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Posted 9/22/2003 11:45 PM (GMT 0)

I also have Alzheimer's disease.Now, do run & hide from me,I won't bite.lol I'm here to help,& maybe learn too,as I still can.

I help others on different boards,chats& am accepted 100% everywhere I go.If you have questions,don't be bashful,just ask.

I was also a Certified Nursing Assistant for over 30 years,so I know both sides basically.If I can't answer a question I will tell you.

AD is nothing to mince words about in my book.

Posted 9/23/2003 3:30 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the board. I've got a question for you. How you stay coherent enough to remember to check to boards? I'm not making fun. My grandfather was recently diagnosed with AD and he can't even dress himself. He knows who people are most of the time, but he also sees imaginary people all the time. Sometimes he thinks he and my grandmother are divorced (they've been married for 59 years). I know he definitely would not be able to even figure out how to turn a computer on.
Posted 9/23/2003 5:17 PM (GMT 0)

My AD was caught very early(MCI),in 1998.I was 58,but would have been DX at 56 if I had gone back to the Neuro after the 1st.MRI.

I still drive,don't get lost,still enjoy a full life,or most of it.I'm now 63,soon to be 64.My motivation is not  good,noises bother me greatly,I rarely get hungry,but if we go out I can see what I want then I eat better.I don't cook anymore,afraid I'll leave the burners on(gas.) I'm very aware of everything that goes on with me,but when stressed I don't know flip.lol.I saw my MRI(2) Atrophy is more pronounced in my second one.The Plaque & tangles are not quite in the middle of my brain,just one spot,so feel fortunate at that.

I'm on the internet most of the day,helping others on boards,or chats,at least I try.

Most people think when we get AD we deteriate at an accelerated speed,some do,some don't.There are different forms of dementias,& about 50 or more diseases that cause dementia.

I have several friends with AD who have written books.

Someone To Show Me the Way to go Home

"Larry's Way" both written by Larry Rose

"Love Me,My Life Turned Upside Down by Alzheimer's" written by Jeaane L.Lee.Both at Barnes&Noble.

Some people still don't believe I have AD,but that's their problem,Wish I didn't but I refuse to cry over spilt milk.

I've never been in denial,I'm facing this with a positive attitude.

Posted 9/23/2003 5:55 PM (GMT 0)

Dear Lynne, thanks so much for joining us.  Your so young to have AD.  I'm not a nurse, but clean in a  home for intermediate care.  I also had a Grandma with AD and live with my father-in-law (85) with AD.  I forgot how young this disease can effect people.  Do you know your life expectancy?  Don't mean to sound rude, just curious.  My father-in-law is taking Exelon.  This had made a huge improvement and delayed the progress for 2 yrs almost.


I wonder what really goes on in his mind sometimes.  When he can't remember the words for almost everything, it makes him angry and he said yesterday he would just like to die.  Do you really get to a point where you are unaware of almost everything?  Or are just unable to use your motor skills????? That's another disease I think. 


Welcome again... now I have to research colon polyps.  I have Ulcerative Colitis and just this morning my GI found 3 polyps and will send them for biopsy.  Just another thing to worry about! 


Bye for now....Sassy

Posted 9/23/2003 6:00 PM (GMT 0)

LOL,I forget words too,but I laugh & go on.No,I'm very aware of everything,including any changes in me.When I do,I talk with my Dr.

Posted 9/23/2003 7:15 PM (GMT 0)
Sassy-good luck on the polyps! I haven't made it to the UC board yet today.

My grandfather was just dx (diagnosed) 2-3 months ago. I went to visit him a couple weeks ago (he lives 6 hours away) and he was so out of it. He didn't talk much at all, but when he did, it didn't make any sense. He was convinced that there were men in the house installing wires under the carpet and kept telling me not to trip over them. He even tried to pull them up. There was nothing there. It was a little strange for me (I'm 23). He turned 80 this year, but I think he's had a problem for a while. Forgetting things, getting in the tub with his clothes on, wetting the bed, etc. They thought it was just dementia, but found out it's AD.

Once in a while, he'll have a moment of clarity and start crying. It's really sad. I'm not trying to get you down. I'm sure you've seen what it can do. But honestly, if I start losing my mind, I want someone to put me out of my misery. I would rather have a physical condition (which I do - Crohn's) than a mental one.
Posted 9/23/2003 7:20 PM (GMT 0)

Chris,Alazheimer's is not a mental illness.It's a Degenerative disease.

Medicare approved testing for Dementias,also rehab with physical problems of the ones with AD..........

