A close friend has been recently diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers disease.
Still trying to process what that means and how I can help.
She hasn’t yet recieved much info about resources or treatment.
Anyone have suggestions to share? It seems to be progressing briskly.
I found this, that looks promising, to help formulate an action plan.
I will mention it to her.
https://www.alzheimersnavigator.org
Its pretty tough when the mom needs help, her family is used to mom managing most everything.
Oh- I’m so sorry for your friend as it is such a devastating diagnosis! Definitely check out Alzheimers.org for their resources. In addition, you might check out your local chapter of Area Agency on Aging to see if they have any resources in your area. I think one of the most important things you can do is just be there for her, whether she wants to talk about it or not. I’m sure she will be very angry for a while and might need someone she can sound off to who she knows will be there no matter what. The other thing she will need to do is to make sure that legally, she is making arrangements for how she will want to live her life when she can no longer make informed choices. She will need to make a lot of financial and personal care decisions before it is too late. Maybe you could help her with that task if she has no one else as it is quite overwhelming. She might want to look at Adult Day Cares and residential facilities in your area once she has accepted her diagnosis so that she feels she will have some input into her future. I’m sure she appreciates you friendship very much!
Read the book or see the movie, Still Alice, but not with your friend. It is about a woman with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Julianne Moore won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Alice. My good friend who works for our local Alzheimer’s Association chapter told me that the movie is very accurate, sadly.
Does she live in the Seattle area? Coincidentally enough, I am leaving in about 45 minutes to go to the Longevity Clinic for some cognitive testing. I have Alzheimers in my family, and am very proactive. If there is anything I can do about it, I will do it!
This link is very helpful:
http://www.longevitymedicalclinic.com/Articles.asp?ID=276
“A recent study by Dale Bredesen, MD, international expert in Alzheimer’s disease, affiliated with the Mary S. Easton Center of Alzheimer’s Disease Research at UCLA and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, reported reversals or at least significant functional improvement in cognitive declines in 9 out of 10 patients with at least early phase Alzheimer’s disease and precursor conditions. Six out of the nine improved patients had quit working or were substantially limited in their jobs due to their impairments and all were able to return to work and work with improved performance. The one failure suffered from very late stage Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Bredesen postulated that the reason single therapy approaches, including drug therapy towards this disease have failed, thus far, is that they have traditionally been looking for one single cause, rather than addressing the multiple causes of cognitive decline seen in Alzheimer’s disease. The study, published in the prestigious journal, “Aging” utilized a comprehensive, individualized system of multiple therapies in the patients participating. The improvements seen have been sustained with the longest patient follow-up at two and one-half years with marked improvement.”
@Busdriver11, please keep us posted about what you learn, as this information is important to more and more of us as we and our families age.
50% above 85 has Alzheimer’s. I’m too keen on learning more about Alzheimer’s disease, even though in my family has it but one is never too sure.
I will keep you posted, HImom. This is very important to all of us, I agree! And even if it’s coming down the road for some of us, we want to be able to fight it with any weapon that is available.
^^^@DrGoogle, this publication says it’s 38%. See page 16. https://www.alz.org/facts/downloads/facts_figures_2015.pdf
I read Still Alice before the movie came out, and I started to re-read it a few days ago, but had to stop.
She is in Seattle, and near me, so I am hoping to get her involved in some of my exercise classes, she walks, but I know the cross body stuff is good for your synapses.
She is in her 50’s, and doesnt have it in her family, but has had a great deal of stress due to other family members health conditions, for decades, which couldnt have been helpful.
Getting old, is way tougher than it looks.
But humans are resilent.
I just saw CeDell Davis perform Sunday, and it was wonderful.
Mr Davis turned 89, last week, has been in a wheelchair since 1957, when his legs were broken multiple places after he was trampled in a nightclub stampede, hampered by crutches he used since he had polio when he was 10.
He had a stroke in 2005, and no longer plays guitar, but he still sings and can put on a hell of a show, even though it must have been 105.
http://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/music/cedell-davis-and-the-blues-are-alive-and-well/
Life is so precious.
Vh, thanks but I don’t understand why 61% of people above 75 has AZ and only 38% of people age 85 and older has AZ. Can someone explain to my why? I would think the number at age 85 should be higher than the number at 75 base on that statement alone.
if you live till you are 85, you are probably relatively healthy.
My grandparents lived till their mid 80’s, and while my grandfather had a couple heart attacks in his 60’s, it was the colon cancer that killed him. For my grandmother, she had part of her bladder removed after cancer, but it was the tiny strokes that got her. Their daughter, my mother died 5 yrs ago at 75 with cardiovascular problems.
I dont believe the life expectancy after Alzheimers diagnosis is generally longer than 10 yrs or so.
You may want to ask the doctor if they have a severe vitamin b12 deficiency because that too causes memory problems.
i know both she and her H take supplements, as they have other health issues, they also eat pretty good, if a little on the Paleo side, because of sensitivities.
That is a good point. i was always trying to get my grandma to take supplements, as she didnt have much appetite, but with her meds for otherthings, she refused to put anything else in her mouth!
Perhaps those who have AZ (especially in more sever forms) die well before reaching age 85 and only the stronger, healthier folk are still alive at 85.
Not sure where you are reading that drgoogle, but it would mean that 61% (VH’s link says 81%) of people over 75 are dx with Alz., and of those, 38% of those over 85 have the dx. So the 81% includes the folks over 85. In other words, 43% of those between 75-85 have the dx. Add the 43% and the 38% together to get the 81% of adults over 75 that have the dx.
Oh, that makes sense.
Thank you Jym, I think I found out where is my disconnection. It’s the term diagnosed, when they first diagnosed, because if they have Alzheimer’s at 75, they would most likely have it at 85.
Right. Most are diagnosed in their 70’s.
Music might help her - whatever she listened to in her youth. The memories she has associated with that music are likely to stay with her for quite a while.