"I Just HAD It!!!!!"

By Bill Craig

 Ever lose something you had 15 seconds ago? 

Yeah, me too. I do it all the time, and that title up there is what I say - in a very exasperated tone of voice - when it happens. Sometimes I say something more, but I'll leave that to your imagination.

My problem is focusing. Is that an Alzheimer's Dementia symptom? Or is it just because I'm 71?

It can be a symptom. It may be one of the 10 signs you're getting into the territory where you can hide your own Easter eggs.  I won't list them all here but I'll concentrate on the one that's bothering me the most: this one (focus). I'll provide a link to the other 9 at the bottom of this entry. It will be courtesy of the Alzheimer's Association, which always provides a wealth of information. I urge you to go to their site alz.org and bookmark it.

All kidding aside though, things I once enjoyed, I now have to force myself to do.

I just now turned to look at my 6 string guitar. I need to practice my scales, but by the time I reach for it, the desire to play has left me. 

I'm a gamer - World Of Warcraft - and though I once spent 8 hours a day playing, now I force myself to sign on. I try to tell myself it's because the game is getting harder and more involved to play, but nah - copout. I just don't have the desire.

The only thing I don't blow off are my chores: I gather and take out the trash, I put the dishes away, I vacuum floors, and if I have time and the place needs it, I also dust.

Why can I focus on those things and nothing that really is supposed to give me pleasure to do? Easy - my wife tells me those are the things which need doing. So I do them.

At the present time, I really don't have a psychiatrist who is helping me through this period of not being able to concentrate, but I hope to change that in September. Up to now, I've been seeing Nurse Practitioners specializing in Psychiatry who have been using what I call a "scatter-gun" approach to treating me, and that's got to stop. Some of the meds I have been prescribed had terrible side effects and, since there was no one to advise me, I titrated (weaned) myself off them. I do not recommend doing this on your own, and the only reason I did was because of my medical background.

I will report on my visit with my new psychiatrist after my first visit with him/her.

For now, thanks for reading my journal, as always and enjoy your day!

The 10 Symptoms Of Alzheimer's Dementia

The Walk To End Alzheimer's




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