Dale, unfortunately there is Early Onset Alzheimers Disease (EOAD).  I
believe it advances faster that the regular "old Age" AD. So sorry.
Gwen

I'm afraid it can - I'm so sorry, Dale.

There's a nasty, faster-acting version called Early Onset AD.
My wife started to get forgetful and illogical at about the same age.
She died 2 years ago, at age 65.
Although she was then in the final stage of AD, it was cancer that
took her - cancer that we didn't spot early because of the AD.
BTW, general anesthesia seems to accelerate the progress of AD, so
plan for that if your wife needs any surgery.

Check if there is an AD Support Group that has meetings in your area;
you're going to need all the support you can get.  (This newsgroup is
great, but personal contact is even better.)

If it really is EOAD (and there's still a possibility that her
problems have another explanation), your main problem will be to
prepare yourself for dealing with it.   A supportive family can be
invaluable - contact everyone, and see if they will be able/willing to
help.    Expect some of them to be emotionally unable to deal with the
effects of AD, however - our son helped *me* a lot, but was unable to
deal directly with his drastically changed mother.

Your wife will go through all the phases of AD - but it will progress
faster than regular AD (though the Aricept might help there).
You'll have to gradually do more and more for her, and take over
household duties when (or preferably before) she becomes unable to
cope with them.   That means watching carefully to notice when normal
things are getting too much for her to deal with.
You'll eventually have to "child-proof" the house for her safety;
right now is the best time to start.

As she becomes less able to express herself, you'll have to become
very perceptive (and patient) to guess what she wants to say.

You'll also eventually have to take care of her personal hygiene.
In our case it was helpful that we already showered together; you
might want to start that now, if you don't already.  
Or, of course, hire a good nurse.

She'll also become, at times, *very* difficult to deal with - always
remember, it's not her, it's the disease.  
She may need tranquillisers and anti-psychotic meds - whatever makes
things easier *for her*.

Indeed.
We don't get to choose our fate, we just do the best we can with
the cards we're dealt.

Losing a life partner this way is *particularly* hard - it's like
experiencing her death in slow motion.  It'll be emotionally *very*
draining.   But cherish the good moments (there will be many!) and
don't dwell on the bad bits.

It'll be hard, but try not to make the same mistake I did, and wear
yourself out trying to do everything - you have to look after yourself
first, or you won't be fit to help your wife.

BTW, if it's not too late, now is the time to get all the legal
matters sorted out.  Put everything in your name and get power of
attorney etc, while her signature is still valid.   This can avoid
problems later (when you'll be much less able to cope with them).
You probably should see an attorney who has a specialty of this
situation - ask around locally.

at that age, it's a slightly different form of AD called early
onset AD (or EOAD for short).  a friend of mine was a hired
caregiver for someone who graduated from high school the year
after us;  he was diagnosed at age 46, and died at age 54.

there are two things you should do right now:  head for the
nearest bookstore and buy a copy of "the 36 hour day" by mace and
rabin and call your local alzheimer's association office and ask
about support groups --- a patients one for her, and a
caregiver's one for you.  they really are very helpful, and you
will quickly find that you're not alone.  as you will find out,
unless someone is taking care of someone with AD, they won't have
a clue about what you're going through.

yes, she needs a thorough neuro evaluation, but if her doc
arrived at the diagnosis without ruling out thyroid and a list of
other things that could cause short term memory loss, you should
consider changing doctors.  she needs a doctor that is used to
coping with dementia patients.

someone could refresh my memory, but i believe that pet scans are
often done to see if there is any brain tissue shrinkage.  if
there isn't then that scan is a good "baseline" to compare with
later scans.

welcome to the club no one wants to belong to.  those of us in
this group are here when you need to vent or have problems, but a
local support group can be the resource you need in your
community.

I was diagnosed at 52 - after some 4 years of bad memory. Early onset, which
your wife might not have, is the high speed version of Alz.

-
Mod as a hooter!

MY MIL was recently diagnosed...she is only 55....only 2 years older
than me...YIKES!!! Ok before you try to figure this one out my MIL had
my husband when she was 15....he is 13 years younger than me....anyway
she is on Aricept and seems to be doing okay...B

My client, age 57, was diagnosed about nine years ago with AD. We keep
it "under control" with Aricept and Namenda, as well as ginkho biloba
tea, given three times a day, combined with vitamin E and folic acid.

What other symptoms have you noticed?

Has she forgotten how to use the telephone? Does she talk to the
answering machine as if it were a real person? Has she forgotten how to
use the checkbook? How about her driving? How is it? There are several
questions you can answer yourself, but you should definitely ask your
doctor about what makes him or her think she has AD.

Some dementia's are brought on by small strokes; is there any evidence
of small strokes (lacunar infarctions) having occurred in her CT Scan or
MRI?

You might ask the doctor that.

You also might ask for a second opinion, just to be safe.

From everything I've read, Alzheimer's can only be sufficiently
diagnosed in the living by taking small parts of the brain tissue for
evaluation (to check for plaques and tangles, which are considered to be
the diagnostic measuring of whether a person has AD or not). Otherwise,
one must wait for death and have an autopsy of the brain performed. That
can be extremely harsh for the family to have to endure.

Most definitely, if you can, get another opinion,

Wishing you and your wife the very best,

Feather