Hints for Coping with LBD

An email arrived with this message:
"I was diagnosed a couple years ago with probable LBD. Any hints for me or my caregiver?
--Chip"

So here are the main things I would advise:

*Remember it is only a tentative diagnosis... some people told they have LBD turn out to have vascular problems (small blood clots that affect the brain) or other forms of dementia rather than LBD.

*Look at the accomplished people who have had LBD (such as Robert McAfee Brown and the publisher of the LA Times) and don't let your self-esteem fall (because you can't remember names or make other mistakes).

*For both you and your caregiver, it's important to accept the illness... to flow with the daily changes and learn about this stage of life, rather than feel resentful about the losses you are experiencing.

*Take precautions to avoid falling. Balance problems are common in LBD. Having dementia is one thing, but breaking a hip and possibly being in a wheelchair is a real inconvenience and has an effect on your overall health.
If I had it to do over, I would have arranged for my mother to have a companion 24/7 or supervision in a group setting sooner. That would have prevented the fall she had in August, 2004. With LBD you get to where you can't remember to use a walker--she left it at the door of her bathroom and fell in the bathroom. Also in the night she will attempt to get out of bed and walk, not remembering that she needs a walker and someone to be at hand.

*Make sure you are taking Exelon and Namenda or some such medicines--they really do halt the decline, as far as my mother and I can tell. And don't be reluctant to take an antidepressant such as Celexa or Remeron. You will need it--my mother struggles with depression.

*Avoid drugs like Restoril, Ativan, Respirdol and Haldol-- all antipsychotics and neuroleptics. These really put my mother into a stupor and can cause irreversible brain damage. They can also cause an anti-neuroleptic reaction (a serious allergic reaction) in LBD patients.
Providing a companion as many hours as possible per day and providing one outing or interesting activity per day are better ways of avoiding the problems for which these drugs are prescribed.

*Be aware of the two biggest signs of LBD:
1) daily fluctuations in your alertness, and
2)hallucinations.
My mother has had LBD for 5-6 years, and at this point she can have one very good, alert, active day--but the next day she will be almost impossible to rouse. She will be dressed and taken to meals but will almost sleep through them. The next day she may be alert again or may have another sleepy day. Sometimes she will have a good morning and be unrousable in the afternoon.

Then there's the occasional agitated day when a dream the night before seems very real and she is reacting to it most of the day, either with anger or fear or grief. I've learned not to report deaths in the family and not to give her bedtime anxiety with statements like "Tomorrow is Easter! I'll be here early to take you to church."

With hallucinations, your caregiver needs to remember just to listen to your reports, commenting with interest, and to avoid contradicting you except when necessary. My mother often reports having seen a child or animal or person that actually was not present, but I don't try to argue her into accepting my version of reality. When she sees people on the street or in a restaurant, she usually recognizes them as family members or friends; I either comment, "Oh, that's interesting" or remind her that her son is in Colorado and we are in California.

As Mae West (I think) said, "Old age--it ain't for sissies!"

Thanks for writing, Chip. Hang in there.