The question I am most asked regarding dementia is: am I getting Alzheimer's? I feel some qualification in answering this because of my professional training, but more so because I have been living with Dementia with Lewy Bodies for many months. Most people have not heard of this dementia, but according to Mayo Clinic information, it is second occurring only after Alzheimer's. Recognized in 1996 as a distinct dementia, Dementia with Lewy Bodies is a combination of the dementia associated with Alzheimer's and symptoms of Parkinson's.
As we age we all have periodic trouble with remembering the name of something or in retrieving the word we want to use. Dementia is more than that. Dementia is forgetting how to put gas in one's car even though one earned his way through college working in a gas station. If you or someone you love is forgetting familiar tasks, have your family doctor refer you to a neuropsychologist. The current thinking is that the sooner appropriate medications are started, the more effect they have in slowing the disease.
In this blog I will share what I have found that works best in living graciously with someone who has dementia. Join me in our inquiry for the best treatments while we await a cure.
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