If you’re living with dementia you might experience these health issues at some point.
Anxiety and depression
It’s not uncommon for people to feel low or worried when they find out they have dementia. Feeling concerned about the future, anxious about all the things you have to do to make plans, worrying about how your dementia might affect you and your loved ones and thinking about finances are all a lot to take on board. But if you’re experiencing long-term low mood, feel listless, lacking in motivation, feeling worthless and finding it difficult to eat and sleep, you might be depressed. Sometimes depression is a symptom of dementia, especially if you have vascular dementia or Lewy Body dementia.
If you feel your needs are not being met, especially as your dementia progresses, you might have reason to feel low, bored and frustrated and unfulfilled, which in turn could lead to changes in mood. Sometimes this is expressed in behaviour, such as pacing, lack of appetite, irritability, sleep issues and crying.
But the good news is that there are things you can do to help yourself. Anxiety and depression can be addressed with lifestyle changes, such as:
being outdoors
enjoying exercise and relaxation activities
improving your diet
talking to a counsellor or going for cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)
trying acupuncture, reflexology and other alternative therapies
If these things don’t help, speak to your GP. It might be possible to prescribe antidepressants that help to improve things for you.
You can also seek support from an organisation like Dementia UK – their helpline has experts you can talk to if you need to chat about how you’re feeling. Call them on 0800 888 6678.
Changes in perception
We use our senses of sight, sound, touch, smell and taste to help us navigate the world, but sometimes when you’re living with dementia, changes in the brain can mean the messages we receive are scrambled, confused or misinterpreted. It means you might perceive the world around you differently to others.
This means you might start bumping into things, or hear things that are not there or have difficulty recognising things.
There are things you can do that will help. This includes going for regular eye and hearing tests, keeping your glasses clean, improving the lighting in your home, turning off background noise (TV, radio etc).
Even changing the colour scheme in your home might help with perception issues, as can getting rid of reflective surfaces and mirrors. You can read more about making your home dementia friendly here
Dental problems and oral health
We should all be taking good care of our teeth, but sometimes memory problems can mean that tooth brushing and oral hygiene can be forgotten – or technique is not what it should be. Looking after your teeth is especially important if you find yourself craving sweet things more since your dementia diagnosis.
Try setting an alarm to remind you to brush your teeth or create a night-time ritual that ensures you never forget. You can put pictures up in your bathroom to remind you or ask a loved one to give you a reminder.
Difficulties with noise
While many of us experience hearing loss with age, living with dementia means you might experience additional difficulties with sounds.
Some people find they have problems with:
Picking one sound out from another and identifying what a sound is
Understanding what is being said – or experiencing trouble processing what they’re told
Being scared by noises – especially if they’re loud or sudden/unexpected
Making sense of, and following, a conversation – especially if there’s a lot of background noise or several people are speaking at once
If you think your hearing has got worse, speak to your GP. It might be that you have a build up of wax that needs clearing, but it might also mean that you need a hearing test, or if you wear hearing aids, they need adjusting or batteries need to be replaced.
Falls
Some of the symptoms of dementia can make you more prone to experiencing falls – and some medications can have side effects that affect balance or make you feel dizzy, too.
Other reasons you might be prone to falling are:
Mobility, balance and muscle issues
Memory issues that can lead you to feel lost or make it hard for you to find your way around
Difficulties with your brain processing what you can see
There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of having a fall. You can read more about making changes at home, but also try:
Strength and balance exercises
Keeping physically active
Asking for a referral to a physiotherapist
Having regular eye and hearing tests
Asking your GP about medications and whether their side effects might increase the likelihood of falls
Speaking to your GP about your blood pressure. If you keep having falls an ECG might be a good idea – and ask about a bone density scan, too
Keeping lights on in the bathroom at night and a torch by your bed
Avoiding wearing anything that’s too long or has trailing fabric or a belt that could trip you up
False beliefs and delusions
Sometimes you might feel confused or disorientated because of your dementia. You might believe things that are not true or forget who someone is, which is worrying for you. Other times you might forget that you have dementia, or believe you are a younger version of yourself and need to be somewhere (i.e. school). This is not unusual for people living with dementia, but it can be distressing.
There isn’t much you can do to stop yourself having false beliefs, but you can try these tips that might help reassure:
Keep photos of yourself and loved ones around your home, to remind you of who everyone is
Eat and drink regularly
Keep spare keys, glasses etc and store wallets, bags, purses, TV remote controls, phones etc in key places so you know where to find them
Stick to a routine to keep everything as familiar as possible
Restlessness and sundowning
You might experience times of feeling restless or unable to relax or sit still. This is very common in those living with dementia and can be caused by a wide range of reasons, including feeling too hot or too cold, being hungry or thirsty, feeling in pain or bored, needing the loo or feeling anxious in an unfamiliar environment.
When you experience restlessness you might pace, fidget or feel like you want to leave your home or wherever you are at the time. Some people feel the need to urgently leave at certain times of day, even if they are in their own home. This typically happens at dusk, when the light changes and the evening draws in and is called sundowning.
Let your loved ones know more about sundowning and restlessness – it’s good for them to know what you might be experiencing.
Toilet issues
When you’re living with dementia you might experience issues with going to the loo. This might be down to memory problems and forgetting to go, being scared of using the bathroom at night in case you fall, having problems dealing with zips and buttons, reduced mobility or simply not realising you need to visit the toilet.
You might have a pre-existing issue that impacts your ability to go to the toilet, or you might take medication that increases the likelihood of incontinence, and dementia might make this worse, but don’t ignore toilet issues.
Speak to your GP if you’re experiencing issues with:
Remembering to go to the toilet
Physically getting to the loo on time
Regular bouts of constipation or diarrhoea
Here are some practical things you can do to help:
Keep a light on in the loo or bathroom at night – keep the door ajar.
Get rid of any obstacles that might slow you up or trip hazard that could cause you to fall on your way to the toilet.
Make sure fasteners on clothing are easy for you to undo and do up or wear elasticated waistbands
Think about getting a commode or portable urinal in your bedroom for night use
Have pads, wipes, leakproof mats, mattress protectors, hand sanitiser etc to hand
If you have someone caring for you, or if you know someone who might benefit from further reading on medical issues common to those living with dementia – and how to deal with them – click here