Are you Caring for a Partner & Parents with Dementia/Alzheimers

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  • SoldierCrab
    SoldierCrab Member Posts: 3,446 ✭
    edited November 2020
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    https://www.carergateway.gov.au/

    https://www.carergateway.gov.au/respite/what-respite

  • June1952
    June1952 Member Posts: 1,834 ✭
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    Thank you very much @SoldierCrab.  There are many services available, some work and some don't.  I know there are respite services but to date hubby has refused that due to privacy.   He says he gets scared if he cannot see me - yep, he follows me to the loo, along with the dog and cats !
    As we are still playing the waiting game for an official diagnosis (he does not fall right into the correct phases of some of the dementias so we are on hold for another 12 months pending some distinct deterioration) and he knows all their tests off by heart we are between the cracks for services.  Three years is the 'normal' timeline for a diagnosis.  As he hated one doctor he refused to go back so we then had to start the process all over again.
    Like @arpie I get frustrated but try to see the funny things at times.
    As I am waiting for my annual mammograms and ultrasound (they are booked up due to COVID) I am now in the scanxiety state and this is made worse by thinking the 'what ifs' - how do I now deal with him if I needed treatment ?  Oh dear.
    Thank you, too, to @jennyss and @Locksley for your kind thoughts.
  • arpie
    arpie Member Posts: 7,595 ✭
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    WOW!!  Exciting times ahead for you @SoldierCrab - whereabouts in Tassie will you relocate?   I love Tassie (mainly for it's fishing!  LOL)  When I/we are able, I want to go down for a good month or more in my campervan & just travel around, fishing.  This will depend on Hubby's health .....   I have friends in Launceston & a nephew & friend in Hobart.


  • SoldierCrab
    SoldierCrab Member Posts: 3,446 ✭
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    @June1952 Mum didn't need diagnosis for access to the Day program.... just so you know
    Yes the what ifs are horrible. 

    Arpie to Smithton near Stanley  let me know if and when you are travelling great Caravan Park at both places. 
  • June1952
    June1952 Member Posts: 1,834 ✭
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    Just bringing this post forward for anyone who has not been on-line to see it.
  • arpie
    arpie Member Posts: 7,595 ✭
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    I've been in touch with 4 different suppliers of incontinence gear & they are all sending free sample packs .... TENA allows 3 free packs a month!  That is VERY generous of them!  I'm mainly grabbing Pull-Up Pants as they are the more expensive.  There are a few different styles throughout the different brands, so getting a bit of a selection and see which ones work best.

    Hubby's thighs have shrunk since he's stopped training as much & the 'regular' pull-ups & pants aren't as 'waterproof' as they think they are ... but we've had 2 leak free nights now, so that may indicate that the stuff-ups over the weekend may have been because he was out of his normal routine & away from his familiar home surrounds.


  • AllyJay
    AllyJay Member Posts: 945 ✭
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    Have you tried putting a maternity sized pad into the pull ups for nighttime? This might do the trick. Big hugs arpie ((()))
  • arpie
    arpie Member Posts: 7,595 ✭
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    I Didn’t know they existed, @AllyJay!  Will look into them, thank you.  I HAVE been using the female Maxi pads during the day quite effectively as they are more like the male shape pads and bigger too .... I am trying to get him into a ‘routine’, of going before and after meals and before bed so there is less ‘buildup’ that makes it urgent at times .... but as the saying goes ... you can lead a horse to water ....
  • Keeping_positive1
    Keeping_positive1 Member Posts: 555 ✭
    edited December 2020
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    @arpie not sure if you are aware of the Continence Aid Payment Scheme?  It is through Services Australia (Centrelink), and if eligible I believe the payment is around $600.00 per year.  It is to help with the purchase of continence aids/pads.

    Another product you may be interested in is a Kylie or Connie, it is placed on the bed to stop the leakage going through to the sheets.  You can google Kylie Continence Aid to see their products, or Connie Continence Aids.  I hope that is of help to you or anyone else here requiring the information.  
  • arpie
    arpie Member Posts: 7,595 ✭
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    Thanks for that  @Keeping_positive1 - I've got to go thru all the steps before I get a referral to see the Continence Nurse for approval for the Continence Aid Payment Scheme .... and a buddy gave me 2 x Kylie sheets - but they are not waterproof, only absorbent, as I found out on the weekend.  :(   

  • Locksley
    Locksley Member Posts: 924 ✭
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    I think it's aorund January that Aldi special buys has their "aged care" products and they have a kylie / connie product that is similar and it is much much cheaper. 
  • Locksley
    Locksley Member Posts: 924 ✭
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    I have a friend who purchases the plastic party coloured tablecloths for her mothers bed as they are cheap and disposable as waterproof protectors for the bed.  She gets a few uses out of them by washing them in the bath and hanging on the line to dry.  
  • Romla
    Romla Member Posts: 2,092 ✭
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    Just a small thought. Woolies have a new incontinence range from Belgium. Much cheaper than Tena and better designed.Here is a photo - they are called Confidere. There is a quite a range in this brand.


  • arpie
    arpie Member Posts: 7,595 ✭
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    So sorry for your loss, @Caz1 .... until the incontinence, I was coping fine.  Now it is a nightmare!

    We can’t get to see a urologist til March next year!  Bloody ridiculous! 

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