jgiordano@rsmercury.com | | Janine Giordano | |
Last week, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced that Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, resulting in 72,914 deaths in 2006 alone. This is disturbing news for me, and I know that many of you who know me are probably smiling as you read this. I’ve always been forgetful but as I get older I feel more forgetful than ever before. But so do many of my friends and family members. It’s easy to joke around and blame it on “being an airhead” or to blame it on old age, but a loss of memory when related to Alzheimer’s is no laughing matter. There are so many other reasons for loss of memory that we tend to dismiss the warning signs without bothering to see a doctor. Busy schedules, stress, menopause, other ailments, the list is long as far as why forgetfulness occurs. But lately I hear a lot about people being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia. And personally, I know three people suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia, or who has a relative suffering. My boyfriend’s mom currently resides at Folts Home because she was no longer able to care for herself. My ex-mother-in-law is struggling with this disease, as is a friends’ father-in-law. The struggle is not just with the person who has been diagnosed, but with the loved ones who must watch on and see the deterioration occur. In the early stages the need to be a good daughter, or son, or spouse, is predominant. Mom or Dad moves in with one of the kids and the role reversal begins. Where Mom and Dad used to care for the child, it’s now time to care for them. While love is often the overriding factor in deciding against placing a parent or spouse in a home, often a lack of money to pay for the proper home and just as often, guilt is the underlying factor. No one wants to abandon the parent who gave up everything to raise us and love us. No one wants to leave their spouse in a home or spend their golden years alone if their loved one is still alive. First things first, with 5.2 million people suffering from this disease in the United States alone, we need to look at the 10 warning signs. These are memory loss, difficulty performing tasks, problems with remembering words, disorientation from to time and place, poor or decreased judgment, problems with abstract thinking, misplacing things, changes in mood or behavior, changes in personality, and loss of initiative. I should start panicking right about now because I suffer just about all of those symptoms at one time or another, as I am sure many readers reading this do as well. So when are the symptoms serious enough to warrant a visit to the doctor? The Alzheimer’s Association gives these guidelines. Someone with Alzheimer’s will forget the entire experience, while someone experiencing normal age related memory challenges will forget just part of the experience. People with Alzheimer’s rarely remember things later, cannot follow written or spoken directions and gradually are unable to use notes as reminders. A person with normal memory challenges will eventually remember what it is that was on the tip of their tongue, can follow instructions, and has a note system in place backing up the memory glitches. According to information provided by the Folts Home, if someone you love is regularly forgetting names of close family members, are no longer able to plan a meal or write a check, or forgets names of common objects like “dog,” or “cup,” or can’t remember the day, year, or season or state they live in, they may be suffering from Alzheimer’s and should probably see a doctor. While Alzheimer’s usually strikes people 65 and older, there are different stages which affect as many as 500,000 people in their 30s, 40s and 50s. Is there anything we can do to cure it? While there is no known cure for the disease at this time, there are FDA-approved drugs that will temporarily slow the worsening of symptoms for approximately 6-12 months, but only for about half the people who take them. While prevention may not be totally possible, there are ways to stay healthy but this includes making lifestyle changes. Exercise your body and your brain, eat healthy foods, stay in touch with friends and stay social, and stay mentally active. These are all suggestions to keeping healthy and avoiding decreasing brain cells. Now, if you have someone suffering from Alzheimer’s this can be as difficult as being diagnosed yourself. The first thing you need to do is consider both your welfare and that of your loved one. Let go of any guilt or need to prove you are a good daughter, son or spouse and contact professionals who will determine the level of care needed. If your loved one must be placed in a home, understand it is not anything you need to blame yourself for doing. Once they are placed in a home, it’s important to both of you to visit regularly. Set a time to visit and stick to it. Once you are there, remember to talk and listen. There’s no need to yell, because hearing loss is not a symptom of Alzheimer’s. Take your time when speaking, ask one simple question at a time. Don’t quiz the person to see if they remember something or someone. Don’t correct them and make requests in a positive way. Call them by their name, avoid interrupting them and let them know what they say is important just by listening to them speak. There are activities also you can do while visiting, like reading aloud, taking a walk, playing catch with a ball, do puzzles or word searches, or give a manicure. Remember the time you visit is their time, the focus should be on them. It may be difficult to find the strength to visit with someone you love who does not remember you, but you will be making their life better even for a little while. And once they have passed on you will not even have this time to share with them. Above all, I hope this has helped you realize one main important thing. Before too much time slips away, get out there and enjoy life while you are young and still have all your faculties about you. Yes, life is for the living, so live it.
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