Alzheimer's Disease: Battling the Darkness

Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia. It accounts for fifty to eighty percent of dementia cases. It starts a process that disrupts communication between brain cells and winds up killing them off. Substances called plaques and tangles start building up in the brain and impeding the operations of the cells. This damage is permanent.

Alzheimer's patents go through seven stages of the disease. It begins with just mild memory loss and finally winds up totally disabling the person and causing death. Gradually all the patient's memories are lost and they lose the ability to perform basic life maintaining actions. Personality shifts are common and often a desire to walk around at night develops. This is a major danger as they can't remember where they are going or how to return. Twenty four hour care and monitoring is necessary as the disease progresses.

One of the real tragedies that occurs is the pressure that this places on families and loved ones. As the disease progresses more and more care is needed. As memory and skill losses become more pronounced family members and friends seem to drift away. The sweet grandma that made cookies and handed out quarters to the kids is gone. She doesn't have the ability to cook anymore and she may not even remember your name. This shift in personality makes many people uncomfortable and makes it easy to avoid visits. It becomes easy to justify not going to visit when you tell yourself that she or he won't remember you came by after you leave. Many people solve this discomfort by not thinking about the patient and just not going by or helping. Denial of the condition is common in family members not immediately involved with caring for the patient. They honestly want to believe that the patient will get better but they are fooling themselves. Alzheimer's is a terminal condition.

If finances preclude the hiring of professional care takers, one or more family members may have to take up the task. This can be a huge job and places a serious burden on those people caring for the patient. Being a care taker for an Alzheimer's patient is a difficult task. Because of the need to constantly monitor the patient, it makes outside work almost impossible. This leads to financial hardship on that person and is compounded if other family members don't make any effort to support the care taker.

Medicare provides some assistance but it is far from a perfect solution. Local agencies can help but they are limited as well. There are many people needing care and limited resources. Government aid seems focused on placing the victim in a nursing home facility. They probably feel that that is the most cost effective solution but most people would rather stay in their home as long as it is possible to care for them there.

There is currently no medical cure for Alzheimer's disease. Although medical science may develop one before you get Alzheimer's, certain behaviors have been found to reduce the chances for developing it. If you work on these behaviors you may reduce your chances of getting the disease or postpone the onset of it.

Maintaining your physical health seems to improve your chances. Daily walks and exercise keep you more mentally alert, keep your energy higher, and help you stay healthy. Proper eating and nutrition has also been shown to help. A good diet containing natural antioxidants and being low in fat is a good thing for you overall. Fish oil and b-vitamins are often touted to help. Working on your physical health will provide you many benefits beyond just prevention of disease.

Mentally active people seem to get Alzheimer's less often. Exercising the brain builds up more mental connections. Having more connections allows your brain to better resist the injuries of the disease. You can stay mentally active by doing word puzzles, learning new hobbies, and being engaged in current events. A part time job can also keep you learning and problem solving. Whatever you do don't retire to a chair in front of the television and stop thinking. Use it or lose it is not just a slogan on a TV public service announcement.

Reduce the stress in your life. Stress has a negative effect on Alzheimer's patients. Stress produces compounds in the body that cause problems. The more stress they face the faster they progress through the seven stages of the disease. Reduce the number of things that cause you worry and concern. Most of the things we worry about don't happen anyway. Develop a better attitude on those things. Meditation has been shown to be helpful. Learning to relax has a lot of benefits.

See your doctor and follow their advice. Certain conditions have been shown to affect your chances of getting Alzheimer's. High blood pressure and diabetes can cause trouble if you don't control them. Statins given for high cholesterol have also been shown to have a bad effect on mental sharpness. Medical research progresses every day and new medicines are developed. Much research is being done on Alzheimer's and they may find a cure yet.

Work on developing a better relationship with your family and friends. As you get older you are going to need a good support network. People who have close connections with people live longer overall. If you start to get sick you will want all the friends and supportive family members you can get. They will make the decisions on your care when you cannot. Forgive those grudges you developed in high school and reconnect with old friends. Make sure your will and power of attorney documents are filed properly. You will want them in place if you are unable to make decisions for yourself.

Get your finances in order. This has two fold benefits. One you will be under less stress. Your life will be a lot smoother. The other is that if you get sick you will need as much money as you can get. Money makes things easier. A long term care insurance policy can improve both your options and the quality of care you receive if you get sick. Medicare is only going to provide the basics. You will want to be able to afford better. Also your kids will be nicer to you if you have an inheritance to hang over them. Just a thought.