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By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment. You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
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Mostly Independent
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Helper, stop feeling guilty. Many spend time in denial, then rush to find meds to help. The research is overwhelming that the is not a drug to slow the progression of dementia. All that can be done is treat the symptoms. That treatment does not bring back math skills, socialization skills or anything else. All we can do is watch closely and wait for new symptoms then ask doc how to treat them.
I do not think docs are ignoring their patients. They practice medicine and they too are just as frustrated as we are that there isn't something available to control this disease! And how many time do the docs see it each day? That is why we are needed to be advocates for our loved ones. And the best advocates are part of the medical team and pursue treatments that may help with symptoms.
Dementia seems to be treated one symptom at a time. Early on, mom needed anxiety medications. Later on an antidepressant was added. There is no one size fits all medication.
For me the answer is fairly simple. Statistics supporting the effectiveness of the medications currently in use are not encouraging for Alzheimer's. There are several types of dementia that are lumped together as Alzheimer's. Perhaps the three commonly prescribed medications will help some of the population, so people can try them if they choose. Aricept is known to be helpful for Lewy body dementia. It is less clear how effective it is in the earlier stages of Alz, and not indicated for later stages. Namenda is not effective for early stages, but may help some people in the moderate to later stages of Alz. The effectiveness is generally small. A better question would be who has been helped by these medications and what differences were noticed. They don't slow the disease process, but may help some in cognitive symptoms. There are side effects and costs, though, so each person has to consider if they are willing to add another medication of questionable effectiveness. Of course, there is always hope that something will help. That hope is a good thing. It would be sad not to try something that might help just because it doesn't help a lot of people.
I have great hope for the trials being conducted in the UK.
I agree that denial is a problem and that doctors can be very unhelpful with this in early stages. One of my very big regrets is that I let preserving my dad's pride stop me from having him seen when he first started having thinking issues. And his doctor is one of those who have the attitude that memory loss is some kind of inevitability, which doesn't need to be addressed with any kind of urgency.
What threw me, in retrospect, was that the first thing to go wasn't his memory per se, but his ability to make good decisions, then about six months later, the ability to manage his finances. And then he began to have trouble telling reality from dreams, and feeling suicidal, and that quickly became unmanageable, so I had him seen by the neuropsych for diagnosis. Meanwhile, he could have been on Aricept and maybe slowed the progress of this monstrous disease.
The financial cost alone of 3+ years of his not making good decisions, and not letting anyone help, was staggering. Hindsight is 20/20 -- but unfortunately, it's not helpful now. I'm just putting this out there for anyone who is on the fence about getting your loved one diagnosed to "protect their pride" and not getting support from your loved one's doctor. Pride will eventually go anyway, so you might as well get an early diagnosis, and maybe slow it down long enough to get a DPOA and all the other paperwork done, and make care arrangements, while your loved one can at least understand what's happening to them and have some say about their care options.
I have noticed that very often everyone is in denial about the possibility of dementia in the early stages when these drugs are probably most helpful, yes even in the medical community. It is amazing how many here wail about their inability to get doctors to listen to their concerns about their parents/spouses, one has to assume with that attitude those people have not been offered any medication or counselling on ways to cope.
The current batch of dementia medications are not overwhelmingly effective. The generation of drugs now in research promise to be better.
So, if they are not very effective, why does anyone take dementia drugs now? Because they are each effective for a percentage of people with dementia. And wouldn't it be wonderful if your loved one was among those lucky people who does benefit from them?
So, many of us caregivers think it is worth giving them a try if the doctor thinks there is a chance they'll help.
Unfortunately I think many people stay on the drugs even when they don't help.
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
B.
APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
I do not think docs are ignoring their patients. They practice medicine and they too are just as frustrated as we are that there isn't something available to control this disease! And how many time do the docs see it each day? That is why we are needed to be advocates for our loved ones. And the best advocates are part of the medical team and pursue treatments that may help with symptoms.
I have great hope for the trials being conducted in the UK.
What threw me, in retrospect, was that the first thing to go wasn't his memory per se, but his ability to make good decisions, then about six months later, the ability to manage his finances. And then he began to have trouble telling reality from dreams, and feeling suicidal, and that quickly became unmanageable, so I had him seen by the neuropsych for diagnosis. Meanwhile, he could have been on Aricept and maybe slowed the progress of this monstrous disease.
The financial cost alone of 3+ years of his not making good decisions, and not letting anyone help, was staggering. Hindsight is 20/20 -- but unfortunately, it's not helpful now. I'm just putting this out there for anyone who is on the fence about getting your loved one diagnosed to "protect their pride" and not getting support from your loved one's doctor. Pride will eventually go anyway, so you might as well get an early diagnosis, and maybe slow it down long enough to get a DPOA and all the other paperwork done, and make care arrangements, while your loved one can at least understand what's happening to them and have some say about their care options.
So, if they are not very effective, why does anyone take dementia drugs now? Because they are each effective for a percentage of people with dementia. And wouldn't it be wonderful if your loved one was among those lucky people who does benefit from them?
So, many of us caregivers think it is worth giving them a try if the doctor thinks there is a chance they'll help.
Unfortunately I think many people stay on the drugs even when they don't help.