Lots of posts today as it was a very active day for Gregory.
First his helper Manny called in sick so I spent all day and evening with him, then Pat dropped in for a visit, and then Jan came and spent dinner with us.
Also, less than a week ago, the doctor at Lieberman changed one of Gregory's medications. Aricept, the most well known of the Alzheimer's drugs, can cause stomach problems.
Gregory had been having some digestive problems so they changed from the Aricept to an Excelon Patch. Because the patch is absorbed through the skin into the blood stream, stomach problems are avoided.
We were told to be on the lookout for unexpected changes because of the switch in medications. I didn't expect to see happen what has been happening.
Gregory is more alert, more talkative (although not more coherent,) more animated, and more present (although still unable to communicate.)
One problem with this is that he has been more talkative but still has problems with word use and therefore has been a little more frustrated. So we listen to him, agree, and nod our heads affirmatively. This seems to comfort him.
Also, he seems to be "thinking" more and trying to express what he is thinking, but again is unable to do so and this also frustrates him. I express it this way: It is as if he gets a complete visual image of something he wants to share but as he is struggling to find the words to express the image which he is unable to find, the image slowly fades away.
So he has been alternating between very happy, smily, laughing, joking around and crying, being frustrated, and being mildly angry.
Will be interesting to see what tomorrow brings.
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