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More Short-Term Memory Issues in Texas

This afternoon we attended our grandson’s high school graduation. First, we all had lunch at a “Texas” kind of place. They specialize in hamburgers but have a variety of other items like Mexican food. We joked with Brian about calling attention to him during the meal. This is because he doesn’t like attention and doesn’t want to be recognized publicly as a graduate or for that matter any other time like on a birthday. Before we left, his parents had him put on his robe and go outside for a picture. Then we went to the graduation. As we were walking out, she said, “Why did we go to this thing?” She hadn’t remembered at all that we were there for the graduation.

Then on the way back home, I told her than we would go back to the hotel and relax for about an hour. Then we would have dinner. I told her we would not go back to Kevin’s after dinner. She said, “Kevin’s?” I said, “You don’t remember where we are, do you?” She said, “No.” Again, it makes me so sad when I am hit with this even when I know she doesn’t remember.

I am also wondering how much our trip to Asheville that was followed only two days later with this trip to Lubbock may have compounded her memory problems if at all. I wonder whether she will recover any during the time we are home before going to Chautauqua, only four weeks from this Saturday.

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More Confusion, Strange Behavior

Periodically, I have mentioned Kate’s confusion. I don’t know if I have mentioned her confusion regarding recycling and composting. For a number of months she has been putting Dr. Pepper cans and yogurt containers in her compost. I have been picking them up and putting them in the recycling bin. Something else that she has started doing is tearing up paper napkins that she is bring home from restaurants. When we get home, she throws them in a basket in the garage. The funny thing is that before I noticed what she is doing, I thought she was taking the extra napkins home because she likes to have them in the car. I have kept a supply of those in the car for a long time. It has become more relevant now that she has the salivation problem. She is almost always in need of paper products to wipe away the saliva.

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Pleasant New Year’s Eve

About an hour ago, Kate and I returned from lunch at Bluefish. For the past several months we have had our Saturday lunch there. It is several cuts above our routine places. Beyond the quality of the food (Kate always gets scallops with sautéed vegetables and sweet potato fries, and I get various things. I had my favorite today, Andouille sausage and shrimp stew and a special house salad that I love.), I find that it makes for a relaxing ride to and from the restaurant. It is a full 25 minutes each way. That seemed especially appropriate today. Kate got to bed a little later last night (shortly after 9:00). Consequently, she slept later than usual. She wasn’t ready to go to Panera until 10:45. I had to help her find some clothes. She was quite groggy.

We stayed at Panera for an hour before she was ready to go. (Over the past few weeks she has not wanted to continue in one place for long. The exception would be that she can stay outside a good while when the weather cooperates.) I asked if she were ready for lunch, and she nodded. Then we headed to Bluefish.

She was quiet at the restaurant, something that is not unusual. After the meal, however, we chatted a bit in a real conversation which is rare. The funny thing is that the conversation began with a strange comment from Kate. Out of the blue she said, “Now, let’s see what else you can blame on Dr. Pepper.” I said, “You think I blame Dr. Pepper for things?” She gave me a look that meant, “Are you kidding?” Then she went on to say that I don’t blame anything else; it’s always Dr. Pepper. I didn’t push her to explain as I knew that she was simply imagining that I discourage her from drinking her favorite beverage. I suspect this is something that has been on her mind for a while. The only other thing I had noticed is that occasionally she asks, “Is it all right if I have a Dr. Pepper?” I always say yes. From this point, however, we started to talk about how different we are but how well things have worked out for us. We talked about the fact that we had been able to overlook the things on which we differ because of the important things we share.

We also had a nice conversation with our server. I had asked her how she compared the quality of Bluefish with other restaurants around town. She gave me a good answer. I mean by that she was able to tell me how it stacks up in her mind compared to a number of other restaurants with which we are familiar. It confirmed what I hoped; she thinks it is a cut above most restaurants but not quite as good as several others. Kate and I believe it is unusually good. What had started as a slow day had now turned into one of those special moments that makes a day successful. We left the restaurant feeling good. I think that experience will set the tone for the balance of the day. I feel especially confident because she stayed outside pruning for an hour after we returned from lunch. That is one of the most therapeutic things she does.

