Sometimes I write about how my mother went down hill fast, or did she? At 85 she was still walking long distances with me in New York. At 87 she couldn't walk a block. I found out later that she had stopped walking to the pool, she was bascially reduced to sitting around most of the day. Didn't know it. Nobody saw a problem.
I was living in New York and Reston, Va working away. The sound of my mother's feet and the way she complained constantly on the phone were already bothering me. These were new and different behaviors.
I thought something was wrong, but everyone seemed to think she was just "getting old". It seemed like a reasonable explanation, and I guess I was eager to accept this conclusion. I didn't have a clue about what was happening, so why not "old". It might have stayed that way if my stomach wasn't bothering me, and if I wasn't worried every time I thought about mom.
I know more now then I did back in those days. I now realize that my mother was deteriorating slowly over a long period of time. There were plenty of signs. Hindsight 20/20.
I continue to wonder about how things might have been. I wonder what if I had gotten my mother's memory tested the minute I felt concerned. I wonder if she had gotten on the combination of Aricept and Namenda early, what effect would they have had on my mother. Where would she be today?
I am never going to know the answers to those questions.
Now I spend time wondering how I can get the word out about mild cognitive impairment -- often the precursor to Alzheimer's dementia. The point at which a person starts to lose their memory faster than a person that is just getting "old".
The finding of the study below suggest that the memory and thinking abilities of person suffering from mild cognitive impairment declined two times as fast every year as the abilities of those without any cognitive problems. Thinking ability and memory in subjects with Alzheimer's disease declined four times as fast as in those without any cognitive problems.
"There persists the idea that some decline in memory is typical" with age. -- Robert Wilson
No doubt, memory does decline with age.
Here is my advice. If you have a parent or grandparent that starts to evidence new and different behaviors like meanness, worries about money, forgetfulness, gets lost while driving, or starts scrapping their feet on the ground -- get their memory checked.
If your stomach starts bothering you and you think there could be someone wrong with a parent or grandparent, don't assume they are getting old. Stomach bothering you? Pay attention. It is trying to tell you something -- get their memory checked.
If you have a parent or grandparent over 70 years of age -- get their memory checked every two years. People get physicals don't they? How about a brain physical? A memory test.
Alzheimer's dementia is ugly. You probably agree with that statement. But, if you haven't experienced Alzheimer's personally -- from the front row -- you can't imagine how ugly. No -- possible -- way.
There are treatments, not cures, available for Alzheimer's disease. They work very well for some people. We have people on this list that swear that the combination of Aricept and Namenda made a big difference in quality of life.
If you get worried about someone you love -- take action.
If its Alzheimer's, someone is going to have to assume the caregiver responsibility. The sooner you act the better the quality of life for the patient and the caregiver. The caregiver could be you.
Trust me, I know.
By Bob DeMarco, Alzheimer's Reading Room
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