I'm officially a widow as of this afternoon--update

[mnhtnbb]

86. I had friends whose parents had Lewy Body

and several years ago--after my husband threw himself out of bed acting out escaping from a tsunami--when I was talking to them about all these strange things he was doing, they told me their parents--one mom and one dad--had finally been diagnosed with it. It is very difficult to diagnose--and that's why we had been so lucky to find a neurologist with a national reputation in the field in our back yard. When i discovered the lbd association website--and read all the symptoms--boy, did the light go on. It took about two years for the neurologist to move from possible to probable LBD diagnosis. And yes, my husband was manipulating everyone all during that time to believe there was nothing wrong with him, but I was the one with the problem. Talk about gaslighting!

My oldest son understands. He spent enough time living with his dad after a hospitalization last spring that he really gets it. I had a small hope that when I left it would smack some sense into my husband, but his response was to go sign up on match.com When I found that out, it really reinforced my decision. He just wanted someone to be his audience and caretaker--someone to manipulate--to meet his needs. I told the shrink that I had been seeing for a year trying to figure out how to get him to give up his denial that he was more interested in holding on to his denial than holding on to his wife. The whole thing was just very, very sad.

I am sorry you had to live through it with your dad.