A few weeks back I wrote about my experience of driving to IKEA with my neighbor friend Lorri. It was scary and she was so "off" I realized that she must be experiencing Alzheimer's or something like that was happening to her.
Shortly after Lorri moved into the neighborhood from San Antonio her mom came to live with her. Her mother had Alzheimer's. One day her mom just walked out of the house in her bathrobe down the street. Rick and I were walking out of our home and she was walking by. We stopped and said hello and asked where she was off to this fine day? Knowing full well we had to get her home. She said she just wanted to enjoy the sunny day. Rick put his arm out and asked if he could walk with her. She smiled proudly like it was her prom date and with her smile and head held high she took his arm and he walked her home.
She was none the wiser. Lorri was so thankful it was us that saw her.
As time went on the situation with her mom was getting bad for Lorri. Her mom would walk out of the house at 1 or 2 in the morning. One lucky day for her mom Rick again was out with a dog who had diarrhea. He saw her and asked if she would like to walk with her and Izzy. She was just wearing a thin see through nightgown. Rick again walked her home and Lorri was frantic and had already called the police by this point. Once again she was happy it was us and no harm had been done to her mother. She used to say Rick was her guardian angel.
Now it's Lorri's turn. She got the results of her tests and she has Dementia.
I am not surprised. She has been having such difficulty finding the words she wants to say and she is so frustrated. She did have a car accident with her daughter's car after she dropped them off at the airport last week while I was out of town. I hope now her daughter will take away her driving privileges. I strongly believe they need to take her license away before she kills herself or someone else.
I spoke with her last night and her boyfriend was coming over. But after work today I told her I'd stop by. I know she knew this was happening but I think when the doctor tells you all of this it still stings and then it really sinks in that this is real. I feel so badly for her. She lives alone and yesterday she told me she thinks she must sell and go into assisted living and then full nursing care. She began to well up with tears and it just broke my heart. She is only 70.
This disease is so awful. I fear this one.
ALS and Alzheimers are my two biggest fears at this age.
Both would suck. I would move to Oregon and do it on my own turns I'd like to think. Rick knows my wishes, we are on the same page.
I saw my father this past week and it is a horrible way to end a fine life.
He was such a proud robust man who now wears depends and can't do more than sit and walk a small bit at a time.
His mind is shot and he stares at TV and I wonder what is going on in his mind?
He smiled at me and at times he knew me but more often than not he didn't. Growing old sucks.
My moms side of the family all died of either heart disease or cancer. My fathers side have all been Alzheimer's. I prefer to die from one of my maternal side of the families diseases. How can this be stopped? Can it be halted? Do the medicines they give you do anything at all or are they all placebos?
I have a doctors appointment in a few weeks for my annual exam and blood work. I am going to ask what is the real difference between Dementia and Alzheimers?
Doesn't one turn into the other over time? Aren't about 75% of Dementia patient really just Alzheimers early stages? How can I prevent this from happening to me or I am destined? Crap!
Now on to Betty, who I have named that big ole inflammation behind my eye.
Betty won't go away. She is holding steady. The steroid drops make me physically ill and after vomiting a few weeks ago I called and she dropped me to only 2 drops a day. Well after all this time it isn't budging. No smaller, no bigger. So I am being weaned off the drops. (It is far smaller than when I had no vision in that eye at the beginning of this ordeal.)
I will go back in 4 weeks and see what it is doing and at that time get new glasses. So I went from 20/20 in both eyes to 20/40 in my eye with Betty. I don't want a new friend so Betty needs to get the hell out of here. But she appears to be a stubborn little wench.
So no one knows what it is after a zillion doctors and tests. It will just be monitored so it gets no bigger or do something worse. It is all we can do at this point. It could be worse so I am just thankful I still have my eyesight and that today I can remember where my keys are and it's only Betty and not her dreaded brother Dementia. Taking my blessings where I can these days.
24 comments:
I don't know the difference but I HATE them both.
My mom has it. She's 74. I think she to young to have it. I still have my head in the sand - it's hard to think that your mom is going through this.
Might have missed the part but is her mother still living with her??
April, Lorri's mother has passed.
My FIL eventually succumbed to Alzheimers or some form of dementia at 78. He may have been lucky in that the worst of his decline came rather quickly. I hope her kids get heavily involved sooner rather than later because she's going to need the help.
Brian, It's funny you say that because I do not think they are stepping up to the plate or in fact really facing this. I have seen a big decline in the past 2 months.
You are right, getting old really sucks, when I forget a word I really worry about dementia, and I'm not even 50. As for your sight, I wish you best of luck. Hugs!
Alzheimer's and Dementia are different and if given the choice, I'd rather have dementia. My father was in drug trials for dementia and actually was on one that improved him/held him in place for five years. Had to be tested every three months to track him. It does suck to think about going through either one of these two diseases!
All very unpleasant to contemplate. Wishing you well.
Dementia is an overall catch word for all types of brain problems. This is from the Mayo Clinic...
Dementia isn't a specific disease. Instead, dementia describes a group of symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with daily functioning.
