CyprusLiving

Is there anywhere in Paphos where a newly diagnosed demenia sufferer could b placed for a whle? He is being cared for at home but recent behavior indicates that he may need to be be put into some sort of a home. Thanks

There are a couple of care homes that cost a lot of money but the staff are not trained in the care of patients with dementia I'm afraid. He would be at a distinct disadvantage there. Then there are the private hospitals - does he have private health insurance? he may have an acute infection that is making him worse at the moment and that could be treated, then he would improve.

The other option is to get help into his home. He would be much more settled in his own environment and 24 hour care can be bought. A Phillipino or Sri Lankan carer would be the cheapest and they are very hard working.

It is at times like this that Cyprus shows its lack of adequate trained care in the community.

I wish you luck.

Teresa

Thank you. Well, that rules out the care homes as they stand then. Disconerting. The Sri Lankn type home elp would be a possible answer. Certainly he does not like beig in hospitals, clinics, etc. He was diagnosed initially by a GP who referred him to a psychiatrist. Why? Is that the norm? She strong recommended returning to a French speaking conry since his English + Geek are v liited. Wil the ship/s journe-7 day cruise to Venice then 3 different Swiss trains to get to Luxembourg, final destination- be to uch for him? Feasible/ I can arrange help fro Swiss Rail to get him on/off eve train. Luxembourg boats a remarkable insfruacture for Alzheimer and similar patients, e.g. 40 day care homes dotted around the country. howevr, their residential care homes have waitig lists and although plenty of home help, it seems v expensive. But the countr is French speaking along with 2 other national languages.

Yes it is the correct procedure to refer to a psychiatrist who specialises in mental health problems. She would know the most about his condition, needs and treatment. She will also give you copies of his investigations and prognosis to take to any doctors regarding his future care to allow others to monitor the progress of his dementia.

I agree he would be more confused with carers who do not speak his language. He will grow increasingly confused about everything as time goes by and being unable to understand conversation or direction will make him feel worse.

I don't know how confused he is at the moment but to put him on transport to leave the island alone would seem to be cruel and hazardous to me. I think he would need a carer with him. He won't know where he is or who anyone is - a person well known to him to accompany him is very important, especially as he will not remember what is happening at times and will require regular reminders. I imagine he has periods of lucidity as well as times of confusion and that will be very frightening for him.

Wherever he goes I suspect that he will need to pay for his long term care and that will be expensive. I hope he has some capital that he can realise to pay for this.

Good luck with your decision and please get back to me if you need any more help.

Teresa

Let me clarify immediatel. He will not be traveling anywhere alone. He cannot be left alone. I shall ttavel with him.
He is only slightly confused. He speaks sufficien English to have convesatios with his present carer cum minder. He can read Geek quite well but seems to have forgotten the little he knew of the spoken language.

the psychiatrist has conducted no tests whatsoever. Her diagnosis was based exclsively on the fact that he went nocturnal walkbout recently for a total of about 5 hours but returned to the house whch he recognized.

He does't have that much capital to pay for his care. However, in Luxebourg the day care centres seem to come under the national healh sstem which we shall join ASaP afer arriving. The care homes charge between EUR 1800-2600 I think they said but since he is on medication -Aricept 5mg- hopefullly that will arrest the condition. He is to be reviewed by the psychiatrist in a month's time.

do you have an information please about the day care centre in a village between Nicosia and Lrnaca whose name i forget just now?

Also, are there any French-speaking if not actually french doctors on Cyprus? thanks.

I'm sorry but I don't know that area of Cyprus at all. I don't know any French speaking doctors either I'm afraid. If some one else does know the answers to your questions I am sure they will let you know. Perhaps the doctor you saw at the hospital will let you know about any French speaking doctors. She should know.

