The body lives while the soul leaves, slowly in some, more quickly in others.

It is a true scourge.

My deepest sympathy.



I'd be out of my mind with grief.

My husband has dementia.

I only met this woman recently, and have gotten more and more connected to her in that short time. At this point she is still very cognizant of her limitations, and is very appreciative of what we do for her. She thanks me profusely for taking her to the ladies' room. To me it is simply no big deal. I often say that if there is a purpose to our lives here on Earth (and I happen to believe there is) then the most important thing is that we help each other. And even the most committed atheist is likely to agree with that.

I honestly don't know a great deal about what spurred the diagnosis, although I could probably ask her mother. When I first met this woman, she occasionally said she wasn't convinced it was an accurate one. But from my limited acquaintance with Alzheimer's, and my mother-in-law had it at the end of her life, this seems correct.

and can be traced to a single family in Italy. People start becoming mildly symptomatic in the mid 40s.

Likely someone else, probably one of her parents and/or a sibling, has also developed it and that's why she went in when her memory started to get noticeably bad.

I hate that she's progressing so quickly but I came in as a study of it back in the 80s was being wrapped up, and I've seen it before. The course usually is a rapid one.

She's lucky to have a good friend who will take her to the restroom so she'll know how to get back.

DDT, other Environmental Toxins Linked to Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease

Scientists suspect that, along with genetic factors, toxins and pollutants may increase the risk of developing this debilitating disorder

From what I've read, the early onset form of AD is only sometimes genetic. No one has said anything about any other relatives of my friend having it. Both her parents are still alive, in their late 70's, and functioning quite well.

Early onset Alzheimer's has been detected and documented in that family since long before pesticides were developed.

There are genetic diseases. Getting rid of the whole GRAS list of chemicals in the environment won't prevent them.

Get off your high horse.

From diagnosis to death - 6 years. It's a terrible disease.

I imagine that would be a dreadful ordeal

when he would have a lucid moment. It broke my heart for him.

yet it was at least 10 years ago. I walked into his room and he actually recognized me, his face lit up and he said "OH Hi!" then I could see the recognition slide away. But it was such a sweet thing.

It started becoming apparent when he was 58. He died last year from pneumonia he was 77 and at that point his passing was a blessing for him.

He had been a boxer, and had also been exposed to chemicals such as Ddt, so I suspect the combination of the head injuries and toxic chemicals were to blame. He was a kind, loving, gentleman and I miss him so much.

Hugs to you too.

I went through this with my dad. Yes, he was 92 when he died. That didn't make it any easier. In the end, he never knew me.

My heart goes out to you and your friend, Alzheimer is one of the worst.

Hug~

she will have no idea who I am.

The saddest Alzheimer's story I've ever heard is this, and it happened to someone I know:

This woman's mother had Alzheimer's, and the daughter was a health-care provider, worked in nursing homes, where such patients often were. At one point she was visiting her mother, who no longer recognized her, and the mother asked, "Is your mother still living? I'm sure she loves you very much." That can still bring tears to my eyes. In fact, the care-taker I'm referring to took care of my own mother at the end of Mom's life, although Mom had no dementia of any kind.

I sincerely hope I end my life, however long it might be, in full possession of all my faculties.

Hugs.

fatty acids, meaning cold water wild fish and shrimps. Shrimps and oysters are especially good

The human brain is something like 60 to 80% high cholesterol fat At least that is what I have been reading. So shell fish and other foods that stimulate the body's natural production of cholesterol are part a healthy brain diet as opposed to bad cholesterol like trans fatty acid and fat from red meat.

My wife had a diagnosis of rapid developing dementia which turned out to be false. While I was driving myself made over an incorrect dementia diagnosis I did a lot of research on Alzheimer's, Loey body and other forms of dementia

Alzheimer's does not progress rapidly Sounds like she has some early frontal lobe damage that effects short term memory and executive function Late stage Alzheimer's effects old memories like family members names, face recognition and other long term memory functions

So I would not be too alarmed

Trick is a good brain health diet and mental activity By that I mean task activity not television

For Alzheimer's patients TV robs the brain of proper exercise Does for healthy people too

Get her involved in an internet forum in something she is interested in which encourages not just reading but responding and have discussions about her activity in those forums

It's just like conversation therapy except you don't have to be with her all the time

Good luck

I have no reason to doubt the diagnosis. And I'm really not in a position to suggest changes in her diet to her family, although I do appreciate your information.