Though dementia generally involves memory loss, memory loss has different causes. So memory loss alone doesn't mean you have dementia.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of a progressive dementia in older adults, but there are a number of causes of dementia. Depending on the cause, some dementia symptoms can be reversed.
...
That said Parkinson's has a dementia component to it. And then there are 20 types of Parkinson like diseases.
Your brain can go bad many different ways.
Getting diagnosed with Alzheimer's or Dementia is my greatest fear besides losing my husband. I hope Betty takes a hike.
Bellarum, those are mine as well!
I also fear a large debilitating stroke. Often your mind is good but you are trapped in a body that no longer works....opposite of Alzheimer's. Both terrible! Since dementia and Alzheimer's is not considered terminal in the US, a move to Oregon wouldn't help. You'd have to go to Switzerland and you don't have to be a citizen. My fear has made me research it all. So terrible we don't have control over our own death when things go wrong.
My mom died of Alzheimer's. She was diagnosed at 72 and died at 82. Dad put her in a home when she was about 77. She wasted away to nothing. She forgot who we all were, how to eat, and any other thing that makes humans human. I've made it to 74, and I think I still have most of my faculties intact. Sometimes it takes my hubby and my twin sister to come up with what we are talking about, but that happens to each of us.
My step mom died of cancer. What a horrible disease! My dad of CHF. He was lucid until the end. My step dad died of loneliness.
Death eventually comes to all of us. I'm glad I'm ready.
Mary, you don't have to have a terminal illness for assisted suicide. Many have done this.
So sad :(
Margaret, it was my understanding that the states in the US that allow assisted suicide only do so if you are considered 6 months terminal. I've always heard that none of these states consider Alzheimer's as terminal. I hope you are correct and that I am wrong.
Mary - well if that is the case I'd case take my own life while I could. I will not sit in Depends drooling like my family members. We treat dogs far more humanely.
Agree 100%.
Well, before I get to the dementia/alzheimers issue, I want to say I hope Betty goes away. One of my biggest fears is losing my eyesight. Many in my family have had macular degeneration. My Aunt who lost her husband and was already depressed really went downhill when she became effectively blind from MD.
As far as dementia, my Mom has Lewy Body Dementia which was discovered when she went into the hospital for hip replacement surgery ~ she had fallen and fractured her hip. She is 83 and doesn't have much mobility these days. Her sedentary life still doesn't help matters. She still seems pretty sharp to me. I have plenty of memory issues but am still managing to maintain my 4.0 average in college, so I'm not focusing on the fact that I sometimes have a hard time pulling up a word I want.
Alzheimer's is the worst in my opinion. I have a dear friend whos husband was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers about 5 or 6 years ago. He is still at home, and she is determined that she will be his caregiver. He is on some type of drug that seems to help prevent progression, but everyone knows that eventually the drugs will stop working. It is quite sad. He's not even 60 yet. All of their plans for retirement and travel are now refocused on his disease.
I hope your friend will get the help she needs from her family before she is in a car accident or some other calamity.
Here's more info...
http://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-2016/smell-and-eye-tests-for-alzheimers.html?cmp=EMC-DSO-NLC-RSS-BRN--CTRL-083117-P1-2383144&ET_CID=2383144&ET_RID=10927326&encparam=KlkydZnRw0qBbsiJFP0kvaGSBgE9yNqF1L+5CwPnU6I=
It's my understanding that dementia is just a normal elderly loss of memory/forgetfulness. Alzheimer's is more severe, completely lose touch of words and who people are...and can happen much, much younger. I could be wrong.
I also hear in the medical community that they are starting to call Alzheimer's Diabetes Type 3. Meaning it's sugar related, I guess. My dad got Alzheimer's the last year of his life, and he had late onset Diabetes 2. So maybe.
I fear Alzheimer's too. I refuse to watch The Notebook again because of it. :(
So sorry about your neighbor.
Nothing scares me more than Alzheimers, having watched my mother gradually waste away mentally over the long years. Let's wish each other luck.
I watched my grandmother fade away. It took 16 years, a little at a time. It was sad and horrible and I know that she would not have wanted to continue life that way. She actually tried to take her own life, but my grandfather stopped her.
I think our Death with Dignity act here in Oregon is a step in the right direction.
I am glad your neighbor has a diagnosis, although of course it's a horrible one. Very sad.
And tell Betty I said to fuck off. I doubt it will help, but I do enjoy telling people/things to fuck off. ;)
When my blood sugar is swinging from high to low and back again, I get all kinds of side effects. Sometimes I lose my words and other times I just can't seem to think clearly. I read up on this and it is not unusual with my degree of diabetes but it stinks. I wonder if this is the start of something more. No one says you can't have more than one disease at a time. Hey, I don't want to be greedy. I'll just stick with the devil I know.
Barbara, that is nice of you to share. :-) You're right you don't want to be greedy. She just had a complete physical, blood work and neurological testing. 2 days of work and this was the outcome. So if there is something else, they haven't found it.
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