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AND THE RESULT IS ..........ALZ

A page in the diary "the carer got sick - no help for them"
Written by Faye Friday, 7 August 2009 21:55

After all the testing, worrying and wondering the rsult is in - early on-set alz. CRAP!!! Now at least we know what we are dealing with, it was a shock no history anywhere in the family (though always thought the mother on law was "not the full Quid") Jim is in the moderate stage, they say 5 years left at this stage, so they say, glad we went to the research test, could never afford to pay for the PIB test ourselves, but is the only test in Australia, that gives a direct diagnosis.His brian is full of tangles and amolyoids, yet that was dismissed earlier by 2 of the specialists.
I saw a segment on SBS yesterday about early onset Alziehmers and they mentioned that it’s on the increase and that now 10-15% of new cases are affecting people under the age of 65, and the proffessor pretty much confirmed that,the thing that worries the research team is that so many younger people are being diagnosed with FTD when it is Alz, becoming so much more common now as i said before, anywaym Jim was treated so well by all the team at Frontier, and they were so good with my daughter and I - but does not make things easier - one good thing there is so much research into Alz and so many new drugs on trail maybe just maybe there may be wonder drug being developed that may help.......... We live in hope.

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Comments from the community :

Faye, you need hope and a good sense of humour. Things will change a lot for you and you will have to make some hard decisions for sure. It is "forced early retirement" at a time whne you can least afford it or cope with it, or that is what I have found.

You learn to cope with the changes particularly if things change gradually. As Jim's needs change and he needs more care there is in home care and respite and Daycare etc. Forget his age and remember he is mentally much older now. And probabaly physically too as it changes your ability to exercise etc.

Yes, life for the carer changes but I can say in my own case that if you have access to Aricept, Reminyl, Ebixa etc they do seem to give your partner a longer time at a level and the next one is easier to cope with too.

See if you can find a neurologist/gerontologist specialist as they seem to have the right advice. Also our mental health programs, like the dementia support group I go to, offer advice on how to manage behaviours so you don't feel as if you are fighting dragons with a feather duster.

I'm sorry what Jim has was not something with a "miracle cure" we are all praying for one of those.

(((Hugs))) from Sue.

Written by  suew, Saturday, 8 August 2009 11:25

FINALLY YOU HAVE ANSWERS what a relief that must be for you. I have always said alz is far better than dementia. Even though you still have pretty much the same crap as dementia. There is a lot more research done on alz than dementia but it is interesting to learn that alz starts so young. Cheers stay in touch Laurel

Written by  laurel, Saturday, 8 August 2009 22:43