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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Alzheimer's / October 2005so it begins
The doctors have taken John of work due to "cognitive loss" and have pulled his drivers license. Next they are going to test him for mad cow disease. The neurologist said he doesn't want to officially say it is Alz yet because of John's age (56) My husband was annoyed about not being able to drive but that faded away in 10 minutes. He doesn't seem to care much about all this. But I admit I am afraid of the future Linda > The doctors have taken John of work due to "cognitive loss" and have > pulled his drivers license. Next they are going to test him for mad cow [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Linda Oh Linda, I am so sorry to hear that things have moved in this scary direction. There's not much I can say, but I wanted to let you know that I feel for you, and I wish you courage.  SignatureBest Regards, Evelyn (to reply to me personally, remove 'sox') thanks being able to read and learn from all of you is a help to me. Makes me feel less alone Linda > Oh Linda, I am so sorry to hear that things have moved in this scary > direction. There's not much I can say, but I wanted to let you know that > I feel for you, and I wish you courage. (((((((((((((((Linda)))))))))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((John))))))))))))))))))))))))) No, you are not alone. There are too many of us out here! Make sure you do what you can to build off-line support too -- friends, family, a caregivers support group. Their hugs don't look like parentheses. <G> I'm glad the doc is taking your concerns seriously and making sure to screen out anything else that could be causing the cognitive loss. However, there is Early Onset Alzheimers as well. I'm glad he has accepted not driving. That's a tough one for men in particular, but the risk of hurting someone (himself or an innocent party) is just too high. Hang in there and keep us posted. We care. Songbird > thanks > being able to read and learn from all of you is a help to me. Makes me [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >> direction. There's not much I can say, but I wanted to let you know >> that I feel for you, and I wish you courage. it is unfortunate that John has no family at all and the only friends he has are thru work. My family has very young children and live 3 hours away so I am going to have to find help in some other way. I went to my first consult at the AD office and our GP told me very firmly to make sure I find a group to keep attending. The Neuro may have to be changed but our GP is very supportive and helpful. We all figure it is EOAD but the GP told me it is better to rule out any chance it is something fixable before we face AD and I guess he is right. The Neuro just kept stalling things so I went and sat down with the GP and he pushed the other doctor. Thank God for that help Untitled Normal Page > (((((((((((((((Linda)))))))))))))))))))))))) > (((((((((((((((John))))))))))))))))))))))))) [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Songbird > thanks > being able to read and learn from all of you is a help to me. Makes me > feel less alone Hi LindaJean, When my mother in law started showing signs of impairment, it was very scary for me. We never were really close, and she lived two hours away from us, and was very independent. There was no other person to help her, it was us or nobody. And how does one help someone who doesn't want help, or understand that they even needed help? It was little by little and a slow process. This newsgroup kept me sane and got me through an awful lot right up until she died last April. It was 5 years ago or so that I found this group and it was a lifesaver for me. LindaJean, if I found the courage to work with the situation, as unwilling as I was originally, you are going to be just fine. Plus because it is your husband, that fact will make it a more natural situation for you to be there for him and you may get more cooperation than some of us who weren't so close to our loved ones. There is a trust factor with a spouse that is often not there with other relationships. It is true that 56 just seems so young to have this awful illness, but the scary truth is that we have heard of younger ones in rare cases. Keep your courage up and stay in touch. SignatureBest Regards, Evelyn (to reply to me personally, remove 'sox') It is hard to deal with this as we have only just celebrated our first wedding anniversary the day they did the EEG last week. Since we have no info on John's relative's it makes it more possible for AD they say. I feel like Alice down the rabbit hole hahaha I know I can do this I just have to learn fast :-) LindaJean > Hi LindaJean, > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > scary truth is that we have heard of younger ones in rare cases. Keep > your courage up and stay in touch. > It is true that 56 just seems so young to have this awful illness, but the > scary truth is that we have heard of younger ones in rare cases. Keep > your courage up and stay in touch. An old school friend was caregiver for a fellow that was a year younger than us. He was diagnosed at 46 and died at 50. From the cases that I've seen, it appears that the decline with EOAD is more rapid, at least in the early stages. that is what I have been reading. Most web info states average of 4.2 years for males. Right now trying to switch our lives around is more than I can deal with. We will have to let go of the apt near his work and move full time to our retire to house. I am torn between I want the 20 years that can be possible with AD and then again I hate watching what my husband is already going thru and don't want him to suffer any more than he needs to. I guess God will decide and I will follow <s> Linda > > It is true that 56 just seems so young to have this awful illness, but the > > scary truth is that we have heard of younger ones in rare cases. Keep [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > From the cases that I've seen, it appears that the decline with > EOAD is more rapid, at least in the early stages. >The doctors have taken John of work due to "cognitive loss" and have pulled >his drivers license. Next they are going to test him for mad cow disease. