After decades of dementia and Alzheimer’s research, there are no real answers. After billions of dollars put into the medical field, there are no medications that reverse or truly help. After the millions of memory impaired patients, there are very few programs that try to improve their condition.
After all these things, what have we gained?
The Peel
Ben’s dementia became apparent around 2015. It took more than six months to get an appointment for him to be diagnosed. He tried living with the medications and he tried living without them. The medications didn’t seem to work, they had significant side effects, and they were expensive. However, after six months being off of the meds, he became too aggressive for his wife to live alone with him.
Ben has been living with us for 18 months. We can’t tell how much the medication is actually working. We see him plateau in his confusion and behavior and then we see him take a turn for the worse. The doctor increases or adds medication so he plateaus again only to decline once more a little later. Would we see him plateau and decline without the medications? Do the meds slow his decline and make the dementia last longer? What is the real benefit?
We sought out music, exercise, and activity-based programs. Even before the pandemic, only a few programs were available to attend a few times per month. We felt very alone. The Alzheimer’s Association mainly helped us prepare our house for keeping him safe and offered a Help Line for caregivers to call when they were in need. The private-pay day-out programs are a blessing, but they are only designed to be an adult day-care. They have activities to engage the patients and make them feel comfortable, but they are not geared toward improving their health.
“...over the last 8 years, we’ve spent over $84.4 Billion on what? … When you take all these eight studies and $84.4 Billion, you find out that the placebo group, the group that was not given the treatment, did better overall than the treatment group.”
Vincent Fortanasce, MD
Clinic Professor of Neurology
University of Southern California (USC)
The Fruit
After all these things, we are left with a mountain of unknowns and questions. The only real certainty is that there is no cure or remedy or program that will help once the dementia reaches a certain point. As dementia cases are rapidly increasing (114% from 1990 to 2016*), it is worth considering if our environment or personal habits are contributing factors. Are there things we can do to avoid dementia developing in the first place? If there is any way to avoid becoming what Ben has become, it is worth the price!
Some would suggest that today’s high carb, low fat, and genetically modified diets are leading contributors to dementia. Consider Ben’s condition coupled with the lack of cures as a “shot across the bow” to do what we can to avoid the iceberg of Alzheimer’s and dementia. It’s so tempting to live care free until we experience discomfort or we feel threatened. Living with dementia as a caregiver has raised my awareness of the need to be healthy now. (May the Lord protect this desire once Ben moves out!) Do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today to take care of your body.
***
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that could defile the body and the spirit, and thus accomplish holiness out of reverence for God.
2 Corinthians 7:1
Note: If anyone is going through the early stages of their loved one’s dementia and feeling helpless and lost, please know that you are not alone. There just isn’t a lot of help out there. But, here are a few good resources.
Books:
The End of Alzheimer’s, by Dale Bredesen - a scientific look at preventing or reversing early dementia.
The 36-hour Day, by Nancy Mace and Peter Rabins - a detailed description of what to expect as the dementia progresses and some suggestions on how to deal with it.
On-line:
https://www.alzheimers.net/ - lots of information on Alzheimer’s in general
Teepa Snow’s YouTube channel - excellent caregiver awareness and more!
https://watch.awakeningfromalzheimers.com/ - a multi-video expansion of the End of Alzheimer’s book listed above.
Activities:
Senior Rec Centers - lots of programs designed for elderly and frail people, plus daily exercise options.
When Covid-19 (and -20, -21, etc.) are over, Adult Day Care services can be a life saver. We often wonder how Ben would be doing today if he had been able to enter one of these programs back in March 2020 as planned.
*refer to https://www.healio.com/news/psychiatry/20181213/dementia-incidence-increased-117-globally-from-1990-to-2016#
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