Why I'm worried
Dec. 1st, 2007 02:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
urbpanMy mom starting showing signs of dementia when she was in her 40s. We didn't know it at the time, but in retrospect we've worked it out. In fact, every time my Dad and I discuss it, we push the earliest signs backward in time. She has had Alzheimer's disease almost half her life. She hasn't spoken or stood up in over 5 years.
This past week, I had my review at work, which included the fact that I forgot to do a couple very important things--the particulars aren't important (I can't write about them publicly) but it was a bonehead mistake, that anyone can make, that I did twice. If I do it again I'll probably be fired. (Otherwise my review was positive.) I don't know if it was just garden variety carelessness, or a sign that my mind is literally turning to mush. I haven't had a negative review at work in my adult life, so this hurt my pride at the same time as it made me contemplate my mortality in a way that I never have before.
There is a test to find if you carry the gene for Alzheimer's.
There is no cure.
There are some treatments, but they look like snake oil to me.
I want to be a good companion to my wife as long as possible. I don't want to be taken care of.
The disease is slow. It's hard to diagnose. It leaves the sufferer perfectly healthy as their brain slowly, too slowly, dies. It makes everyone who surrounds the sufferer into sufferers. It does little physical damage, but creates so much suffering. I don't want to make my loved ones suffer.
My dad has a lot of hearing loss. I've inherited it. What else have I inherited? Do I want to know?
The seven warning signs of Alzheimer's disease are:
1. Asking the same question over and over again.
2. Repeating the same story, word for word, again and again.
3. Forgetting how to cook, or how to make repairs, or how to play cards — activities that were previously done with ease and regularity.
4. Losing one's ability to pay bills or balance one's checkbook.
5. Getting lost in familiar surroundings, or misplacing household objects.
6. Neglecting to bathe, or wearing the same clothes over and over again, while insisting that they have taken a bath or that their clothes are still clean.
7. Relying on someone else, such as a spouse, to make decisions or answer questions they previously would have handled themselves.
I've had most of these warning signs most of my life. Up until know they were personality traits, now they're symptoms.
This past week, I had my review at work, which included the fact that I forgot to do a couple very important things--the particulars aren't important (I can't write about them publicly) but it was a bonehead mistake, that anyone can make, that I did twice. If I do it again I'll probably be fired. (Otherwise my review was positive.) I don't know if it was just garden variety carelessness, or a sign that my mind is literally turning to mush. I haven't had a negative review at work in my adult life, so this hurt my pride at the same time as it made me contemplate my mortality in a way that I never have before.
There is a test to find if you carry the gene for Alzheimer's.
There is no cure.
There are some treatments, but they look like snake oil to me.
I want to be a good companion to my wife as long as possible. I don't want to be taken care of.
The disease is slow. It's hard to diagnose. It leaves the sufferer perfectly healthy as their brain slowly, too slowly, dies. It makes everyone who surrounds the sufferer into sufferers. It does little physical damage, but creates so much suffering. I don't want to make my loved ones suffer.
My dad has a lot of hearing loss. I've inherited it. What else have I inherited? Do I want to know?
The seven warning signs of Alzheimer's disease are:
1. Asking the same question over and over again.
2. Repeating the same story, word for word, again and again.
3. Forgetting how to cook, or how to make repairs, or how to play cards — activities that were previously done with ease and regularity.
4. Losing one's ability to pay bills or balance one's checkbook.
5. Getting lost in familiar surroundings, or misplacing household objects.
6. Neglecting to bathe, or wearing the same clothes over and over again, while insisting that they have taken a bath or that their clothes are still clean.
7. Relying on someone else, such as a spouse, to make decisions or answer questions they previously would have handled themselves.
I've had most of these warning signs most of my life. Up until know they were personality traits, now they're symptoms.