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >10 minutes. He doesn't seem to care much about all this. But I admit I am >afraid of the future Linda, I'm so sorry - my wife was about that age when we first realised there was a problem. Please make sure they do the tests for *all* the other possible causes - some of the other conditions are curable. It's no comfort at all, but it's important to know that EOAD tends to progress faster than 'regular' AD, and you should take that into account when planning for the future. thank you for the info. John has been tested for everything any of the doctors can think of. The ct scan and the mri show an enlarged ventricle and very tiny strokes in the frontal lobe. That is all they find that is not normal with him. They will do the lumbar and the neuro-phsy tests in a week or two. They are not expecting to find anything but feel we need to try everything. This last 6 months he has changed so much. Before that I had noticed he had odd "moods" from time to time and sometimes repeated conversations over and over but just didn't dawn on me until it started getting so bad. I have a referral to an "elder attorney" and I think that should come next Linda > Linda, I'm so sorry - my wife was about that age when we first realised > there was a problem. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > faster than 'regular' AD, and you should take that into account when planning > for the future. > thank you for the info. John has been tested for everything any of the > doctors can think of. The ct scan and the mri show an enlarged ventricle [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > referral to an "elder attorney" and I think that should come next > Linda YES! That is so important. There are some things you are going to need and an elder law specialist is the only one to help in this case. SignatureBest Regards, Evelyn (to reply to me personally, remove 'sox') > The ct scan and the mri show an enlarged ventricle and > very tiny strokes in the frontal lobe. that sounds like possible multi-infarct dementia (memory loss due to stroke damage), not EOAD. i presume that his blood pressure is being monitored more carefully now than in the past? his BP is always normal and yes it is being watched thanks Linda >> The ct scan and the mri show an enlarged ventricle and >> very tiny strokes in the frontal lobe. > > that sounds like possible multi-infarct dementia (memory loss due > to stroke damage), not EOAD. i presume that his blood pressure > is being monitored more carefully now than in the past? Linda - what sad news! I echo what everyone else has said. I don't have very much one on one experience with my Dad, my sister lives much much closer and handles just about everything. But I have a little peek at what things can be like - All the other advice is good advice and this is a good group to lean on. I'll be thinking of you and of John and wishing you the best possible circumstances to deal with. SignatureA R Pickett aka Woodstock "Sometimes the facts threaten the truth" Amos Oz, prize winning Israeli author Read my book reviews at: http://www.booksnbytes.com/reviews/_idx_ws_all_byauth.html Remove lower case "e" to respond thanks I have gotten some good tips in here. Linda > Linda - what sad news! I echo what everyone else has said. I don't have > very much one on one experience with my Dad, my sister lives much much [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > I'll be thinking of you and of John and wishing you the best possible > circumstances to deal with. Linda Jean, I'm so sorry you're going through this. This group is a great place to vent, and most of us try not to be judgemental. We're all part of a group that nobody wants to join. I echo others ideas about getting into a support group asap and letting them help you with their own suggestions. Sometimes a local group has more resources available, and they can help you get through the maze you've entered with your husband. We're hear for you if you need us. Bless you and your husband. Patty > The doctors have taken John of work due to "cognitive loss" and have pulled > his drivers license. Next they are going to test him for mad cow disease. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Linda It helps to read in here what y'all are dealing with. It gives me pointers for what I know is coming down the road at us. Linda > Linda Jean, > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Patty Linda, I can't really help you but can offer my support and prayers. My husband died in March 2001. Gwen > It helps to read in here what y'all are dealing with. It gives me pointers > for what I know is coming down the road at us. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >> >> Patty God Bless you and prayers are of great help to us all Linda > Linda, I can't really help you but can offer my support and prayers. My > husband died in March 2001. > Gwen |
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