Dementia to-do list

Finding out you have dementia can be upsetting and frightening for the person with dementia, the caregiver and the family.

Suddenly, the life path you were on has now changed direction.

Your hopes and dreams for the future may seem unattainable; you may feel helpless, hopeless and lost, but what you need to know is that you are not alone, and it is still possible to live a good life with dementia.

The key to living a good life is:

  • to become informed; knowledge is power
  • to talk with your caregiver/family
  • to plan for your future
  • to take control of your life

If you let it, dementia can take over your identity and your life. Never forget, you are a person with dementia, and you can have a life with dementia.

What you need to know:

The type of dementia that you have e.g. Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia:

  • Will dementia medication help e.g. cholinesterase inhibitors (Aricept, Exelon, Razadyne, Memantine); this medication, whilst not curative, may slow the progression of dementia
  • What symptoms might you develop next
  • When should you follow up with the doctor
  • What resources and support services are available to help in your area
  • What financial, legal and health care planning needs to be done
  • That you should continue to eat healthy, exercise, take any prescription medications, socialize, and look after yourself

If you feel overwhelmed, anxious, or scared and need someone to talk to, you can call the First Link Dementia Helpline at 1-800-936-6033 (Alzheimer Society of BC).

As you try to understand what a diagnosis of dementia means to you and your caregiver and how it will change your life, you will have many questions and concerns.

You will likely want to learn more about your type of dementia, and what education and supports are available to you and your caregiver.

There are many on-line sites available to help the person with dementia, and it is important that any information you read is correct and comes from a trusted and audited website.

Below are websites that people with dementia and their caregivers have found to be the most helpful and informative.

What you need to know:

For helpful information, education and resources on dementia:

Alzheimer’s Disease and all other dementias www.alzheimer.ca/bc
Lewy body dementia www.lbda.org
Frontotemporal dementia www.theaftd.org

For advice and support written by caregivers for the caregiver and family:

Family Caregiver Alliance family.caregiver.org

For real life experiences about living with Lewy body dementia (N. McNamara) and caring for the person with dementia (S. Macaulay & L. Hirsch):

myalzheimerstory.com by Susan Macaulay
www.alzinfo.org/blogs by Norman McNamara
Huffingtonpost.com/author/lisahirsch by Lisa Hirsch

For information on community supports/resources, housing, transportation, finances:

Kelowna and Lake Country

Seniors Outreach Society seniorsoutreach.ca; 250-861-6180

West Kelowna and Peachland

Westside Health Network Society westsidehealthnetwork.com; 250-768-3305

Vernon

Nexus Community Resource Centre nexusbc.ca; 250-545-0585

Penticton 

Penticton and Area Access Society accesscentre.org; 250-493-6822

Salmon Arm

Seniors Resource Centre seniorsresource@shaw.ca; 250-832-7000

Kamloops

The Centre for Seniors Information www.csikamloops.ca 250-828-3653

Related Articles

Loudmouth Podcast with Dean Stidham

TRACEY DISCUSSES THE EFFECTS OF BULLYING WITH OUR YOUTH, THE RISE OF DEPRESSION & THE EFFECTS SOCIAL MEDIA IS HAVING ON OUR CHILDREN. https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/tracey-maxfield-expert-in-the-field-of-child-bullying/id1474175704?i=1000473891520   [advanced_iframe src=”https://www.buzzsprout.com/234814/3651730?fbclid=IwAR0VTIbc-qmmVhlXZTWdYRgog6lIbY32c0Raw8G-703mhtPFe875T5nJKpE” width=”100%” height=”600″]

Read More »

The Link Between Sleep, Substance Abuse, and Recovery by Chloe Ekberg

Learn how substance abuse, substance withdrawal, and recovery affect your sleep health and what you can do about it. By Chloe EkbergNovember 30, 2020  This article was medically reviewed by Board-Certified Internal Medicine Specialist, Dr. Ravi Pandey.  Substance abuse can negatively affect your sleep, whether you are still using or in

Read More »
Bullying
Tracey Maxfield

How to help a child/teenager who is being bullied. How to deal with a bully

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gm-l_9yEIU[/embedyt] In blogs #16, #17 and #18, we discussed the different types of bullying behaviour, who is a bully, the circle of bullying and signs a child/teenager is being bullied. Today, we will explain how to deal with a bully, and how to help the child/teenager who is being

Read More »
Could your child/teenager become a psychopath?
Mental Health
Tracey Maxfield

Blog #5 Could your child/teenager become a psychopath? What you need to know about Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and Conduct Disorder (CD) in children and teenagers.

What you need to know about Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and Conduct Disorder (CD) in children and teenagers. We’ve all watched television programs about children and teenagers who are ‘out of control’ and sent to wilderness camps or military camps to ‘mend their ways,’ and I am sure many of

Read More »

The 5 Dementias

Dementia Aware: what you need to know about the 5 most common types of dementia   Dementia is an umbrella term that describes a progressive neurodegenerative disease causing deterioration in all areas of mental ability and function, accompanied by changes in behaviours and personality. Whilst dementia mainly affects older people,

Read More »