I neglected to say something else that is becoming a pattern Kate is establishing. She came into the family room where I am listening to music and have the TV on to one of the many bowl games. When she sat down on the sofa with her iPad, she also had her charging cable in her hand. I think I had mentioned previously that she sometimes disconnects it to take when we are going out, usually to Panera. In some cases, like now, we aren’t going anywhere. When she sat down, she put the cable on the coffee table and said, “I want to take this with us.” I said, “You’re prepared.”

Something else that is becoming commonplace is closing doors to the bedrooms and bathrooms before we leave the house. I’ve never said a word to her about doing this, but I suspect that is something else that she believes I have told her she should do. This is just another reminder of the many things that a person with Alzheimer’s will do apart from the more typical memory issues.

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More Signs of Sundowning?

Since returning from dinner, Kate and I have been sitting in the family room. She has been working puzzles on her iPad. I have been watching the news. She has had a little problem taking her pills at night. It seems to cause a little reflux. I decided to divide her pills so that she takes half now and the other half a little later.

After she took them she got up and went to her room. She came out in a few minutes with another top over the one she had been wearing. She indicated she was ready. I asked her, “For what?” She told me, “Anything.” I told her I thought she was going to get ready for bed. She said it was too early. Then she went to our bedroom and said, “I’m just going to lie down in bedroom with my iPad for a while.”

I walked back to take my medicine. As I was leaving the room, she called my name and pointed to her iPad. I didn’t know what she was communicating and walked over to her bedside. She asked, “Should I take it with me?” I told her we weren’t going anywhere now. Then she asked me what she should do with her iPad. She asked if she could just put it down beside the bed as she usually does. I told her that would be fine

This is another occurrence of her acting as though we are going someplace and/or that we have spoken about doing something when nothing of the sort has happened.

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Acid Reflux?

I don’t know how I could have failed to say something about what may be a recurrence of acid reflux. This is an old problem for which we found a resolution two or three years ago. Since that time she has taken a prescription for Prilosec that had solved the problem. About six months ago, she experienced a couple of instances of the problem. I thought the problem had gone away on its own. Kate said she was eating more slowly which she believed helped to prevent a recurrence

I can’t recall exactly when, but she started using extra paper napkins at restaurants. This typically occurs before she has even eaten anything. As I reflect, it is something that occurs at various time during the day. She goes through lots of toilet paper which I now believe may be associated with this problem. Let me describe the problem as well as I can

Unlike her previous experience with acid reflux, what she is experiencing now does not involve exactly the same symptoms. When she has had the more serious experiences, she has to stop eating. She usually lowers her head slightly and appears to be trying to calm herself. With the current problem, she can continue to eat. As I have already mentioned, she will be having the experience before food arrives at our table

To me it appears that she is simply spitting up saliva. I do not see any visible signs that she is experiencing acid creeping up her esophagus. It is more like the normal salivation collects in her mouth, and she spits it out. I think one reason I haven’t mentioned it before was that it never seemed like something serious. In the past month or so, the problem has become more serious and seems to bother her. In fact, last night she had some difficulty getting to sleep because of it. I suspect it was more than an hour before she got to sleep after going to bed. She got up at one point. I heard her burping in the bathroom next to our bedroom. That led me to give her some Gaviscon. Before she was taking Prilosec, I gave her Gaviscon when she had a problem. It always seemed to work. I have tried it several times recently without the same success. I am not certain that it helps at all. I do know that she finally settled down and slept well during the night

About three weeks ago, I sent a message online to Dr. Reasoner, Kate’s doctor. She suggested that we try several things. She said we could take a second Prilosec in the evening. She also said if that didn’t work, we could try her taking an antihistamine. Finally, we recommended staying away from acidic foods and beverages. I tried doubling Prilosec and could not tell any difference at all. I dropped that. I then tried adding a Claritin with her morning medications. I have not been able to detect a change though I plan to continue to give it a fair chance of success. My reason is that I think her symptoms seem more like a post-nasal drip which sounds like an allergic reaction
One other symptom has made me think of the situation as more serious than I originally did. Within the past 4-6 weeks, I have noticed that she sometimes starts burping when she takes her pills. That made me think there might actually be a gastro-intestinal source of the problem. On the whole, however, I find it very confusing. What I know is that it has become a chronic condition that annoys her. It also concerns me that it might possibly be a symptom of something more serious. Unfortunately, Kate is unable to provide any kind of description. I am hoping that we might have a conversation with her doctor. I think her next appointment is in January or February

Kate does drink a lot of tea and Dr. Pepper. That would be the next step to try. That will be a hard one as these are long-standing habits.

