Hello, newbie here

[Dozeycat]

Main carer for Dad, mum died in October 2016. His main concerns are Parkinsons, vascular dementia and insulin controlled diabetic. I am a nurse and manage to squeeze in 2 shifts a week to keep my registration valid apart from that , that is my life. Being a carer is very isolating.

Thanks

[Jennymary]

Do you have siblings close by who can help, or have you asked about any help from outside agencies, being a nurse, which is also a caring profession, do you have a way of doing something, ie painting, reading, away from the care aspect in your life, condolences on the loss of your mum as well, look after yourself xx

[jaykay777]

Welcome, Dozeycat. You will find many good people here to maintain contact with. Yes, being a carer is usually very isolating. It's good that you're able to work two shifts a week to maintain your nursing skills and your contacts with your coworkers. When my father died suddenly I, an only child, became my mother's caregiver (American usage; I know in the U.K. you use carer.) Later, I became caregiver for each of my three husbands. Hospice helped me with the last two. I'm 86 now, living in an independent living facility and taking care of myself. Do you have a cat or cats? I would love to have one here, but would find it difficult to keep it from leaping out of my room.

[Hidden]

Hi Dozycat,

Ring your local Care for the Carers group, they can give you lots of advice and will also probably organise things you can attend. I don't know where you live but have you joined your local dementia group - our group has outings where you can take your father if he is able to leave the home. Also they have morning with singing etc. Give all these people a ring and find out what's out there, you might be surprised!

[EM1234]

Hi Dozycat, thanks for sharing. As everyone has said, this is a place where hopefully you can feel less isolated so do please feel like you can talk to us