Teresa

RN 13,
Sorry to hear about this problem. My mother also had dementia, in her case Altzeimers.
When her condition was fairly mild she was better able to cope with an ordinary care home. As it progressed and she had more spells of confusion her behaviour also changed. She could be very difficult a times, but also very fearful at others. She would have been even more upset if she was somewhere where English - her language, wasn't the main language spoken. We did have to move her from Bath up to Northumberland to a more specialised care home who were able to cope with her problems better. We decided to send her by air with a family member accompanying her all the way. Other members of the family were able to visit her regularly there and take her out. It was much kinder to her to only have to undertake a short journey and to be at the new place the same day. Maybe you should think twice about a longer sea and overland journey for this man. He may find it both tiring, frightening and perhaps will become more disorientated. If you think that he will have the chance of better health care in Luxembourg which is a French speaking country, perhaps going by air with as direct flights there as possible, would be quicker and less stressful. He will probably be happier if he can speak his best known language and be easily understood by the staff.
Perhaps Cyprus with its very limited resources for mental health is not the best place for him. It is also easier for a home to accept a patient with this condition if the patient isn't too confused at the outset. He would need to get to know the new place, his room and importantly the staff and be seen by the doctor responsible for his care.

Not meaning to be pushy as obviously we don't know the full story. My observations are just based on experiences with our mother.

It is a very difficult and distressing condition for both the patient and for his/her family and friends to cope with.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Dee

Hi there,

I know that this is an old topic but I thought I would post a reply in case the OP or someone else may need it. I am an Irish nurse living here in Cyprus. I am a qualified psychiatric nurse and I specialised in care of the elderly with dementia and behavioural problems whilst I was still in Ireland. Should the OP or another forum member like to contact me I can offer as much help as necessary.

Susan

Hi Susan. Welcome to the forum and your post may indeed help someone.
Health Care for the elderly , infirm etc is a little lacking in Cyprus.

Regards. Trev..

Hi Susan and like Trev i would like to extend to you a very warm welcome.

We now have our 94 year young mother in law living with us. Yes there are problems but the alternative would have been a home and for us that was not an optionl. Mentally we have good and bad days, i.e. rambling on some and very lucid on others.

She sustained a fall and broke a bone in her shoulder about 5-6 weeks ago and seems to be fine as regards this. She appears to have wrenched a muscle or whatever in the groin area the day my husband flew her over which is causing her a lot of pain and i feel a visit to the local general to be in order for her. I am meanwhile bedbathing etc and her appetite is good.

The one problem we have is attempting to find disposable incontinence PANTS for her. Not the pads but the secure pants such as Tena make.

The only place i can seem to get them is via Amazon and indeed they are sending some over for me. Any ideas on purchasing these in Cyprus please?

Many thanks and again a huge welcome to you.


Nannie

I have seen Tena products in Paps but have no idea if they're pads or pants sorry.

Hi nannie,

Honestly I have no idea where you would get incontinence wear here. The only thing that I could suggest is to do is to speak with a local GP/social worker as they may be able to help you locate some.

Additionally you may want to try and locate a medical supplies shop in your area as they may also stock them. Depending on what your mother in laws incontinence is like i.e. is it happening all the time or just at night time and is it a lot or little drips from a weak bladder for example, will help you decide what type to use.

Also incontinence wear for adults are much like babies nappies (as much as I detest the comparison) and they should have absorbency of around 8 hours so there should be no need to change them as soon as they become wet which will so towards saving some money as I can imagine they are not cheap.

Finally remember that you are now in a very stressful situation and try and take 5 minutes to yourself every now and then or it can become very hard to cope.

Susan

Hi there guys

Many thanks for all that. Hope this may help others in our situation. Firstly her incontinence is full time, bless her she does get embarrassed but we cope together.

I managed to find what i was looking for and ordered online Amazon. Blow me down when we went to the large Carrefore there they were, Tenas in abundance although more expensive but enough to tide us over until delivery day.

They do the pants and pads both for men and women too. Fantastic choice, virtually a full Tena range.

Again many thanks for all your help.


Nannie

Hi - I have seen some of the 'pants' in Spiriou in Peyia - I didn't note the price but I buy my son's nappys from there as they are less than half the price of the big supermarkets - I don't know if the same rule apply but it may be worth a look if it saves you money.

I believe there are 2 Spiriou shops in Paphos as well.......

Good Luck

Hi all, update on mother in law. Incontinence sorted and Carrefore for us.

The pain in the groin area was in fact a broken hip!!! We took her to the general hospital, admitted and surgery was three days later for a partial hip replacement. Fantastic care was given during her entire stay and the staff made extra efforts in speaking to her whenever they were in the ward.

I wonder how long she would have waited for surgery in the uk?

Well done to Cyprus and their health care yet again.


Nannie