MS and Alzheimer's
 

I know I've been concerned about Alzheimer's since my Mom and my sister both passed away because of it. Not just the genetics but since I have MS I've often wondered if I have a greater chance of getting it. This article was reassuring:


http://ms.about.com/b/2009/09/29/alz...rosis.htm?nl=1

That was really interesting info...thanks for sharing, Kel..

I was going to answer your question with a no and was glad to find out, after reading your article, that, I was right. :)

Thanks for posting this, Kelly..:hug:

Thank you for this. Alzheimer's is quite predominant in my family, so interesting to read about. :)

Whew, when I saw your title I immediately thought: Oh sweet Jesus NO not another thing associated with stinking MS! :eek:

My mom passed away from it too. My sister says it was multi-infarct dementia but I don't think so. She was exactly the same as the other Alzheimer's patients at the nursing home when it started to get bad. She just never got mean like some of the others did. Not all of them got mean either.

It's such a horrible disease, but hopefully the patient really isn't aware of the extent of their suffering after their mind gets to a certain point of disease severity. I think it's mostly hard on the loved ones to see them go through it. :(

I still remember the last "I love you" from my mom. She didn't know me anymore, but viewed me as a nice lady who talked to her and hugged her, maybe one of the nurses. She was to the point of rarely having a good day anymore. It was Christmas day 2004 and my dad had just passed away a few days before. DH and and our sons and I walked into her room where she was resting in bed. She looked up at me and smiled big and said it and reached out to hug me. It was the best Christmas present I ever had and ever will have. We were all in tears as soon as it happened but it was wonderful.

Anyway, I try to play puzzle games and read a lot. I eat foods that are supposed to keep the mind strong against the disease. We certainly don't need that to go along with the MS.

*tkrik wiping the tears from her eyes* (((Wiz))) What a beautiful memory you shared. Thank you.

Definitely keeping the mind active is so important not only from an Alzheimer's standpoint but also for us MSers. (Well, actually everyone one but I want to make a point here.) As I have mentioned a few times on here before, 3 years ago I could not even read or understand a children's picture book. I didn't do well on my neuropsych testing for SSDI. Things cognitively were looking grim. My neuro at the time never suggested speech therapy to help me. As I learned more about cognitive issues, I came up with my own rehab plan.

Being my usual stubborn and determined self, I started working really hard at by playing puzzle games, now matter how easy. It was frustrating for me as I couldn't even understand the directions. LOL Anyhow, I kept at. I started reading magazine articles as they are smaller and tend to be "easy reads." (When writing for the general public, it should be written at an 8th grade level. Something I learned along my life path.) As time went by I started noticing being able to handle more complex tasks and kept upping the anti as soon as I noticed these changes.

I am nowhere near where I used to be but am much happier than where I was cognitively. I recently had a follow up neuropsych testing and I improved in many areas (not all, but many). DD18 was with me when I got the results. As we got in the car she said, "Mom, you were right. Playing all those computer games did help you."

Moral of the story, keep working at it. It really does help.