Guest guest Posted September 22, 2005 Report Share Posted September 22, 2005 Hi Elliot- Great idea! And for your MIL to even suggest it is amazing in itself. My dad used to have problems with speaking so in physical therapy (PT) we were taught to 'push his voice out'. That did work for quite a while. When dad's voice would lower during a conversation I would 'remind' him to push his voice out and it would help. Then dad quit talking completely over the years. May I suggest recording your MIL while she is still able to talk. It is a gift to have a voice and to be able to hear a voice. Thank you for posting and for sending along a wonderful idea to the group. Blessings- Sandie and -- Low voice problems and mini-electric megaphone For months and months my wife and I have been having to ask my MIL to repeat herself when she asks a question or makes a comment. Unbeknownst to me, my MIL had been asking my wife if there existed any type of megaphone with which she could make herself heard the first time, instead of the second, third or fourth time. Three nights ago, I started searching the internet, and within 10 minutes had located a mini-electronic megaphone---4 inches long and takes 3 triple A batteries---that sells at " Stacksandstacks " (I HAVE NO FINANCIAL INTEREST IN THAT COMPANY.)for 12.95 + 5.95 shipping. I cannot wait till it arrives. We are going to surprise my MIL with it! I expect she will be tearfully happy if it works! We are going to test it out first before giving it to her, to make sure it does work. Best to all, Elliot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 22, 2005 Report Share Posted September 22, 2005 Hi Elliot- Wow, the symptoms seem to fit LBD to a tee!! There seems to be some symptoms exclusive to LBD as in the runny nose and stooped forward posture. But everything you have written either my dad struggled with and/or 's mom has dealt with. I remember a year ago when he was in New Zealand he would take his mom out for one thing or another and not even halfway through walking she was tired. She could never walk very far. She still has a weak voice, the list goes on mirrored to what you wrote. Also, LBD is a thought process disease. Thoughts come to our LO's (Loved One's) but aren't always finished, they can be loss mid-stream. Often what we have found here in the group is that a word that has nothing to do with the subject at hand it replaced in a sentence making it difficult to follow what our LO's are saying. They seem to know, we don't, and so the frustration in a conversation begins. Has your MIL had any aggressive hallucinations or behaviors? My dad had strong behaviors, seemed mainly to stem from fear. 's mom, however, has hallucinations but nothing to make her aggressive. She has kept her sweet personality throughout the disease. Hope some of this helps. Sandie -- Mother-in-law with apparent LBD > > Hi, everyone. > > I joined this board for my wife, whose mother, who lives with us, has > recently been diagnosed with LBD. My wife will likely be on here > messaging and participating very soon. > > It took, as is probably usual, years for her to be diagnosed, and we > are still not certain it is LBD. For a year or two, we had thought it > was Lyme Disease. Then we thought it was Parkinson's, but a > definitive test ruled out Parkinson's, and now the latest diagnosis > is LBD. The symptoms are all there. > > Thus far, my mother-in-law is just about all there, except for > occasional bizzare incidents, which have caused no harm, no damage, > and times when she is very, very confused. She is very tired, and > sleeps a lot. We took her to a senior citizens center, but the people > there all had one foot in the grave, and my mother-in-law does not. > She was very depressed by the place, so she has not gone back. > > One of the most important things I am wondering about is whether > anyone here has had any success at all using natural medicines to > treat their loved one who has LBD. Mainstream medicine appears to be > able to do little except to try to treat symptoms, and the two > medications the neurologist put her on did nothing except to cause > nasty side-effects. They were also very expensive. > > We have been trying CoQ10, Lecithin, chlorella, B complex and other > things with my mother-in-law(mil), but we are not at all sure if any > of it is working. If it is not working, then we might as well not be > spending money on such things. But it's so hard to tell. Perhaps we > are at least slowing the progress of the illness with what we're > doing, but how can we know? > > Any help with regard to anything anyone has found to be useful in > combatting the illness would be greatly appreciated. > > Thank you. > > Elliot > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 22, 2005 Report Share Posted September 22, 2005 Thanks, Sandie! Yes it helps! Certainly! I