November is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month

Every 70 seconds, another American family is affected by Alzheimer’s.

By Nurse Diane

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I was recently talking with a friend of mine who has been dealing with some heart issues.  He had a pacemaker installed, and was put on a cardiac diet.  He exercise regularly, and I was letting him know how proud I was that he was taking care of his health so well, letting him know that he would live to be 100.  The he said, why would anyone want to live that long?  The first thing he thought about was getting Alzheimer's and not being able to remember anything, or take care of himself.

I tried to explain to him that not everyone gets Alzheimer’s, and to prove my point I went about trying to gather more information about this life ending disease.

Many of us know people who have suffered from Alzheimer's.  One of the more famous is President Ronald Reagan.  I had a neighbor who moved to the house behind me.  She had Alzheimer’s when she moved in.  Her son, an instructor at the local collage moved her there alone.  This lady would wander around the neighborhood, and out in the streets, and was in danger of getting lost, and being hit by a car.  I was always finding her and bringing her home to stay with me until her son could arrive and take care of her.  Once when I had to leave to get some medication for my husband, I left him in the shower.  When I returned, he was white as a ghost, and visibly shaken.  He told me the neighbor had walked into our home and yelled at him to get out of her house.  She had a habit of entering other neighbor's homes as well.  Later we were able to laugh about this intrusion, but it was a serious problem that needed to be resolved by her family.

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Alzheimer's is one form of dementia that gradually gets worse over time. It affects memory, thinking, and behavior.  It affects older people; however it is not a normal process of aging.  There is no cure for it, and no real way of diagnosing it until an autopsy can be performed.  If you have close family members who had been diagnosed with it, or certain genes, or a history of head trauma, you may be more susceptible.  There are two types, early onset Alzheimer’s which appears before the age of 60 and progresses very quickly, and this is usually more involved with genetic material.  Late onset Alzheimer’s occurs later in life.

The first symptom to appear is forgetfulness.  Other symptoms include:

• Difficulty performing tasks that take some thought, but used to come easily, such as balancing a checkbook, playing complex games (such as bridge), and learning new information or routines;
• Getting lost on familiar routes;
• Language problems, such as trouble finding the name of familiar objects;
• Losing interest in things previously enjoyed, flat mood;
• Misplacing items;
• Personality changes and loss of social skills
• As the disease progresses you will notice these symptoms start to occur;
• Change in sleep patterns, often waking up at night;
• Delusions, depression, agitation;
• Difficulty doing basic tasks, such as preparing meals, choosing proper clothing, and driving;
• Difficulty reading or writing;
• Forgetting details about current events;
• Forgetting events in your own life history, losing awareness of who you are;
• Hallucinations, arguments, striking out, and violent behavior;
• Poor judgment and loss of ability to recognize danger;
• Using the wrong word, mispronouncing words, speaking in confusing sentences; and
• Withdrawing from social contact.

Those with sever Alzheimer's can no longer understand language, recognize people or perform basic activities such as eating, dressing, bathing.

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There is no treatment at this time for Alzheimer’s…there are several studies and research all across the country.  I was just reading an article the other day where aspirin once a day will help improve cognitive thinking, however do not take it unless you have spoken with your doctor.  Click here to read more about that study:  http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/aspirin-may-reduce-cognitive-decline

As I mentioned, Alzheimer's is NOT a normal part of aging, and other ways you can keep your mind sharp is to remain active and social, work on crossword puzzles or other thinking games.  Keep informed by reading the newspaper or other sources of reading material.  Eat a healthy diet; fish twice a week is also beneficial.  Many people as they get older have a tendency to forget things.  Many younger people forget things as well.  It is important to know that this is normal, however if symptoms get worse as mentioned above, see your doctor and let him know of your concerns.  The best things you can do is remain active and social, eat right and exercise and have regular checkups with your doctor.

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Alzheimer's Awareness Week

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By Diane Forrest, RN

I received the following in an email.  I don’t know if the claims are true, but it is a fun puzzle to do.  I sent it to my cousin, who turned 50 last year.  I have been "giving him the business" all year about his age and his forgetfulness.  I encouraged him to eat blueberries for their ability to help with memory loss and sent him some Ginko Balboa which also claims to help with memory.  But those who are suffering with Alzheimer's have no cure yet.  This week is Alzheimer's Awareness week.  If you know someone who is affected by this disease, there are some places you can turn to for help.  There is a site you can visit, www.alz.org where you can find information on help for caregivers and help to donate for finding a cure.  

