National Alzheimers Disease Awareness Month

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By Diane Forrest, RN

My family had been living in our home for a couple of years when an elderly woman moved into the vacant house behind us.  She was the mother of an instructor from the school I had graduated from.  We never really got to know her well because we, as most people, were busy with our day to day activities.  One morning I left my husband in the shower as I had to run to the store right quick to pick something up.  I was only gone a couple of minutes before I got a distress call from my husband...he was in a panic when he told me someone had come into our home.  The door on our back deck opens to the bathroom, and since I was only going to be gone for a few minutes, I didn’t lock it.  I raced back home to find my husband terribly frightened and wrapped in his towel.  I soon learned that this nice elderly woman had walked in on my husband in the shower, insisting that he get out of her house.  By the time I got home, she had already left, but it was then that we learned she was suffering from Alzheimer’s. We had a few more occasions to cross her path; she had entered other's homes, pulled up my newly planted plants, and other various mischiefs.  The breaking point was when I discovered her out walking in the middle of the road putting herself in danger from the traffic in our neighborhood.  I notified her son and he was forced to move her to his home so that she could be watched more closely.

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Alzheimer's disease is one form of dementia that gradually gets worse over time. It affects memory, thinking, and behavior.  Alzheimer's affects the elderly; however it is not a part of the normal aging process.  The cause of Alzheimer's is not known, and cannot be accurately diagnosed until after death when brain tissues can be examined.  There are some factors that can increase one's chances of getting the disease and they include having a relative who has been diagnosed with the disease, head trauma during your life, longstanding high blood pressure, and it occurs more frequently in females.

Symptoms of Alzheimer's include:

• Forgetting recent events or conversations
• Difficulty performing more than one task at a time
• Difficulty solving problems
• Taking longer to perform more difficult activities
• Language problems, such as trouble finding the name of familiar objects
• Misplacing items
• Getting lost on familiar routes
• Personality changes and loss of social skills
• Losing interest in things previously enjoyed, flat mood
• 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
• Forgetting details about current events
• Forgetting events in your own life history, losing awareness of who you are
• Change in sleep patterns, often waking up at night
• Difficulty reading or writing
• Poor judgment and loss of ability to recognize danger
• Using the wrong word, mispronouncing words, speaking in confusing sentences
• Withdrawing from social contact
• Having hallucinations, arguments, striking out, and violent behavior
• Having delusions, depression, agitation
• Difficulty doing basic tasks, such as preparing meals, choosing proper clothing, and driving
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There is no cure for Alzheimer's, and treatment is only for treating the symptoms.  The main goal is to slow the progression of the disease, there are a few drugs currently available, and however the side effects from these drugs are discouraging.  Other goals are to keep the person safe from harm, modifying their home environment, and providing support for family members and care givers.

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There is no way to prevent Alzheimer's, however there are some things you can try that may help, such as eating a low fat diet, eating cold water fish or Omega 3 supplements, eating dark green vegetables, maintaining a low blood pressure and remain mentally and socially active and alert.

The course of caring for someone with Alzheimer's is a very difficult and draining situation.  Family members and caregivers need support and assistance. 

For more information one Alzheimer's and how you can help, visit this site:  http://www.alz.org/

Alzheimer's Awareness Week - 2011

The focus of this week is to become aware of Alzheimer’s. Most people know about Alzheimer's and many know someone who has had it. When President Regan was diagnosed with the disease it made national news.

What is Alzheimer’s? Alzheimer's is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks.

10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s:

1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life;
2. Challenges in planning or solving problems;
3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at 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; and
10. Changes in mood and personality.

Alzheimer's is not a common part of aging. There is no diagnosis, since it affects the brain, the only way to get an accurate diagnosis is to perform an autopsy on the brain after death. There is no cure, however there are some medications that can help slow the process.Caring for a family member with Alzheimer's can be very challenging. As the disease progresses the person can develop:

• Anger;
• Agitation;
• Aggression;
• General emotional distress;
• Physical or verbal outbursts;
• Restlessness, pacing, shredding paper or tissues;
• Hallucinations (seeing, hearing or feeling things that are not really there;)
• Delusions (firmly held belief in things that are not true); and
• Sleep disturbances.

They will require constant monitoring to prevent injury to themselves or others. When I moved into my current home there was an elderly lady who lived in the home behind me. She was the mother of a respiratory therapist that I worked with. She lived alone, and had developed advanced signs of Alzheimer's. She would come into my yard and pull up plants I had planted and other minor destructive things, but the most concerning events was when she would walk into my home, thinking it was her home. She even walked in on my husband in the shower, not only frightening him, but becoming physically abusive to him as well. We had to inform her son that she could no longer be allowed to stay by herself any longer. He asked that since I was a nurse, if I could look after her. She required full time care, and I already had my hands full with caring for my husband. He eventually had to move her into a specialized Alzheimer's unit, a place that is equipped to care for these patients.

Caring for someone with Alzheimer's is very difficult and stressful, but there are organizations and support groups that offer help and encouragement. For More information, go to http://www.alz.org/index.asp
 

Signs of Alzheimer's	Typical age-related changes
Poor judgment and decision making	Making a bad decision once in a while
Inability to manage a budget	Missing a monthly payment
Losing track of the date or the season	Forgetting which day it is and remembering later
Difficulty having a conversation	Sometimes forgetting which word to use
Misplacing things and being unable to retrace steps to find them	Losing things from time to time