Carol Brauer

A New Way of Living: Alzheimer’s

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Coping with Alzheimer’s

Emotions and Living with Alzheimer’s

Just because you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia, doesn’t mean that you are isolated from the rest of the world. Rest in that there is a great community out there of support for every step of the way. People who are out that there that know exactly what you are going through, whether it be they themselves are suffering from Alzheimer’s, or they are dealing with a loved one suffering. One thing that you will most commonly hear from friends, doctors, support groups, is this: tackle the disease early. The second is to know emotional roller coaster it will be, and understand all of the stages of emotions that will be to come. The first emotion that usually comes with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is one of loss. Loss of the normalcy that life once was, loss of how easy life was, and loss of memories made in the past. Fear may not be far behind. Fear of the unknown future, fear of the future changes to come, fear of the lost memories, as well as fear of the loss to knowing the every day “routine” tasks.

To help whether it be you or a loved one suffering from Alzheimer‘s, below is a standard series of emotions that you will experience after a diagnosis:

  1. Depression: There will be a sense of sadness and hopelessness and helplessness to stop the changes that are to come.
  2. Denial: There will probably be a stage at the beginning where you cannot wrap your mind around it and may think that all doctors are wrong with their diagnosis. Hearing you have this disease can be overwhelming, and it may be easier to pretend at the beginning that it isn’t really there to avoid the drastic changes that you will have to eventually make in life.
  3. Sense of loss: As the disease progresses, you will have to mentally prepare yourself or  your loved one for grieving the life once lived before being diagnosed.
  4. Anger: As with most if not all medical diagnosis’, anger will be one of most early reactions to hearing you have Alzheimer’s. You do not have control over what is happening in your body, and you are being forced to completely changing your way of living. Plans will have to change, and the unknown future will be the dictator of many things moving forward.
  5. Resentment: The all too common “why” question will pop up. “Why me? What did I do to deserve this?”
  6. Fear: Fear of the unknown future, fear of how loved ones will respond, help, or not help.
  7. Isolation: You may feel like you do not have anyone to talk to, or that no one knows or understands what you are going through.
  8. Relief: You’ve known for sometime that something was wrong, and now you feel relief that you have a diagnosis and you have information moving forward on how to cope and live with this new way of life.

 

Alzheimer’s: The Signs (Part 2)

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Do You or a Loved One Have Alzheimer’s? (Part 2)

Signs You or Your Loved One May Have Alzheimer’s

A tell tale sign that a person may be suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease or Dementia, is a compromise in judgement in regards to every day life choices and behavior. This could be something as simple as not being able to dress oneself properly, as far as how to put on a shirt or pants, or in regards to weather appropriate dressing. In most cases, seniors suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s will start having trouble with money, and not making wise financial decisions, but will instead make erratic and impulsive spending patterns.  Simple tasks that you or your loved ones could accomplish without a second thought, now become more difficult. Planning a daily routine, making decisions, or even the simple task of deciding dinner, now will become a taxing chore that will take up energy and mind power that never happened before. Repeating words, concepts, and stories repeatedly is also common among Alzheimer’s patients. If a person is in a stressful situation, this could be the reaction they have to self sooth, or this could also be the reaction in a situation where they feel fearful or even bored.
A person with Alzheimer’s begins to struggle with their communication. As the disease worsens, so does the talking. A sentence may not get finished,  a word or thought may not be able to be communicated, and the person may have to use hand gestures to communicate. Comprehension of time and place is another tell tale sign of Alzheimer’s and/or dementia. Doctors will even comment that not having any concept of time, and being completely disoriented all of the time in that regard is a sure sign and problem with Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s: The Signs (Part 1)

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Do you or a Loved One Have Alzheimer’s?

Signs You or Your Loved One May Have Alzheimer’s

You see some differences. You are not sure what it is. Should you be worried, or not? Doctors remind patients that just because you may have a symptom or two, this does NOT necessarily mean that you have Alzheimer’s. This also does not mean you have dementia, which is caused by Alzheimer’s about half to 80% of the time. Sometimes loss of memory can be attributed to a deficiency in B12, sometimes it can be caused by a malfunction in the liver, kidney, brain, or thyroid. To help more quickly diagnose if you have Alzheimer’s Disease, take a look to see if you have the following symptoms.

The most common symptom of Alzheimer’s Disease is memory loss. This is different from forgetfulness. People of all ages can suffer from memory loss due to anxiety, depression, or stress. You make think that you are showing signs of dementia if these arise as you age, but that is not necessary true. Memory loss is a more severe and different scenario. An older person who is suffering from memory loss will not remember what happened two minutes prior, versus just forgetting a person’s name or a small detail in a pervious conversation. Memory loss is actually not a normal part of the aging process, but rather is a sign that something is not right.

Mood swings and agitation is another sign of Alzheimer’s in an elderly person who is usually even keeled and generally calm and cheerful. If a senior starts to become erratic in behavior and has builds up a habit of pacing to and fro, concentrated on details such as dates, places, and specific people, which in turn causes them to become confused and distressed on an extreme level, this could be a tell tale sign of Alzheimer’s Disease. If you are a caretaker of someone who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, keep in mind that big change such as moving one from a home to a nursing facility, can be a trigger for anxiety and emotion.

If you are the loved one of a senior suffering from Alzheimer’s, a great way to care for them is to take control of their finances. As Alzheimer’s Disease takes over the brain, numbers of any kind, especially in regards to money, will become confusing to a person. This also applies to every day normal duties, such as cooking, cleaning, or any other household chores as simple as watering plants. But it is not just the chores that they may forget about. Playing a favorite game may become difficult, or other favorite pastime hobbies or actives.

Alzheimer’s Disease and Infection

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Infection and Alzheimer’s Disease: Possible Relation

The Relationship and Result Between Alzheimer’s Disease and Infection

 

For years, Alzheimer’s disease has been explained as combined “protein plaques”(made up of amyloid beta) that settle in the brain, and have do not have a specific functional role. As a result, they attack a person’s mind and memory.

Later studies have suggested that these “protein plaques” are meant to be useful in defense against infections. Alzheimer’s is just a sad alternative result in some people who have lower levels of amyloid beta. Instead of fighting off microbes, they combine together and form an attachment to the person’s microbes. It happens fast, and are very determined and strong in attaching themselves and not letting go.

This new study from “Science Translational Medicine” journal has been a game changer in how people think about Alzheimer’s disease, but applied solutions is still in the works and it will be some time before solutions/medications come into fruition. While any straightforward answers are a long ways off, researchers and doctors are excited about the new possibilities that are to come about. As time goes on and research becomes more in-depth and more answers appear, doctors believe that medications that are made specifically to attack this particular part of a person’s immune system will be well worth it, while not completely clearing the disease out completely, but rather fighting off the threatening plaques.