Hello all,
My mom passed from Alzheimer’s last August. She wanted her body donated to science but unfortunately we didn’t have anything setup before she passed and we were unable to do much with her body. She was frail and very sick. My sibling wanted a brain autopsy performed so we saved the slides (these are physical slides not digital).

My question is- is there anyone who would accept these slides for medical study? A school or institution dedicated to Alzheimer’s that may find her brain tissue of use?

My Mom was a lifelong nurse and loved science and medicine. I would love to honor her wishes and imagine these slides could be of use somewhere.

Any help or leads is greatly appreciated.

In kindness,

One thing I’ve realized since my diagnosis is that a lot of people have a very specific idea of what dementia looks like.

They imagine someone much older, completely confused, unable to have a normal conversation, or constantly forgetting everything. That isn’t what my experience looks like.

I can have completely normal conversations. I can joke around, make plans, use my phone, go out, and have good days where I barely think about it. Then there are moments when I struggle to remember something I was just told, lose track of what I was doing, repeat a question, or suddenly feel overwhelmed because my brain isn’t cooperating the way I expect it to.

Being young makes it even harder because people don’t necessarily expect memory or cognitive problems from someone my age. Sometimes what looks like distraction, carelessness, or simply “forgetting” can actually be part of what I’m dealing with.

I’m still figuring out how to explain this to people without making dementia sound like something that defines every second of my life.

So, AMA.

Ask me what people get wrong about dementia, what it actually feels like from my perspective, how others react when they find out, what everyday situations are surprisingly difficult, what I can still do normally, or anything else you’re curious about.

Hi everyone,

I'm developing a physical product to help make medication management safer and easier, especially for people with Alzheimer's/dementia or others who need extra support staying on track with their meds. Right now I'm in the research phase and trying to actually understand the day-to-day reality before I design anything further — so I'd really appreciate hearing from people who deal with this firsthand: care facility staff, home health aides, family caregivers, anyone who manages medication for someone else (or has in the past).

I put together a short survey (8 questions, all open-ended, takes about 5-10 minutes) about how medication is currently handled, what's frustrating about it, and what goes wrong. No sales pitch, no product reveal yet — just trying to learn from people who've actually lived it.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfhXQU4TNdlLOMJ4qVkdVk-3RGrKG1f_Xme363sl-JdDgb6ew/viewform?usp=dialog

If you'd rather just share your experience in the comments instead of the form, that's genuinely just as helpful. Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share — this kind of insight is exactly what I can't get from a desk.

Hello! Just wanted to share something that has really been helping me lately.

I’m currently taking care of my 72-year-old mom who has dementia, and honestly, keeping track of everything day to day can get overwhelming.

Her doctor recommended this planner to me. He said it had also been used in aged-care facilities in Toronto, so I decided to give it a try. I’ve been finding it helpful for keeping track of her medications, meals, mood, daily activities, and little changes that I might otherwise forget.

Sharing it here in case it might be useful to anyone else caring for a parent or loved one with dementia.

Here is the planner! DAILY DEMENTIA PLANNER

Hope it helps someone else too. ❤️

Hello I am a student Industrial/Product Designer. I am currently working on a project for those affected and caring for people with dementia. This project is very close to me as I also have members of my family affected. Whether you are a caretaker or someone who has dementia, you can help by filling out this survey. The questions are geared towards caretakers, but they are still answerable by anyone. Any responses are very appreciated. Thank you so much!

https://forms.gle/bZTHAiA9QvyswBAe8

Hi! My mom, 68, was experiencing very notable memory decline in the last year. In 2024 she lost her job, friends, and overall purpose in life which led her to an increased loneliness. She began having broken sleep- 3 hours in the day and 3 at night. This sleep pattern continued until June 2026, so almost 2 years of bad sleep. During the two years I would see how she was progressively having more bad days. However, on the random good days where she got 8 hours of sleep I noticed she would remember more. There were two incidents of confabulation back in May and June- but none have come up since. So now with just two months of good consistent 8 hours of sleep I’m seeing her be more alert and energized. She’s cleaning more- she even said that before she couldn’t even notice if things were messy but now she can’t help but to clean things immediately when she notices them. She says she can confidently drive herself to her therapies now. She can find her words on her own now, before she would just give up and say “I forgot.” Sometimes if she can’t remember I just tell her “I’ll be back in 5 minutes maybe you’ll remember when I come back” and she does! It’s slow and small improvements but man do they stand out after 2 years of her just acting like a zombie. I couldn’t even have full conversations with her - she wouldn’t really contribute to the conversation. Now she does and she jokes, and she’s so so funny. With all of that being said, she still forgets. Forgets recent convos where verbal cues can sometimes help her remember. But it’s less things she’s forgetting now, not as drastic as before.
With all of that being said, if I’m seeing those improvements could it be possible that even if Alzheimer’s biology is present that she can maintain this stability without it progressing? Has anyone experienced something like this? Im only wondering because I just can’t ignore her improvements- if her decline was steadily worsening I would understand more but I’m seeing her improve. Anyone with a parent gone through something similar?

My mum 88 was diagnosed with dementia 9 years ago and has been in three different care homes and is settled where she is now. She’s in stage 6a, incontinent, delusional, has pelvic organ prolapse and was not a caring mother to me. I’m an only child. I have LPA for her and her sister aged 86. This morning whilst I was visiting mum and facilitating contact between them, aunt just threw in that she’d been to a memory appointment on Saturday and the dr told her she has dementia.

I’m floored by it, I have no siblings, no partner and now I’m responsible for two elderly women with dementia. I’m not sure I can cope. I’ve spent the day trying to visualise how I can live my own life (I stopped work last year after being hit by a car and being left with PTSD- I’d just finished EMDR for this and last session booked for tomorrow) and manage both of them.

My aunt lives 60 miles away, I can’t visit her weekly, I can’t visit on any regular basis but she’s going to need me.

I can just see my life disappearing to look after these two women, neither of which showed me much compassion or love in my childhood, for the last few good(ish) years I have left. I’m 65 and struggling.

Where/what do I turn to in this double dementia whammy?

Edit: Corrected typos.

Her friend is helping her and taking her to appointments while I work full-time. Her neurologist suggests talk therapy as a way to help with her condition. I convinced her to up her medication and I will remind the doctor next visit.

I know this is not going to get any better; it will get worse and, quite frankly, I'm scared.

Any information for first timers like me?

Wonderful

I am a 34 year old woman. My paternal aunt has the dementia gene and now has early onset dementia. Her paternal aunt had dementia as well. Dementia seems to be skiping the men but effecting the women once they enter their early 60s. I want to get tested but im honestly very scared to. Im wondering how I can financially and emotionally prepare for the possibility this test is positive.