would hope that someone who has been so gentle and sweet would not get aggressive. > > Hi Elliot- > > > > Welcome to the group. I read that your MIL has all the symptoms. > Can you > > tell us what symptoms she is > > having. Although there are mirrored images of our loved > > ones, there also seems to be individual symptoms. For > > instance, my MIL (in New Zealand) has the classic Parkinson's > > tremor, my dad never had a tremor. Both of our parents have > > the LBD drool, and both are/were stooped forward. My > > MIL stooped at the waist, my dad at the neck more. > > > > My Uncle has been on CoQ10, he has Classic Parkinson's. > > He seemed to fair well on it. I am not sure if that med was > > available when my dad was alive, he has been gone 3 > > years yesterday when he won his battle. > > > > Anyhow, we shall wait for your reply before asking more > > questions. > > > > Hugs to you- > > > > Sandie and > > Des Moines, IA > > > > -- Mother-in-law with apparent LBD > > > > Hi, everyone. > > > > I joined this board for my wife, whose mother, who lives with us, > has > > recently been diagnosed with LBD. My wife will likely be on here > > messaging and participating very soon. > > > > It took, as is probably usual, years for her to be diagnosed, and we > > are still not certain it is LBD. For a year or two, we had thought > it > > was Lyme Disease. Then we thought it was Parkinson's, but a > > definitive test ruled out Parkinson's, and now the latest diagnosis > > is LBD. The symptoms are all there. > > > > Thus far, my mother-in-law is just about all there, except for > > occasional bizzare incidents, which have caused no harm, no damage, > > and times when she is very, very confused. She is very tired, and > > sleeps a lot. We took her to a senior citizens center, but the > people > > there all had one foot in the grave, and my mother-in-law does not. > > She was very depressed by the place, so she has not gone back. > > > > One of the most important things I am wondering about is whether > > anyone here has had any success at all using natural medicines to > > treat their loved one who has LBD. Mainstream medicine appears to be > > able to do little except to try to treat symptoms, and the two > > medications the neurologist put her on did nothing except to cause > > nasty side-effects. They were also very expensive. > > > > We have been trying CoQ10, Lecithin, chlorella, B complex and other > > things with my mother-in-law(mil), but we are not at all sure if any > > of it is working. If it is not working, then we might as well not be > > spending money on such things. But it's so hard to tell. Perhaps we > > are at least slowing the progress of the illness with what we're > > doing, but how can we know? > > > > Any help with regard to anything anyone has found to be useful in > > combatting the illness would be greatly appreciated. > > > > Thank you. > > > > Elliot > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 22, 2005 Report Share Posted October 22, 2005 Hi Elliot, I don't know why you would think the soft voice is not a common LBD symptom. Many of us have come on here and discussed how our LOs whisper and we can not understand them or bearly hear them. It is like they can not get enough breath behind them to throw their voice out. My husband is like that many times, but as you say, he gets on the phone and suddenly you can hear him. That is the " Show Time " that we talk about and they all of a sudden sound like they are fine to other people. Jan --- breathedeepnow wrote: > Well, Sharon, I guess a soft voice like my MIL has > is not common to > all people with LBD, eh? Monday we are going to > contact the speech > pathologist to see about getting a " chattervox " for > her. Hope it > helps, but if not, at least it is returnable within > 30 days for a > full refund. Will let you know how it works. > > As I mentioned earlier, my MIL speaks quite loud > enough to hear her > clearly when someone calls her on the phone. But > somehow she can't > get herself to speak that loudly in person when > she's not on the > phone. > > Elliot > > > > > Mum is probably in the middle stage of LBD. > > So far BP is ok but has always been high so who > knows? > > Your comments about lethargy fit Mum perfectly!! > > She has lost interest in church, crafts, and just > about everything > else she used to take part in. > > I swear if there was a fire in the house she would > not move from > her favourite chair but would tell me to turn on the > a/c!! > > > > > > > > Carpe Diem > > > > --------------------------------- > > Yahoo! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in > one click. > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > > > > > > > Welcome to LBDcaregivers. > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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