It is my understanding that Alzheimer's has a steady progression, and that with the early onset version it simply occurs more rapidly. I could be wrong about this. My mother-in-law has Alzheimer's in the last two or three years of her life, and she lived to be 93. This woman is almost a half century younger.

I am genuinely glad that your wife's diagnosis was wrong. I sincerely hope that she has a good long term future.

From being around her, all the symptoms are clearly that of Alzheimer's. It's not short term memory or executive function. It's a profound loss, and she's not yet to late stage. I'm sure it won't be very long, probably less than a year, before she doesn't know who I am. Today, when we all first met up (this woman, her mother, and two other friends as well as myself) I could tell that initially she wasn't sure who I am. That did clear up, although I would not quiz her on any facts about me. She's met one of my two sons, and tried to ask me about how one of them was doing. But she wasn't sure which one she was asking about, and so I simply gave her a recap about both of them.

Meanwhile, I will do what I can to be with her, to take her out to dinner and a movie (what happened today) and patiently deal with her limitations.

Perhaps it helps that my oldest son has Asperger's, which means I'm used to dealing with limitations.

It sounds pretty woo, but there's a lot of scientific literature on medium-chain triglycerides/a ketogenic diet and dementia or Alzheimer's. If your friend's family is interested, it's certainly worth looking into.

Here's a link to start with: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25997382

I know it can get aggravating to have medical advice pushed on you, especially alternative-sounding treatments that sound purely anecdotal, but this could potentially be useful to your friend or maybe to a friend or loved on of somebody else here on DU, so I couldn't keep my mouth shut. It's offered with the best of intentions

on the possible relationship between TV habits, other lifestyle factors, and dementia.

Eg:

I agree with you that good fats are good for your brain. Choline in eggs is a great brain food.


It's Not Dementia, It's Your Heart Medication: Cholesterol Drugs and Memory

as is an antiinflammatory diet. Lots of things are linked to inflammation.

You have my deepest sympathies.

talk and recognize people but was unable to walk, etc but it was cancer which was the cause of his death. We cared for him as well as we could but unable to enjoy the later years as we had in the past. There are groups around which can advise those who care for the person, how to talk to them and things to look for in their daily lives. Seriously advise to get power of attorney while the person is functional, you never know when their last day to be able to sign their name, good luck.

She's 71. My parents flew down last month to visit and she would forget things within a few minutes and would mix me up with my brothers. She's in good spirits. I've heard that the disease is worse on family/friends than it is on the actual person.

It seems to me that in the beginning, the person with the dementia/Alzheimer's is fairly aware of what is going on. As it progresses, they lose that awareness. I've heard or read more than once that it is the loss of the person you once knew that is so terribly hard.

I'm 67, so your mother isn't very much older than I am. So in a way she could be me. I sincerely hope I never get any kind of dementia, but if I do, I hope I can make various advance arrangements.

I know there are various books out there on this topic. I recall listening to something on NPR a while back, in which the person being interviewed talked about having a wonderful discussion with her mother about FDR. The mom thought that FDR was still President. The essential message was not to try to orient the person with dementia to the present, but to join them wherever they are.

I hope I can keep that in mind as my friend fades away.

She and her sister flew in from out of state for one last visit while she still could. She's older than I am, and we've only met a few times, and not in several years. I made a point of introducing myself. She seemed to get on well during the gathering, but as we were leaving, she had absolutely no recollection of having met me a few hours earlier. We said the usual things about getting together again, but I suspect that's the last time I've seen her in this life.

gave me a quick education when I was told Dad had it. I read it on the train going to New York to see him.

had dementia and not alzheimer's.

in case I ever need to give it to my daughter. At my age one never knows.

