I have been diagnosed with Vascular Dementia about 1 1/2 years ago. I knew what was happening and asked my doctor who sent me for tests. The doctor I saw was amazed about how aware I was of what was happening to me. I had known for a while. I was tripping over nothing. I was offered meds but said no and that was a mistake because before long I messed up our checkbook which I kept . I got us in trouble with money and began not remembering names. Sometimes if I am over stressed, as I still work it gets worse. I seem to go down in stages - a little at a time but I always seem to know when there is a drop down. I feel it getting worse but I am lucky. It is a little at a time. I tell everyone who interacts with me so they will know but still they will say, "don't you remember this?" I want to scream every time they say it. Hell no. I don't remember that is the problem. Be patient with us. I know it is hard on everyone around us but it is hard on us too.

My father is 70 years old and he has moderate dementia with certain aggressive behavioral changes such as, hallucination and doubts on his personal relation with close one like wife, daughter and daughter in laws. Sometimes he abused my mom also.

In the beginning of my Nana's dementia, she would repeat the same stories or ask the same questions within 15 min. of one another. She would deny the repetitions if told about it. She also stopped cleaning the house as well and wore only 2 outfit's constantly. Planning meals became harder and harder for her to do, including working her own oven.

My 63 year old sister was just recently diagnosed with vascular dementia following a year and a half of serious and multiple health problems. It was first noticed by some memory loss but now every week when I see her it has markedly increased to the point of her not being able to carry a conversation, confusion, talks about non-related things to the conversation at hand. She lives in an assisted care facility. We have always been very close and this just rips my heart out. She is like a child now with that wide eyed vacant look.

My mother in law suffers from dementia. She is 88 and it has progressively gotten worse. It started by not knowing what day it is and then snakes in her bed to worse hallucinations. She is up all night seeing people. Scared that someone is going to get her. It is so hard caring for someone you love and you can't do anything to make them better.

My mom's "odd behaviors" were the first things we noticed. She would go out of the house less. She started collecting mail-in million dollar sweepstakes contests. She believed the ads on the front that said, "You have won 10 million dollars!" She also started getting paranoid. She was scared there were snakes in the bed or scared of going too fast in the car. One day she tried to buy a birthday card for her dad who had died three years prior. It was all hard to watch.

I care for my 85 year old grandma who does have moods and up and down all night. She has memory loss on some things but does remember things way back. She still knows who I am at this point. She has problems on remembering how to use a fork for her food. Some of the Doctors rather give their patients meds to keep them calm well it did a reverse. Our doctor took her off her meds because they are finding out it actually makes them worse. This is time for our loved ones to be with their families.

My mom is currently caring for my grandmother. Everyday is something new. One minute she is laughing and joking with the family even to the point of dancing, and even smoking and drinking like she is 21. The next she is yelling and cursing at the family trying to leave the house saying she doesn't know where she is and we are stopping her from leaving. When I try to help she yells at me and tells me to go away and when I do she says I don't help. I don't know what to do anymore, it's like she is pushing the family away and that is really a concern for this family.

She was short fused and paranoid. She also had delusions that were affecting her relationships with her family.