is mine (at least yet). Loving Your Parents When They Can No Longer Love You. I can't speak to the work myself, but if it's half as worthwhile as "No Act of Love..." it will offer all kinds of thoughtful insight.

I'm not sure that I have much more advice to share at this point than this, but thought I'd at least point these options out to you.

They feed off of us and our energy. Pull your uncle aside and tell him to knock it off - enlist other family members for help with this if you need to. Get yourself some zen. Ask other family members to watch out for her for a while so you can go grab a coffee and recenter yourself.

Something that has stuck with me and that has always worked for me is to "be the calm chicken". I read a book called The Opposite of Worry about childhood anxiety that discussed a study done on chickens. A chicken will freak itself out with anxiety, which will freak out other chickens, who then freak out the others until they're all paralyzed with anxiety. One will slowly come around and start acting normal again if they feel it's safe, which will encourage others to also come around. The chickens look to the calm chicken for reassurance that it's safe and all is well. If all the chickens are freaking out, they will all continue to freak out. There has to be a calm chicken to calm everything down and reassure everyone. The same is true for children who deal with anxiety, and also, I've found, my LO with dementia and anxiety. They look to us to see if things are okay. Be the calm chicken. Meditate, get yourself grounded, and then be the calm chicken.

I got my dad one of these pendant's.

Basically, you can program up to 4 phone numbers for it to call once the button on the pendant is pressed. You can also program it to call "911" (which you can turn off). When it calls the first number, it asks the person answering to press "7" to continue. This is to make sure it hasn't reached an answering machine. If no one answers or doesn't press "7", then it will call the next number.

Once they press the pendent button and the call is made, they can speak to and hear the other party directly from the pendant.

If you'd rather get an e-mail/text rather than a call, you can get a cheap VOIP (Voice over IP) telephone number and program the pendant to call the VOIP number. Then you program the VOIP to send a text or e-mail upon receiving any calls to that number. Well, you don't "program" anything, you just check a few boxes in the VOIP set-up menu system offered by your VOIP provider.

A VOIP phone number can be as cheap as $1.00/month. Take a look at Callcentric or VOIP.ms.

Good luck!

For the skin picking, would probably help to get or make her a fidget blanket, like this.

Even if she's in a home, it's probably a good thing to have.

Good luck!

We found steno pads to be helpful because at least the papers are held together in one place. Then, once they are full of notes, the pads can be put all together on a shelf and my mom likes that. Well maybe it's actually her OCD that does LOL. I suppose the challenge would be if your mom prefers to tear the note out of the book once she has written it down.

I commented elsewhere here but I need to add that you should read The 36-Hour Day. Also visit the Alzheimer's Association website. (It supports all kinds of dementia, not just Alzheimer's). On the latter, click "In My Area" to find help in your dad's area and perhaps in your own. Many areas have local caregivers support groups.

I literally just did this this weekend. I'd recommend the black Wansview available on Amazon (see here: https://www.amazon.com/Wansview-Wireless-Security-Surveillance-Monitor/dp/B074ZN2FD1?ref_=bl_dp_s_mw_3050090011&th=1&psc=1 ). I have the white one as a baby monitor currently and love it. For my parents, I bought a dlink camera from Walmart and it's not even close to what the Wansview can do, and the app kinda sucks. Still, it does the job and hasn't been found yet (I kinda put it in an inconspicuous spot). Some things to consider: WiFi strength, because not many have hard wired Internet, and outlet proximity. One benefit to the dlink is the ability to record automatically and cloud storage, which may be something you'd want (although, from experience, you're going to get a lot of recordings for regular moving around, and the cost for D-Link is like $50/year. Happy to give more info, but thought this is a good start

You can actually order it right through Amazon =)

https://www.amazon.com/Keeping-Love-Alive-Memories-Fade/dp/0802414508/ref=sr_1_fkmr3_1?keywords=Five+Long+Languages+dementia&qid=1567699019&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmr3

My mom (late 70s) is well down the road with dementia and is now in a memory care unit of a nursing home. She often asks about her parents and asking when she will get to 'go visit' them. Rather than replying blountly that they are dead and have been for years, my siblings and I just say "Mom, grandpa would be 110 years old if he were still with us." Then she smiles it off. It doesnt do any good to keep correcting her when she doesnt make sense.
There is a book called 'The 36 Hour Day' that offers good advice for those dealing with those affected by dementia/alzheimers.

https://www.amazon.com/36-Hour-Day-sixth-Alzheimer-Dementias/dp/1421422239/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=34+hour+day+book&qid=1574269564&sr=8-3