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Below are the 10 early warning signs of Alzheimer’s:

1. Memory loss that affects daily life – This can be from forgetting recently learned information, to forgetting important dates or events, and asking for the same information over and over.
2. Challenges in planning or solving problems – They may have difficulty concentrating and take much longer to do things than they did before.
3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure – Often find it hard to complete daily tasks.
4. Confusion with time or place – They may lose track of dates, seasons, and the passage of time. They may forget where they are or how they got there.
5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships – Vision problems, difficulty reading, judging distance and determining color or contrasts are all signs of Alzheimer’s.
6. New problems with words in speaking or writing – They may stop in the middle of a conversation and have no idea how to continue or they may repeat themselves. They may also struggle with vocabulary, like calling things by the wrong name.
7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps – They may put things in unusual places, or they may lose things and be unable to go back over their steps to find them again. This will occur more frequently over time.
8. Decreased or poor judgment –They pay less attention to grooming or keeping themselves clean. Or may use poor judgment when dealing with money.
9. Withdrawal from work or social activities – They may start to remove themselves from hobbies, social activities, work projects or sports.
10. Changes in mood and personality – They can become confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful or anxious. They can be easily upset when out of their comfort zone. 

If you notice any of these signs in a family member, encourage them to seek medical attention, early detection can slow the progress of the disease.

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As we older people get older still we all need to be concerned with Alzheimer's disease. This puzzle is easy to put together if you are not affected by Alzheimer's disease, but impossible to do for someone with the disease. Give it a try. If this puzzle is particularly difficult for you than your physician can offer you additional testing to check you for Alzheimer's. The sooner you deal with the disease the more years you will enjoy life. There have been some very remarkable new discoveries over the last year or two in the research to cure the disease. Nothing yet cures it but electrical stimulation of the brain seems the most promising along with other new drugs.

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A really neat puzzle

http://www.brl.ntt.co.jp/people/hara/fly.swf

If you can put this puzzle together. Say goodbye to Alzheimer’s!

Alzheimer’s Awareness Day 9/21/11

By Diane Forrest, RN

Benefits of having Alzheimer’s disease

5. You never have to watch reruns on television.

4. You are always meeting new people.

3. You don`t have to remember the whines and complaints of your spouse.

2. You can hide your own Easter eggs.

1. Mysteries are always interesting.

Many people deal with serious issues with a bit of humor.  It is a type of coping mechanism.  Alzheimer's disease is a serious fatal disease.  Every 71 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer's disease. Today, it is estimated that about five million Americans and 30 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer's disease. In the US, about 360,000 people are newly diagnosed every year. Alzheimer's affects about 10 percent of people ages 65 and up, and the prevalence doubles roughly every 10 years after age 65. Half of the population ages 85 and up may have Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually even the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In most people with Alzheimer’s, symptoms first appear after age 60.  Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia among older people. Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning—thinking, remembering, and reasoning—and behavioral abilities, to such an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities.

At this time there is no treatment for Alzheimer’s.  There are drugs available that will help slow down the process.

The goals in treating AD are to:

• Slow the progression of the disease (although this is difficult to do)
• Manage behavior problems, confusion, sleep problems, and agitation
• Modify the home environment
• Support family members and other caregivers

10 Warning Signs to look for are:

1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life
2. Challenges in planning or problem solving
3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, work or leisure.
4. Confusion with time or place.
5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
6. New problems with words in speaking or writing
7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
8. Decreased or poor judgment
9. Withdrawal from work or social activities
10. Changes in mood or personality

My mother-in-law is in the early stages of Alzheimer's. Just before they took her car keys away, she'd done a run into town to go to the drugstore.

When she got back, she gave an exasperated sigh. "I have to go back to town." We asked why. She didn't want to say, but finally confessed, "I forgot to pick up my Alzheimer's medication, and if you laugh, I'll kill you."

For more information on Alzheimer’s go to this site:  http://www.alzinfo.org/08/alzheimers/world-alzheimers-day