Early Signs of Alzheimer's

[HockeyMom]

I not quite sure if this belongs here or in the Health Topic. My SIL is 67. We live very far away from her but she comes to Florida for vacations. My husband has been noticing a dramatic change in her behavior before over the past several years. Forgets things they discussed and then gets mad and says he never said that to her.

I am planning my daughter's baby shower. I called her about it and she said to me that she needed directions because her daughter said "I cannot pick you up because it is out of my way." She not only has a computer (I said Google it), but she also has a GPS. Few days later she called me up about directions, again, so I printed them out from Google and mailed them to her. Apparently, she did not like them and started ranting and raving about how she could never find the place with those directions. She was going to ask her husband, who is 75, to drive her instead. She was SCREAMING at me over the phone. For what it's worth, I am only 2 years younger than she is.

My husband went to a convention in NY and called her daughter to go see her. She told my husband that she told her mother that she WOULD pick her up and drive her to the party, WEEKS ago. Then they both started talking and she told my husband that he didn't know the half of how bad her Mom was getting. Her daughter said that she has tried to talk to her doctor but unless her Mom agrees to it nothing can be done. Perhaps her husband, who lives with her every day, needs to be the person to further this?

I am certainly not a medical professional, but I have worked with Alzheimer's people, some as young as 40s. I also know it evolves over time and the sooner it is addressed the better. My SIL also became a strict Vegan a few years. I wonder if there might be something lacking in her diet that could be causing this? I do know that you need to throughly research what substitutions to make when when going on a strict Vegan diet.

It is all very, very sad. My SIL used to be a very happy, smiling, laughing person, but the last few years her personality has completely changed.

[No Vested Interest]

1. Sounds like something SIL's daughter needs to address with SIL's

husband. Undoubtedly he has noticed and realizes something not so good is going on.
Perhaps even SIL realizes she is not the person she was, and that is a tough realization for anyone.

There are many types of dementia other than Alzheimer's. What used to be called hardening of the arteries (now vascular dementia) is very common and perhaps treatable in some cases.

[Wilms]

2. Lyme Disease??

Properly diagnosing it is a whole 'nother story. The memory trouble and behavior you mentioned, and my guess that you're SIL is in New York State, is why I wondered.

You said, "Her daughter said that she has tried to talk to her doctor but unless her Mom agrees to it nothing can be done." Agrees to what?

Aging ain't necessarily easy, though.

[HockeyMom]

3. I was friend's years ago with a woman who had Lyme Disease

Nothing like this at all. My husband's niece has talked to her doctor about her concerns, but he said unless her Mom wants to talk about it there is nothing she, or he, can do. That is why I suggested to my husband (his sister) that her husband would have to be person to talk to her doctor. He has to see a lot more than anyone else.

Regardless, she is not a blood relative of mine, so ultimately it is NONE OF MY BUSINESS. I could just ignore her if I want to. I just feel bad for my husband, her husband, and her children.

[SheilaT]

4. There certainly is something going on.

Age is only a small component of Alzheimer's or any other dementia. It does sound as if something like that is going on. There's no good way of knowing if her recent dietary changes are at all a component of what's going on. Chances are she's not going to be willing to give up being a Vegan so there's no good way to figure out if that's part of what's going on.

But my personal guess is that she's getting this way regardless of her diet. What a shame her own daughter isn't more on top of what's going on. All you can do is to alert all the appropriate family members and hope that they get involved.

[Tanuki]

5. You mentioned that your S-I-L is still driving, which is very likely unsafe if she is this impaired.

Please discuss it with her husband (or have your husband do so). Her family doctor can run tests to see if there is some reversible problem (thyroid, vitamin deficiency, etc.) and make a referral to a specialist for evaluation of her mental status. It sounds as if this is a progressive dementia, from what you have said, but more information will be needed to be sure.

[ellenrr]

6. I suggest you search for studies done on Alzheimer's and Curcumin..

esp. since it appears to be in early stages.
I showed the research to my step-mother's doctor and she found the evidence very compelling.
However, my step-mother was very far along, and also the doctor did not do the correct dosage.
If the dosage is not high enough, nothing will happen. (see my other post about curcumin).

Also check out the research on Coconut oil and alzheimer's. very promising. When I told my stepma's dr about coconut oil, she was so impressed she started prescribing it for all her patients. (she is a geriatric physician).
Again, she failed to prescribe the right amount, so it was of no use.

I would suggest your family find a doctor who is an expert in complementary medicine (ie uses both Western and alternative) and give it a try.
can't hurt.
good luck.