Re: Treating agitation in dementiaþ

[Guest guest]

Thank you, Mr. , for posting this. I hope it helps someone who is going

through now what I went through. One of the most difficult parts of my

husband's illness was his suffering from bouts with agitation. Sometimes

they would last for hours and we had an awful time getting him settled down

again. You knew, watching him, that something was terribly wrong but no

clue as to what it might have been. My son stumbled across something that

would settle him down quickly and it was chewing gum. For some reason, one

incident, he gave him a piece of gum and Ray quieted right down. From them

on we all carried gum with us and had it handy. It would have been better

to have something that prevented the agitation (ie: taking a pain killer at

every meal) in the first place. It would have been esp. helpful when we had

him in the car). Most of the time, the gum worked but occasionally it did

not. It was so hard to watch him struggle with whatever internal demons

there were.

Good luck to everyone handling a loved one with this terrible disease.

Leona: Caregiver for husband Ray, age 68, diagnosed 2/04 with Parkinson's

Disease. Changed doctors, diagnosed 6/06 with LBD. Almost continual downhill

slide no matter what drugs we try. 5/2/08 Ray was placed in Sunrise Nursing

Home in Oswego, NY, 1 hour from home. Hardest thing I have ever done in my

life. 3/19/09 transferred to Samaritan Keep NH in Watertown, NY closer to

home. He passed peacefully at 5:18 am on April 14, 2009. He is in a much

better place.