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Lost is Found

This morning I decided to look for Kate’s pill box. I looked in all the bathrooms. Then I looked in our bathroom once again. I opened the cabinet on her side and slowly looked at one shelf after another. Then I saw it. It was on the second shelf from the top. It wasn’t easy to see because it was turned with the top facing toward the back of the cabinet. In addition, there were other items hiding most of the bottom of the pill box.

Why it was there I’ll never know. I am sure Kate would have no idea that she had put it there or why. To me it is clear that she was disturbed by something and did several things last night to hide things and close doors.

I am thinking more about not leaving her alone. I may have to figure what is the easiest transition to make. Certainly I can have Libby come at some other time. I am arranged a meeting with Cindi Renner tomorrow morning at Panera. She might be someone who could help as well.

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An Unusual Day

Several things to report this evening. First, is we had two problems getting ready to go out. One occurred at lunch. The other this afternoon for dinner. This was a day when I had a luncheon board meeting at the foundation and an executive committee meeting for the music club this evening at 6:30. Here’s what happened.

I was scheduled to be at the board meeting at 11:30 or shortly thereafter. I went to the Y early (left at 5:50 a.m.) so that I could get back home before Kate was up. This would also allow me time to make sure she was ready for lunch 10:15. That would enable me to leave around 11:15. Shortly before 10:00, I went outside to tell her it was time to get ready for lunch. I also offered her the opportunity for me to bring home a sandwich if she would like to stay outside a little longer. She didn’t like that and said she would come in. She delayed 15 minutes. I went back out and told her we needed to get ready. She was on the verge of a panic attack. She came in, but she wasn’t ready until 10:55. By that time, she would not have had time to eat at Panera; so I went to get her a sandwich.

When I got back I showed her the bag that held the sandwich and put it on the island. When I got home after my meeting, I didn’t see any sign that she had eaten the sandwich. I looked in the trash to see if the bag was there. No sign anywhere. She couldn’t remember that I had left a sandwich but said she must have eaten it if I couldn’t find any sign of it.

Since she hadn’t been away from the house, I asked if she would like to go to Panera. She did. When I went to the car, I noticed the Panera bag on a shelf in the garage. She had never unwrapped the sandwich. She had eaten half of the cookie. I took the sandwich with us to Panera where she ate half of it.

We came home, and she rested a little and worked on her iPad. A few minutes before 5:00, I went into the bedroom and told her it was time to leave for dinner. I went back to check on her. She had undressed and was getting ready to take a shower. I told her we didn’t have time for that because I had to get to my meeting. She took another 15 minutes to get ready, but she had a panic attack. She was breathing heavily. We went to eat. She didn’t completely calm down until the meal was almost finished.

When I got home from my meeting, I found that the door to our bedroom was closed (something that rarely happens). I knocked and then went in. The room was darkened, but it was still light outside. I could see that she was not in the room. I went over to turn on the lamp. It didn’t turn on. I found that she had unplugged the surge protector in which the lamp was plugged.

I went to the bathroom door that was also closed. I knocked and opened the door. She was not in the bathroom. Then I went to her room where I found her under the covers as though she were there for the night.

I came back to our bedroom. I looked for the TV remote and couldn’t find it. Then I went to her room knowing that it is usually there when it is not in our bedroom. I looked all around her room without success. Not only that, the remote for the TV in her room was not there either. I have looked all around the house without success. I can’t find either remote.