It may be fortunate that I only recently met this woman, so I don't know what she was like before. I only know the person who is already fading away. Right now she can't remember what she wants to order for dinner at the restaurant we've gone to, but we are happy to help her with this. She's very aware that she can't remember things, and at this point it is very easy to be patient with her.

Today, at the restaurant, when she was befuddled about what she wanted to order, I was mainly concerned that the server would get impatient, but he seemed to recognize that all of the rest of us were very focussed on her, and that there must have been something going on that he wasn't quite aware of, and he himself was not impatient, and gave her the time she needed.

A couple of times when I've been out with her, I've quietly told someone helping us (a wait person or the like) that my friend has early onset Alzheimer's, and we'll be taking a bit longer to do whatever.

I'm just sorry to know that in the fairly near future we won't be able to do things like going out to a movie or dinner with her, but so long as we can we will.

This is the one disease I fear most as I age. Those who have seen it through to the end know why. We should be putting billions upon billions of tax dollars toward finding a cure.

Terrible disease, but both are in their 90s now, so not that unexpected. I visit one at the nursing home weekly and it's terrible not just to watch their decline but to watch the decline of everyone in that wing of the nursing home.

Terrible.

is that not as many live long enough to get it.

They will tell you there are probably at least a hundred studies going on now of various (patentable) "curcuminoids"..

By the way..

India is a modern country now. Sure, they have a LOT of poverty and a lot of corruption.

But its not what you're thinking. Your image of India is very far away from today's reality.

it will be front page news.

And it is a simple fact that the average life span for Indians is noticeably shorter than for Americans. Alzheimer's is largely a disease of old age. Sort of like cancer. The longer you live the greater the chance of getting a cancer of some kind. So people in cultures where they didn't live as long didn't get as many cancers, but they still got cancer. Even dinosaurs got cancer.

ya know..

And people in India live on average more than a decade less than people in this country.

program to follow for early onset alzheimers. it is encouraging. excellent nutrition, plenty of good water, exercise and stimulating creative and being physically active are key.

after only 1 week of a quality multi vitamin formula and electrolyes with plenty of water, our mom was able to get up and make a pot coffee. "I even remembered where you put the coffee", she proudly told me.

This is simply a friend, not a relative, and a friend I've only met recently.

My mother-in-law had Alzheimer's the last few years of her life. She lived to be 94. We weren't all that geographically close, so I didn't have to deal with it on a day to day basis, but certainly saw it when we visited.

I know you mean well. But any of those "cures" are at best anecdotal, not some actual miracle cure that's being kept secret.

I'm quite familiar with people desperate for a cure for something that they'll grasp at anything. Here's my experience in this general area: At the age of four my oldest son went totally bald from alopecia areata. It's an auto immune disorder that causes hair loss. He has the most extreme form, alopecia areata universalis. When this first happened, and for many years since, well-meaning people have suggested all sorts of treatments and cures. But at this point what is known about aa is this: They don't know for sure what causes it, and there is no cure. Sometimes the hair will spontaneously regrow, often it doesn't. There are some genetic markers, but even so, they don't know what triggers the hair loss. Or the regrowth when it occurs.

Oh, and do NOT suggest that it's from stress. I may not have been the worlds best mother, but I was not such a monster as to cause my kid's hair to fall out starting when he was three and a half.

I have a second son, born right around the time first son's last hairs fell out. When he was ten, second son also went bald. So even though we know of no one else on either side of the family trees with any auto immune disorders of any kind, there is probably a genetic component here.

Oh, and to remind me that a lot of men shave their heads is likewise no consolation, because those men can stop shaving and their hair will grow back. Both sons are completely at ease with being bald, and as they get older -- they're now 29 and 33 -- they seem less odd.

The point of the alopecia story is that I am highly skeptical of anyone who tells me that if I only give my kids this particular mix of vitamins their hair will grow back. Or that to consume some specific set of spices will prevent Alzheimer's. The research just isn't there.

It's such as horrible disease. Stay strong for your friend!