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Positive story for family members with Alzheimer’s

Posted on 8/3/23 at 5:40 pm
Posted by jamiegla1
Member since Aug 2016
7026 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 5:40 pm
I see people post from time to time about relatives with Alzheimer’s. Anyone that goes through it knows how hard it is. My dad got it in his late 60s and it’s advanced a lot. He doesn’t really know who we are anymore. Angry all the time, always fussing with imaginary people. My mom has to give him enemas twice a week because he can’t or won’t go on his own. It’s wearing my mom down.

Out of desperation, she, a devout Catholic that’s probably never done anything like this in her like, bought some of those “legal” marijuana gummies from a gas station. The hospice nurse told her that she’d heard good things about marijuana and Alzheimer’s.

So my mom started giving them to him and it seemed to help a bit. She was able to get him a medical marijuana prescription and now gives them to him every day. And the results are nothing short of a miracle. Well, that’s how it feels when you’re used to his normal behavior.

He’s happy all the time now. Always smiling and singing to her. It hasn’t stopped his Alzheimer’s but it’s stopped all of the antipsychotic medication he was taking before. He’s like a new man. Also, he goes to the bathroom on his own everyday. That’s huge for my mom.

I just wanted to post this for anyone going through it. You probably aren’t offered marijuana as a treatment. Maybe you had no idea it was an option. But it’s made my dad a happy person again which is a huge win, all things considered.
Posted by LegendInMyMind
Member since Apr 2019
55386 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 5:43 pm to
This post just got me, baw. All of it. I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes.
Posted by Giantkiller
the internet.
Member since Sep 2007
20649 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 5:43 pm to
Whatever works, brother. I’ve seen a lot of pretty positive news stories recently on the fight against Alzheimer’s also so there’s that.

Keep fighting the good fight.
Posted by statman34
Member since Feb 2011
2997 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 5:43 pm to
That’s great to hear. There is rarely anything positive related to how hard this disease is and how little that can be done, especially for family members. I hope it continues to help them
Posted by ThatMakesSense
Fort Lauderdale
Member since Aug 2015
14841 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 5:43 pm to


Good for pops!
Posted by HempHead
Big Sky Country
Member since Mar 2011
55537 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 5:44 pm to
If the memory care unit my mom is in wasn't filled with hardasses, I'd find a way to get her some gummies or something. I'd be happy to try anything that gives her a way to mitigate confusion/anxiety that seems to be utterly pervasive.
Posted by jambrous
Member since Jun 2010
491 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 5:48 pm to
It is a very horrible disease for all. We are going through this terrible disease at the moment as well. Sucks for all involved man. God bless you and your family!
Posted by HempHead
Big Sky Country
Member since Mar 2011
55537 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 5:51 pm to
quote:

God bless you and your family!




To you and yours, too, brother.

I facetimed her with my brother that lives a few minutes down the road from where the facility is (we took away her phone and she ripped off the Echo we installed in the room, lol) and she happily reported that these nice people feed her, do her laundry, and let her sleep as long as she keeps busting her hump doing their logistical work. When the disease isn't sad, it can be incredibly funny. Much easier to just nod and agree to play in storytime mode than argue about reality.
Posted by The Torch
DFW The Dub
Member since Aug 2014
19535 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 5:52 pm to
- I'm your boy.

- I ain't got no boy.

- I'm your oldest boy, name of Karl.

- I ain't got no boy. (2)

- They turned me loose from the nervous hospital, said I was well. Mm-hm.

- I got hired on to work for a Mr. Bill Cox, fixing lawn mowers and whatnot. Mm-hm.
Posted by Purple Spoon
Hoth
Member since Feb 2005
18037 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 5:55 pm to
quote:

If the memory care unit my mom is in wasn't filled with hardasses, I'd find a way to get her some gummies or something. I'd be happy to try anything that gives her a way to mitigate confusion/anxiety that seems to be utterly pervasive.


It’s not them it’s the state. It’s still federally criminalized and a controlled substance so if their policy allows a marijuana in any form, they could technically lose their license.
Posted by LegendInMyMind
Member since Apr 2019
55386 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 5:57 pm to
She's down around Bham, right, Brother Hemp? She's not in God's country, is she?
Posted by Catahoula20LSU
Louisiana
Member since Oct 2011
2142 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 5:58 pm to
Thanks for posting.
Posted by ScubaTiger
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Member since Dec 2003
4145 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 6:00 pm to
My mom passed away 11 years ago after suffering with Alzheimer's for several years. I took early retirement to stay with her for the last 6 months. I wish that Louisiana was progressive enough to allow medical marijuana back then as she was exhibiting similar symptoms as your dad's. It's a tough row to hoe but hang in there for him.
Posted by kywildcatfanone
Wildcat Country!
Member since Oct 2012
119965 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 6:01 pm to
Amazing. Good for your family
Posted by HempHead
Big Sky Country
Member since Mar 2011
55537 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 6:01 pm to
quote:

She's down around Bham, right, Brother Hemp? She's not in God's country, is she?



She had been staying with family in Mountain Brook, but we recently found a facility near my brother that lives in NW GA, fairly close to Chattanooga.

I wanted to let her live with me out here, but it progressed so quickly in such a short time that there wasn't really an option that wasn't facility-based, unfortunately.
Posted by LegendInMyMind
Member since Apr 2019
55386 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 6:03 pm to
I was going to say that if she was in Blakely country and y'all needed anything to just let me know. I know the struggles, not the same one, but one with a different type of devastation.
Posted by HempHead
Big Sky Country
Member since Mar 2011
55537 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 6:04 pm to
Much appreciated, kind sir. Just take a stroll down Lee Street and look for an elderly woman with an ugly, one-eyed chihuahua and let her know her nephew loves her.
Posted by LegendInMyMind
Member since Apr 2019
55386 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 6:05 pm to
Will do, but I must say....I'm more interested in the dog.
Posted by The Mick
Member since Oct 2010
43332 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 6:08 pm to
George Carlin old jokes about alzheimer’s being not all bad:

No such thing as a rerun

Meet new people everyday without leaving the house
Posted by BMoney
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2005
16290 posts
Posted on 8/3/23 at 6:10 pm to
Great to hear. My dad passed away in February after a battle with Alzheimer’s and dementia. It was rough on my mom as well. Wish I had suggested that. She would have tried anything near the end.
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