I have dementia – what now?

Do you have dementia? Find out what to do next…

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with dementia you’ll probably have lots of questions and concerns. We’ve got all the essential information here

Discovering you have dementia might have been a great shock or perhaps it was a relief, but however you’re feeling right now there are bound to be many things you want to know, such as:

– How do I tell my family and friends?
– How do I tell my employer?
– How do I tell children and grandchildren?
– Are there legal and financial issues I should be considering?
– How can I make sure I’m receiving the right benefits?

You might also want to know more about the condition itself. For example, if you have you been diagnosed with:

– Alzheimer’s disease
– Vascular dementia
– Frontotemporal dementia (often called Pick’s disease)
– Dementia with Lewy bodies
– Young-onset dementia
– Mixed dementia

Maybe you’d like to understand more about how you were diagnosed or if other members of your family might be affected. Perhaps you’re interested in learning more about drugs treatments, natural therapies that might help, or a clinical trial you may be able to access. You may simply like to read everything you can on the condition or talk to someone in a similar situation to reassure you that you aren’t alone.

Every dementia journey is as unique as you are, which is why person-centred care is now considered so important. This is good news because it means that your wishes and feelings must always be respected, no matter how far your illness has progressed.

Meanwhile, it makes sense to keep as healthy as possible, since giving up smoking, eating a Mediterranean diet and cutting down on alcohol have all been shown to slow down the progression of dementia. New treatments for dementia are being developed all the time and since nobody can predict what will happen in the future, there’s reason to be hopeful and to live life to the full. So why not start today by making a bucket list?