72 Hour EEG: Day Three and Happy Valentine's Day.......

........ to all of you following the blog, my friends on the Straight Dope, and my buds from http://www.alzheimers.org/.

Yep, that's a rose sticking out the top of my bandaged, bandanna'd head. JUST FOR YOU!!!!!

I'm actually a day late (and a dollar short!) with this report as it is now Saturday morning in Dallas, Georgia, but I will recount Day Three as best I can now, because I felt like crap all day Thursday and did nothing but lie in bed and read.

Here's a couple of "events" from the 72 hour period that I shame-facedly told my doctor when I turned in the portable EEG monitor.

1. Forgot to change the batteries in the damn thing. (That's what all this is about, right?: Forgetting?) Luckily it kept running anyway and we didn't lose information.

2. Put a bag of garbage into the fritch (I know it's "fridge", but in memory of my late mother, who was German, I pronounce it FRITCH. ;)

3. Because of the limitations on my activity, I also forgot to take my AD meds, which manifested itself with a colossal headache.

On Friday those electrodes finally came off and boy! did that hurt! Not only tape residue, but "airplane" type glue and matted-up hair to deal with, not to mention the itchy beard. I was sooooo thankful to be able to wash my hair and take a normal shower!

Anyway it's over now and the EEG just needs to be read and a determination needs to be made that I don't have any evidence of weakened brain waves.

Next is the memory testing at Emory University's Geriatric Center.......

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This is my final installment on my personal reactions to the questions posed to the attendees of the Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease Town Hall Meetings:

Response: "Exercise and mental exercise are very important. Reading is very important. Doing activities that now have to be written down and checked off is very important."

I love to read, and in my younger days I could retain what I read very well, but these days as soon as I put the book down (even if unfinished) I could not tell you what I read.

While I am reading I can discuss the book and the action, but after it's over, it's "Out of sight, out of mind", and I am very likely to buy the same book twice in the same month.

Exercise: I have to be honest and write that ever since my neurologist has been treating me for Early Onset, I haven't had much of a desire to get on my bike, and I used to cycle at least every other day for at least 2-3 hours. I think a big part of my lackadaisical attitude is due to the fact that there's no Alzheimer's support group in my area - no friend that's close enough who could act as a motivator for me.

And finally, the writing things down-part: Yep, been doing more and more of that lately, but then I get to feeling "competitive" with myself and say "You're just going to the super-market for 3-4 things. If you can't remember that short a list, then you might as well throw in the towel."

Well, guess what? I will forget at least one thing, and then beat myself up when I get home.

Guess I'm still in denial, huh?

Again, the entire report about Early Onset Alzheimer's is too important to "gloss over" and the report is available at http://www.alz.org/news_and_events_14351.asp for download, and I hope that if you have a loved one, or you, yourself are being treated for Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease you will at least take a look.

My thanks once again to Kris Bakowski for sending it to me.

Have a great Valentine's Day, and if you don't have a Valentine, you can have me! ;)

Thanks

Bill