Alzheimer's & Dementia or just old age

bemak

Just looking to see if anyone can relate. My father is in his late 60's. He suffered a heart attack back in 2005 and has thankfully made a full recovery. It was due to high cholesterol which caused a blockage. Fast forward to 2011/12.... He was working all his life so started to take it easy as he looked forward to retirement. However since then, we've noticed that his memory isn't as good as it used to be. At first we put the issue down to a side effect of a drug he was on lipitor, but we're still unsure as we took him off it for a while. Results were mixed. The thing is, he hasn't deteriorated or anything. It's just the odd slip here and there. Somedays he might have a bad day but then most of the time he's very good. He still does a lot of work around the place for himself and he's excellent at it. It's almost the simple things that catch him out. But then again, its only sometimes. Last week he got confused about how to tie a tie and took him ages to do it but then the following day he said that he did it again in his head and now knows where he went wrong and then he did it right.

Hes had tests done for Alzheimer's and come through without a bother. It is in the family though (his mother). Because of the fluctuation between good and the odd bad, we think we're possibly missing a trick somewhere so just wondering, for anyone who has experienced something similar - what helped? One suggestion was that it was a symptom of being burnt out. When I looked up those symptoms it was like I was reading about him.

I'd just like to try something that would help him have more better days and less off ones.

Thanks for having a read!

B

Lisha

I'm wondering the same about a relative of mine at the minute. It's funny things here and there I notice. She is constantly rechecking things. But she can be under severe stress in her say to say life and when this stress is high the memory lapses are definitely much worse. I know she would pass the tests and the minute but I think in s few years time it may be different. All I can do is monitor it, and see how she is with driving especially.

Sorry I know I'm not much help to you.

Lisha

Would he try yoga or meditation through tai chi? Talk to your local health food shop.
Also mention it to gp and gp can do checks without him even knowing it.

bemak

God don't be sorry. Good to talk about these things. Ya I agree about stress. Same with him except its more when it's on the spot.... I.e. he was rushing to tie the tie and in front of people so the pressure was on him. He wouldn't be the best in social situations and that's just the way he's always been. Low confidence. So I definitely think it contributes. In a way its like sometimes, instead of saying he's bad memory sometimes it's like he just doesn't pay attention or listen and then wires get crossed.

One thing that we hope bodes well is that he doesn't seem to be getting worse. It's just a constant. We told the doctor to test him on the sly and the doctor said he's fine, passed anything he was asked. Another thing we noticed is that when his blood pressure medication was increased lately we noticed improvements. He was actually fantastic for a while. But that seems to have worn off now.

K.Flyer

Coincidently today I read a very interesting article in Trinity Today on Alzheimers and Dementia.
Amongst one of the many interesting points made, is one by Prof. Brian Lawlor where he says

"There is some evidence emerging that even when you have the early symptoms of dementia, you might be able to slow the deterioration or decrease the impact of the condition by aggressively addressing some of these lifestyle risk factors, with aerobic exercise being one such example which has shown a positive effect so far in this regard"

And..

There is accumulating evidence that by addressing modifiable lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise, and increasing social stimulation may help delay or slow the progression of cognitive decline

google Trinity Dementia studies prof Brian Lawlor, prof Ian Robertson and visit www.hellobrain.eu

Hope that helps

bemak

Very interesting k.flyer. thanks!