The next read is an excerpt from “The Doctor’s Book of Survival Home Remedies”, Chapter: Alzheimer’s and Dementia, pages 21-23:
“When you lose your memory, you lose everything. You lose everyone who ever mattered to you.”
Neal Barnard, MD
I’d like to clear up a common misunderstanding at the outset of this section. Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia. Many people think they are two separate diseases-they are not. So when I refer to Alzheimer’s and dementia in the singular, this explains why.
Invasions take place in the brains of people suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia. Maybe you’ve watched that scene in the ’79 sci-fi horror film Alien, where the alien bursts out of Sigourney Weaver’s stomach. The hostile aliens multiply.
The brain invaders are a type of protein called beta-amyloid. They are unusual, blob-like structures and have no right to be there. They ooze out of the cells, and lodge between the cells.
These amyloid invaders are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s and dementia. They destroy synapses, the messengers that carry information from cell to cell. The eventual outcome in people with Alzheimer’s and dementia is total memory loss.
A 2018 study at King’s College London shows, for the first time ever, a critical link between synapse loss and beta-amyloid in the first stages of the disease. The researchers also found two pieces to the Alzheimer’s-dementia puzzle:
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Symptoms
Signs and symptoms can be as innocuous as turning the wrong way onto a one-way street. Trying to unlock a stranger’s car in a parking lot, refusing to listen to others who say it’s not your car. These were both signs Neil’s family observed about two years before he was finally diagnosed with dementia.
Here are a handful of signs commonly associated with AD/dementia.
Confusion with time and/or place
Forgetting the time, date, or weekday, or even season is common. Forgetting where you are going or where you have been.
Images and Spatial Relationships
Declining vision is another common problem. Changes in the brain may also cause difficulty in reading and judging distance and depth of field. Also affected is the brain’s ability to determine color and contrast.
Making Plans
Making any kind of plan becomes a challenge. It could be as simple as making arrangements to meet a friend for coffee. Or as complex as devising a plan to declutter a room or build a sundeck.
Memory Loss
Short-term memory loss that eventually interferes with daily life is the hallmark sign of this disease. Sure, memory naturally declines as we age. But dementia-related memory loss is a bit different. Asking for the same information over and over is not symptomatic of typical age-related memory loss. There is a difference between Alzheimer’s and dementia memory loss. Dementia generally affects short term memory, whereas Alzheimer’s affects both short- and long-term memory. The latter happens in the late stages of the disease.
Erratic Mood and Personality Changes
Irrational outbursts, irritable without apparent reason, and otherwise different behavior. It’s common to become uncharacteristically fearful, suspicious, or anxious.
Reading and Numbers
It becomes increasingly more difficult to read words and numbers.
Sleep
Changes in sleep patterns are common. This includes difficulty falling and/or
staying asleep.
Solving Problems
This includes keeping track of information. For example, someone gives you
their phone number and you forget where you put it. Whereas in the past you would have immediately entered it into your cell phone, you no longer think to do that. Tasks like gathering all your receipts, tax forms, and so on to do your annual taxes are challenging. Chances are high that these papers will be scattered here and there, and you won’t know where to start looking for them. When you do find them, you may not have planned where to put them so they could end up scattered about again.
Math problems are also a huge challenge. Even simple calculations become
perplexing.
Speaking and/or Writing
Struggles with finding the right words are not uncommon. Not knowing how to join a conversation or getting into one and suddenly stopping, unsure what to say next. Handwriting becomes progressively less legible, the script is small and squiggly.
Withdrawal
Opting out of family gatherings or social events with friends is a usual sign. Even a long-standing coffee date with a few friends in a coffee shop may be too much to handle for someone with dementia.
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Minor point: The alien did not burst from Sigourney’s stomach. It was a crew member. Had it been from Sigourney, she would not have been able to save the ship.
Also, the article was a little short on just what to do. A good start, but more is needed. Thank you.
My husband passed away from other coplications, but he had dementia. What to do? First, always be loving , kind and patient with the person. He prepared to repeat yourself contantly. Please don’t get frustrated. They don’t know things they used to know anymore. Like button the shirt correctly. If my husband had his shirt button and it wasn’t right, I just left it be. I tried very hard not to draw attention to the little things like that. He prepared to listen to the same childhood story over and over again and act like it was the first time they ever told the story and how much you liked it. My husband’s balance was affected by his type, so he fell a lot. Sometimes it seems like they are more there than they really are so never give them the benefit of the doubt about anything. EVER. They are not thinking properly anymore so if you think they are putzing around Hoover over them like a helicopter mom, or dad. One time I left my husband alone for a little while in our back room. Later, in that short amount of time, he had taken all of our important documents out of the safe and put a box of baseball cards in the safe because he thought they were worth way more money then pages with stuff on it….. It took me well over a month to find all the documents. He had out then in so many different places. So, expect to treat them like they are a child. Because that is how their brain will function, but not as well as time goes by. I hope this helps.
It is helpful to read about Alzheimer’s and dementia but it is still very difficult to understand! My Mom and two of her sisters, all very bright and able people, have been diagnosed with Alzheimer disease. Two of the sisters have by now passed away as a direct result of the disease. My Mom had on-set of Alzheimer disease from about the age of 55 and she is now 79, with a clear and rapid regression in the past five years. I could personally not deal with the trauma of the disease and looking after my Mom became near impossible. Eventually, out of desperation, I placed her in a special frail care facility for Alzheimer patients. I would highly recommend this for any individual who has the responsibility of taking care of an elderly parent where it has to fit in with normal day to day activities and routines, as the stress from monitoring an affected parent can be debilitating, to say the least. My Mom would drink dishwashing liquid, eat raw frozen meat, become aggressive and physically violent when we had to bathe her. She would undress herself in public and panicked when she had to go to the Doctor or for medical examinations. Any change of environment was extremely stressful for her. It is sad to say the least, but knowing my Mom is in a loving environment with a handful of patients, where she is understood and respected, makes it bearable to be around her. To others who either have a partner with Alzheimer, or a parent living with them, consider all your options before committing to long term care unless you are able to be fully devoted to your patient.