Alzheimer's Is Not Normal Aging

Mom has been diagnosed with dementia, which is "a group of symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with daily functioning." (Mayo Clinic website) The cause of her dementia has not yet been identified. Since the most common cause is Alzheimer's disease, it is very likely that Mom has Alzheimer's disease. I found an interesting TED Talk video; the presenter, an Alzheimer's disease researcher, says that it is curable. Here is a link to Alzheimer's Is Not Normal Aging - And We Can Cure It; I have also placed it on the Resources page.

If you have been forgetting a lot more lately and you are concerned that you have dementia or Alzheimer's, here's a quick, non-scientific way to sort things out. Did you forget where you put your keys? Or did you forget what a key is or what it does? If you forgot where you put them, that's normal. If you forgot what it is or what it does, that's not normal; see your doctor.

Things went a lot better this morning. When I called Dad was awake! That's a good sign that the antibiotic is helping fight off the infection. He had already eaten a little so he was able to take the amoxicillin immediately; he was also a lot more coherent this morning. He turned the phone over to Mom, who took her alendronate without a fuss. Finally, when I asked Mom to give Momo his pill, she said he already got it because he was following her around in the kitchen meowing to remind her about his pill! Total elapsed time: 3 min 20 sec! Winner!

Dad was awake all 3 times that I called today to remind him to take his antibiotic. This is a very good sign. An undiagnosed infection can cause dementia as well as lethargy, it was one of the things we checked with Mom when she was first diagnosed with dementia. Frequently the infection turns out to be a urinary tract infection; once treated the dementia goes away if the infection was the cause. Because the immune response in elders can be slow in responding (Dad is 91 years old), elevated levels of white blood cells may not show up in a urine sample even though there is an infection. This rapid improvement in Dad's confusion and lethargy is pointing in that direction. We'll have to watch for this in the future.

Happy Birthday to Kathleen!