Posted 9/23/2003 8:05 PM (GMT 0)
I didn't mean to offend. I know it's a physical disease of the brain. But it affects people mentally. They can't remember stuff and they see things that aren't there. At least that's what it's doing to my grandfather. It's not mental like multiple personalities or schizophrenia. I didn't mean that. I just couldn't stand knowing that I was doing things that normally would embarass me (like seeing people that aren't really there). That being said, I don't blame anyone for it. I know you did nothing to get this disease, just as I did nothing to get Crohn's. You didn't ask for it and you can't do anything about it. I was just saying that you are very brave for dealing with it so well. I'm sorry if it came out the wrong way.
Posted 9/23/2003 10:26 PM (GMT 0)
You didn't offend me Chris..But there are people who think It's a mental disease.You're right We didn't cause this,we can't fix it!We learn to live with what we've been dealt with,& go on.............
Posted 9/23/2003 10:33 PM (GMT 0)
Easier said than done, huh? The going on part. I've found that difficult with my disease. I can't seem to just go on with life when I have something that affects me every day, you know? By the way, I'm Steph. I get that all the time, though. I need to change our name to stephnchris. 1022 is our wedding anniversary (October 22).
Posted 9/23/2003 10:43 PM (GMT 0)
I understand Crohn's.I took care of a man with it.It's rough to say the least.I never allow negative people in my life,they don't understand,refuse to learn,so out they go.The stress is too much for me to handle since STRESS is the worst for anyone with AD.Arguing,pushing,yelling this type thing can cause the person to be worse at that particular time.I ususally clam up,go watch tv or read,just be alone,then after wahile I'm fine again....
Posted 9/23/2003 11:58 PM (GMT 0)

Lynne, I feel guilty.  Maybe you can help.  I think because its my father-in-law that has AD and he lives in a basement suite in our home and I have to do most of the added care, I get angry sometimes.  Ya I know its not his fault.  But it gets a bit much sometimes.  I feel uncomfortable about his personal care.  I had to cut his nose and ear hair last week.  I have to wash out his dirty underware sometimes and listen to him complain about all his meals ( half of which I make ).  Maybe if it were my own MoM or Dad it would be different. 


A couple yrs ago he felt he was a burden on us.  Now he's past that stage and after spending 2 weeks in respite care in a home that we wish him to end up living in, he complained the whole time and kept re-peating he never wants to live there.  Go figure, 2 yrs ago he would have gladly moved in. 


Its different at work.  I love working in the special care unit.  It's not a problem for me to chat and bond with them.  But I don't have to stay with them, or feed them etc.  I guess I'm feeling guilty that I can't seem to bond as good with him now.  Like I almost resent that our lives are stuck here looking after him.  Am I a bad person?


Sassy

Posted 9/24/2003 12:47 AM (GMT 0)
No,of course you're not a bad person! Does your husband help with his care?When I first started out working it used to embarrass me terribly to clean up a man,but i got used to it,it just takes time,but it needs to be done so the skin doesn't break down,& then sores start..........
Posted 9/24/2003 1:10 AM (GMT 0)

Thanks Lynne, I guess the stress of everything else in my life, work, kids, and grampa all contributed to a bad flare of UC.  1 yr ago I passed a kidneystone and continued to get sicker until I was finally dx in April with UC.  All that stress, I know, played a part in the onset of this bad flare-up.  On my very worst days when I spent most of the time in the bathroom, Dad would always need something.  This made things worse for me.  But I'm taking celexa now and that seems to help my anxiety. 


Enough of me, and my problems.  Are you a computer junkie?  I just happen to have days off during the week and find myself on these boards checking up on my fellow UC friends.  Now and then I would read this board.  Glad I did.  I don't even know how to use a chat room.  Maybe one day I'll try it. 


Take care....Sassy

Posted 9/24/2003 2:11 AM (GMT 0)
I love to chat,though it tires me out more some days than others.
I use the MSN IM ,also AIM IM. I have many friends on both.
I'm on the pc from am to pm & in between.lol I'm in several chats have a blast in them........
Posted 6/6/2004 3:38 AM (GMT 0)
Sassy where are you?????
Posted 6/12/2004 8:04 AM (GMT 0)
SnowyLynne, You are definitely the coolest! I'm 62, and fear A.D. greatly. I have some symptoms, but maybe they are from some medications I take for bipolar disorder. And btw, I hope people won't run away from **me,** either. I'm in good shape now! I'm real balanced and won't bite, any more than SnowyLynne does! One of my meds causes a slight aphasia which causes me to forget names of things, and other words. And one or more of them causes me to be forgetful in general; but although I had an excellent memory till after high school, my personal view is that the extreme rigor of the college I went to, somehow messed up my brain and ruined my natural memory. I have a great interest in memory anyway, being an Educator. And also a musician. Ear playing, improvising and jamming are things that early "classical" training can really ruin if the teacher doesn't know what s/he is doing. This is what happened to me, so I lost my sense of rhythm, ear, and ability to improvise. I got it all back, and learned to jam, too, after age 30. All this took great physical, psychological and emotional effort. It's a long story that is sorta irrevalent so I won't go any further with it here.

Anyway, I think you get the picture that I'm real aware of how I think and see things, and I'm not happy about the way things are going for me now, memory wise. And I must also add that my dad had Alzheimer's. He died of cancer. His sister has had Alzheimers for too many years to count. She remains in a care home in Canada where she is totally helpless. These two situations frighten my two siblings and myself, and we "look around every corner" or our minds to see if we are getting A.D.

ElderBerry
Posted 6/12/2004 11:43 PM (GMT 0)
Elderberry,Don't fear Alzheimer's,face it head on,get on medications ASAP when you are diagnosed.Get you will,& POA in order while you still can.That's what I did.Now,I'm living again.................
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