My sister told me recently that she had learned from our aunt that our grandmother had shown signs of Alzheimer’s Disease in her early 60’s. That’s where I am now, age-wise! Yikes—suddenly each instance of forgetting a word seems ominous. The saving grace is that this aunt is in her 90’s, her sisters are almost that old and my great aunt lived to 101!
Reality check
- A certain amount of forgetting is normal and age related, not dementia or Alzheimer’s. My many friends who are my age or older all have the same issue. Forgetting the word “fork” is OK; forgetting what a fork is for is an issue.
- Many of us take medications that can affect our memory and/or concentration. For instance, my Rheumatoid Arthritis regimen includes Methotrexate, a chemotherapy drug that can cause what many call “brain fog”. I can attest to this—in the day or two after taking this once a week medication, I am often head-achy, foggy and just plain slow mentally. Hard to describe, but if you have it, you know it.
- Other diseases and factors can cause memory problems:
- Neurological diseases such as Chronic Fatigue, Multiple Sclerosis, etc.
- Diabetes
- Lack of sleep
- Depression
- Stress
- Menopause
- Poor nutrition
- My grandmother did not become truly “lost” until her early 70’s. I lived with her when she was 72 and she was finally needing constant care and attention. A lovely woman who once could cook for 15 people on a moment’s notice suddenly could not make dinner for herself.
A Growing Crisis
With baby boomers aging rapidly, cases of Alzheimer’s Disease will start to increase. Here are two instances that are a worry to me, since I work with the disadvantaged:
- Many elderly widows and widowers have little to no outside contact and often live far from any family. This makes it hard for their loved ones to keep track of the issue or even to know if there is a problem. Even when family knows there is a problem, often the legality of making a parent move into an assisted living situation is not on the side of the family. This often leaves adult children at a loss of how to care for mom or dad.
- As a social worker who works with homeless every single day, I can attest to the fact that there are more and more homeless elderly men and woman living on the streets, in the woods and in their cars. Some of them are suffering from dementia and have no one to care for them. This is truly a tragedy!
The Hope
- While there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s, researchers are looking and testing every day.
- In the meantime, there are many medications that are designed to slow the disease, treat memory loss and improve the quality of life for those suffering from this horrible disease.