Alzheimer's Dementia "Case Study" Part 3

By Bill Craig

 Thanks for coming this far with me, -"Crash-Test Dummy Bill"- in exploring MCI ("Mild Cognitive Impairment")

Let's recap.

  • You've noticed yourself getting more forgetful than normal
  • You're more anxious - more impulsive in your day to day life
  • You're hesitant with your words - oftentimes forgetting them, even
  • And many many more, including depression, aggression and apathy
So you and your doctor have concluded that, yes, you are mildly impaired, cognitively.

What's next?

Before we get to that, remember I told you a few posts ago there are 10 kinds of dementia? (I may have written 11 before, but the figure has been revised.) Here they are:

  • Alzheimer's
  • Vascular
  • Lewy Body
  • Parkinson's'
  • Frontotemporal
  • Creuzfeld-Jakob (aka "Human Mad Cow Disease")
  • Wernicke-Korsakoff
  • Mixed
  • Huntington's Disease
  • Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
I told you about these so you wouldn't think Alzheimer's is the only type of dementia. None of the above are simply dealt with, so I hope for your sake that if you have it, you stay in MCI a looong time. You can deal with that, right? I knew you could. And what does "MCI" stand for? "Mild Cognitive Impairment", right again. I know I sound like a frustrated teacher and maybe I am, but I'd really like it if you'd work this terminology into your conversations.

I have lobbied for a while now to try and get "Disease" (In "Alzheimer's Disease") changed to "Alzheimer's Dementia" to no avail. Know someone of influence? There's a project for you.

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

So you have MCI. What are you and the "Crash-Test Dummy" (me) going to do about it?

Luckily for you and me even though there are currently no meds to treat MCI, and depending on your doctor - remember him, he's been invited to our party too? - there are some things to be done to lessen the symptoms of MCI. These include treating your elevated blood pressure if you have it; and depression; Adopting a healthier lifestyle is also recommended.

The above is not to say different meds haven't been tried. Aricept, Exelon and Reminyl were all prescribed for MCI, but proved largely ineffective. 

So this is where we are. At the "crossroads" - (to lapse into Class Valedictorian-Speak). You and I together, are dealing with MCI. From here, if our symptoms worsen, it's off to Neurology for an MRI to check what's going on in the brain, something we will discuss later, but not to any great depth. I feel I need to leave our doctors something to do! 😛

NOT The Beach Boys! Just some guys, but I'm still trying to get up off the floor!

Remember to get signed up for The Walk To End Alzheimer's

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Skipping Ahead A Bit In The Memoirs

By Bill Craig
Image
This is part of something I wrote on another message board with some editing, okay? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- My very good friend on the Dope, Oakminster , brought this to mind when he shared this in a thread of mine called "Your Favorite Commercials". Okay, I have already mentioned that my American soldier Dad brought me and my German Mom and brother to the US in 1960. At that time, I still spoke with a very heavy German accent and did my best to try to fit in. One of the ways was to "go out" for "Midget Football" and it was my first encounter with who would prove to be an inspiration to me and I am sure many others: Coach Roger Sauls who passed away last year. Coach was very patient with me, teaching me the "ins and outs" of throwing and kicking that strange looking egg-shaped ball! In those days, a lot of little boys went out for it and we all had our heroes on the Villa Rica Wildcats Varsity t
Read more

My EOAD Support FORCE

By Bill Craig
Image
==================================================================================== I am so very fortunate to have some wonderful friends making this journey with me, and here are just three of them: That's me with my grandson Julian at the Georgia Aquarium, next is my Grand Niece Madison born just this year, and the third picture is my Grand Nephew Matthew.I call them "The Nukes" (for "nuclear family"), and as I add entries to this blog, I invite you to send me a picture to add to my EOAD "FORCE". I just wrote an e-mail to a friend in which I told her that heretofore seemingly insignificant things have suddenly become very important to me, and these "things" are "people". Wonderful people such as my EOAD buddy "Tom T" whom I met through the message board of alz.org, and whose comments you have read on this blog. Also my friend from "Down Under" who calls himself "The Loaded Dog", but who's real
Read more

President Biden Plans To End Covid Emergency On May 11th

By Bill Craig
Image
 Is that a sigh of relief that just washed over me from wherever you are? 😃 Great! I'm glad that makes you happy. I don't want to rain on your parade, but even though we're getting out of the pandemic status, people are still dying, and the virus continues to mutate. 🙄 I know - "Party-Pooper", right? Its latest variant is "Arcturus" and it causes pink eye.  So if you get itchy eyes, you should probably take a Covid test. It probably came from India, and it's here with us, now, in at least 10 states Here  are the latest Covid figures for the US, if anyone is interested. We live in Carroll County, Georgia and the latest figures per capita show less than 10 deaths from  January 1st, 2023 through last Monday, April 17th, 2023. That doesn't even cause a "blip" on the Covid 'Radar" here, but folks are still "trickling in" to get their vaccinations and Dondra and I have our boosters and are up-to-date. So what will you do
Read more