I went back to our bathroom to see if Kate had taken her medicine for the night. I didn’t find her pill box. I started looking for it. I haven’t been able to find it anywhere. This is not the first time she has misplaced the pill box. A few months ago, it was missing. I have not found it yet. I’m going to let her medicine pass for this evening. Tomorrow morning I can’t do the same. It has her Venlafaxine. If she doesn’t take that she has a reaction. She can go 24-36 hours without it. After that she has a problem. Fortunately, I have the supply of medicine; so I will be able to see that she doesn’t miss it. I am just curious to see if we find it somewhere. It is amazing how things can get “completely” lost so easily. I can’t help wondering what was going on in her brain that motivated her to put it somewhere else. This is not the first time she has put things in an unusual spot, but it is a striking example of the behavior that is occurring that was not commonplace before.

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Making Friends

We are in the lobby of the Marriott Las Colinas in Dallas. We came in last night from Knoxville. Within the next hour we will make our way to Sharon Billings’ house where we will stay 2 nights before moving on to Fort Worth on Wednesday.

After breakfast, Kate said she would like to come back down to the lobby and work on her iPad for a while. That is what brings us here. About 10 minutes ago, she got up from the sofa where we were seated. She walked over to a painting with blue bonnets. Then she struck up a conversation with the valet who was stationed nearby. They continue talk. She has been telling him about growing up in Fort Worth, that I am from West Palm Beach, and, I believe, her cousin, Tina, who lives in Alaska.

This is something of a pattern with her. She often strikes up conversations with people when we are out. It was one of the good things about our getting out to places like Panera Bread or other restaurants. It really doesn’t matter where, any public place will do. The only time I ever think of it as a problem is when I am ready to leave a place, and she continues talking with someone. I find myself conflicted by wanting her to continue having a positive experience and our “needing” to move on.

As always, I try not to find ourselves in a hurry and just let her take her time. That is what I am doing right now. I know she would like to spend as much time as possible with Sharon, but she is moving very slowly to get ready to leave. She still hasn’t finished packing her suitcase and shows absolutely no sign of hurrying. I will let her take as long as she needs since we really don’t have to be there at a particular time.

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Confusion About Packing

Shortly after writing my last entry (4:33 pm), Kate seemed to be getting a little panicked. I decided it wasn’t worth it to attempt to go either to a special dinner or to the choral concert tonight. I went back to her to her room and suggested that we just get something simple and skip making an evening of it. I don’t remember exactly how I said it, but I said something that I thought would suggest the only thing she had to do was pack for our trip. She was greatly relieved. I went back to our bedroom and started gathering together my things and packing them. About 20 minutes ago, I went back to her office and saw that she was working on her laptop and had not started packing at all. I told her I thought she was packing and that is why we weren’t going to out for dinner or the concert. She looked surprised. I asked if she wanted me to put her suitcase on the bed for her. She did, and I left to finish up some of my things. Realizing that she was getting panicked, I told her it might make it easier if she just laid out the things she would like to take with her and packed them in the morning.

In a while, she called me to her office. When I got to the back, I discovered that she had picked out 7 or 8 outfits. I told her that was perfect. I left again to tend to my stuff. In a little while she called me again. I went back to her office. She showed me the very same things she had shown me before. I did not say that she had already done this. I simply said they were perfect. Then she asked me when we were leaving (meaning for Texas). I told her tomorrow as I have done each time she has asked.

She has been getting along so well lately that I have been surprised about her present behavior and condition. It makes me feel once again that the upcoming cruise will have to be one that minimizes tight deadlines and keeps things as simple as possible. I am still optimistic that we can do this on the cruise. A bigger consideration at the moment is whether I have arranged too rigid a schedule while we are in Texas.

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Lots of Confusion

Kate has been outside for a while. When she came in she asked me what we were doing tonight. I told her that we were either going to dinner at Elizabeth’s Chris if they are not already booked or to a Christmas concert by a local choral group. I reminded her that we leave tomorrow on our flight to Texas. Since then (less than an hour ago), she has asked me at least twice if not three times what we have on tonight. A moment ago after telling her once again, I reminded her of our flight to Texas. She asked me what time we were leaving. I told her again. Then she said as though it were a surprise, “I really need to know that.” She is beginning to show a little panic as tonight and departure tomorrow are coming together.