Alzheimer's Dementia "Case Study" Part 2

By Bill Craig

 Here is where I have to tread carefully with my words. I am not now, nor have I ever been a physician and it is not my intent to represent myself as one, Simply put, I am a retired respiratory therapist who has had experience with being tested and diagnosed with simple dementia and nothing I write in this journal is to be taken as anything except a telling of my experiences.

For a definitive answer to any question you may have, nothing can replace the advice of your own physician.

We good on all of the above ?😎😎

Great! Let us continue.

==============================================

Meanwhile, back at the farm.......All tests are in and your doc has called you in for a conference,

After your nurse obtains your vital signs, your doctor comes in and tells you that in his opinion you have MCI ("Mild Cognitive Impairment", remember?).

Going to stop here to tell you there are some quotes coming within this entry and I am attributing them all to The Mayo Clinic.

Okay, "Mild Cognitive Impairment"(according to the Mayo) "....may increase your risk of later developing dementia caused by Alzheimer's or other neurological conditions. But some people with MCI never get worse and a few eventually get better."

So finger off the "panic button" dudes and dudettes and leave Ms. Kübler-Ross' book  where it is. Those "Five Stages Of Grief" aren't needed quite yet.

Symptoms of MCI  - keeping in mind that age plays a big role in the prevalence of  these. Also, worrying about having these symptoms is itself a symptom, so trust me and don't freak out if you find the car keys in the freezer. Just roll with it.

  • Forgetting things more often
  • Lose your train of thought or have trouble following movies
  • You are easily overwhelmed by making decisions or following instructions
  • You are easily disoriented
  • You show poor judgment
  • Thinking of words becomes a little harder for you
I listed that last one there on purpose, because it's a problem I have and I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but I solved it by changing the word I need to a new(er) one.

For instance, if I can't think of the word "heat", I use "Hot-a-ditity" hotaditity. Just take the root word and add the suffix "aditity" to it and problem solved. Yeah, folks tend to move a little further away
 from you, but they'll get used to it.

With MCI, you may also experience

  • Depression
  • Apathy
  • Irritability
  • Anxiety
I'm in all four of those, and yes, I am on medications for them. As a matter of fact, I am signed on for drug trials as they become available. "Crash-Test Dummy Bill", that's me.😁

We'll leave it there for now and give you time to mull all of this over a bit.

Remember my "disclaimer": There's no substitute for your doctor to answer your questions. 

To keep me from doing a "guess-a-ditity" ("conjecture") we'll stay with the Mayo Clinic as far as symptoms and possible treatments. There's lots yet to discuss, so thanks for reading! Any suggestions you may have or comments (pro and con), send them to me. I'll do my best to get an answer for you asap.

Bill

PS: A Walk To End Alzheimer's is being held in your area. Click on the link to participate.







This man could walk through the orchestra playing his guitar. I don't get 2 feet away from 
my sheet music! 😕

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