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This is not a funny subject,I have posted in this thread about this subject.
My wife at 83 has severe memory loss,this was not in my plans when I retired in 1988,now I no longer have a driver if I were to need her help down the road.
It is serious I agree, but sometimes a little humor can go a long way
Now, as for your problem and your wife's. I would expect you to be more concerned about her, that about your not having a driver if you need help. We are exactly your age, my husband gave up his license about 5 years ago (story is too long to explain now). He is having some memory loss and isn't very mobile but we are handling it and still do some travel. We also live in a community with a wonderful complimentary van service if needed. The worse part of all this, I do have to give up my time to take him places, but I have never thought about what would happen if I needed help. I have postponed having my right knee replaced because of he driving issue. Such is life, we are considering down sizing and moving into a senior retirement complex, but that is just starting to be a consideration. It is probably a year or two away.
My brain functions fine in most respects except for short term memory loss. I'm particularly bad with driving directions. There are stores I have gone to for years that I now use the direction APP on my I-phone to get to. I often use my wife as my co-pilot I also have a little mantra I use when I exit the house to drive somewhere. It's P-W-K. Phone, wallet, keys. it is a little alarming to have a thought as I walk from the living room, through the dining room, into the kitchen and completely forget what I was intending to do in those 20 steps. Ah, the joy of getting old!
As a friend at church said to me one day, " I am not losing my mind, it just went on vacation and forget to take me along"
Now as for your forgetting why you are going from one room to the other, heck, our daughter, at 60 is already forgetting why she went from one room to another or the name of someone she saw a few days ago. Yep, aging isn't for whimps is it?
It is serious I agree, but sometimes a little humor can go a long way
Now, as for your problem and your wife's. I would expect you to be more concerned about her, that about your not having a driver if you need help. We are exactly your age, my husband gave up his license about 5 years ago (story is too long to explain now). He is having some memory loss and isn't very mobile but we are handling it and still do some travel. We also live in a community with a wonderful complimentary van service if needed. The worse part of all this, I do have to give up my time to take him places, but I have never thought about what would happen if I needed help. I have postponed having my right knee replaced because of he driving issue. Such is life, we are considering down sizing and moving into a senior retirement complex, but that is just starting to be a consideration. It is probably a year or two away.
I am 86 married 65 years,the wife and i have always been close.
We gave up North FL after 25 years and moved to Ct to be near daughter for help.
The doctor situation is poor,not much choice.I have been fighting blood pressure issue since 2016 when cardioligist changed my meds,miserable since.I did have triple bypass in 2010 and before leaving FL had A-Z checkup and all was well.
The miserable part is furosemide a strong diuretic which drops 150-180 BP to 116 which causes lightheadedness.At beginning heavier dose had me in 95/50-105/60.The beginning was in 190-215/70.
On last visit to primary care he threw his hands up and said cardioligist will have to figure it out.
They do not want to get away from Metoprolol Succinct Er for some reason.
I don't care who we are what we do or eat, there is certainly going to be some brain power loss as we get older and anyone who thinks differently is being realistic. Of course some are sharper than others and we may have all had family members who have lived into their 90s with very little memory loss. This probably has less to do with diet and supplements than it does heredity.
Hubby is having more problems than I am at 83 or almost 83. He no longer drives but not because of mind problems. He is very hard for him. However he does read a lot, plays table games with a friend, and we do volunteer work for church together, plus he handles most of our church publicity and we have a huge church. He also loves his fantasy football and baseball teams. I, on the other hand do not read as much as he does, but I do play a lot of bridge. We both are involved in politics as this was part of his past career. This keeps our minds active to some degree.
Yes, we do try to eat healthy, we eat some of the recommended foods, but still, it boils down to your genes I think. And yes, even I do have those spells where I can't remember someone's name or a date. I do get details messed up, but so does our 60 year old daughter. I think staying active is a heck of a lot more important than eating a certain amount of berries a day or taking 4 supplements, whatever?
The bolded made me think of all the super old politicians and presidential candidates. I would definite prefer someone younger - in their prime.
I am older, and I do notice a loss of memory, for sure.
I do a lot of healthy things - in the end, it's a crap shoot, and I feel WAY sorrier for the caregivers than the patients. There is a metaphysical theory that people who get Alzheimers are just afraid of death and are refusing to die when their bodies otherwise would. Have no idea if that is true or false, but I always thought it was an interesting theory (and please don't tell me how your sainted mother would never do this - it's a theory, not personal).
This is not a funny subject,I have posted in this thread about this subject.
My wife at 83 has severe memory loss,this was not in my plans when I retired in 1988,now I no longer have a driver if I were to need her help down the road.
If this is all long term marriage comes down to, I am very happy to be single.
I worry about my memory.... but when push comes to shove and I need to organize a bunch of crazy stuff I am on it. When my energy level and cognizance drop from RA I went into a deep depression.... those were things that defined me.
I have worked hard to gain those traits back.
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I'm 45 and have been doing crosswords religiously for the past ten years or so (sudoku as well, but not as often as crosswords; I actually started with sudoku then transitioned more into crosswords). I'm not sure how much these brain teasers help cognitive function, but I suspect that they do, if just for the simple reason that mental stimulation of any kind has to be effective to some degree. I also do a fair amount of meditation during the week, and I always feel more clear headed and mentally sharp when I meditate regularly.
The prospect of losing cognitive function and perhaps even developing dementia at some point scares the hell out of me, so I take steps daily to maintain and perhaps even improve cognitive function. Both of my parents are sharp as tacks (at ages 73 and 77, respectively) so I likely have the genetic potential to follow suit (at least I hope I do).
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovorlando
My son-in-law's father has the beginning of Alzheimers. His doctor told him to exercise as much as he can and he will even improve also No sugar!
I’m a terrible sugar addict so I work very hard to keep it out of my diet. In the two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving I succumbed to my basest desires and went hog wild and noticed that my brain function suffered quite a lot. My sister noticed it too and it was so scary that I’m back to my normal diet.
As for the puzzles and intellectual exercises ...I’m of two minds on that. When it’s new to you and you really have to think hard about what you’re doing then I believe it’s quite helpful. OTOH, when you can do them on autopilot, it’s time to look for another activity. I’ve been doing sudoku for years now but I could do them in my sleep so I try to do other things now.
I’ve also heard that things like driving a different route home from a way you usually go is a good thing to do and it makes sense because now you’re having to think about it and that makes me wonder if that’s the real problem with our modern world in that life is run on automatic and things are too easy. Also I try to get out I to nature as much as I can because I love it and I believe that nature heals.
Worried about my Mom in her mid 80's...doing really well (still does the books in family business...I'm doing them more now though.), still drives and does Aerobics three times a week (needs fake knee though but stubborn...won't do it)...has slipped a little lately though...I pray just "normal aging". She told me a few months ago "I'm not thinking right" which really worried me. She was dehydrated when she said this...fourth time now in a number of years that this has happened since she is incontinent and doesn't drink enough water unless I force her which I do. She once had to go to the ER for this some years ago as severe dehydration can mimic a stroke. DRINK ENOUGH WATER!...very important for health and cognition! Rehydrated her this last time, and she passed urine, blood, test and a CT Scan looked fine. Even had her see a Neurologist where she took the "Montreal Cognitive Test"...scored 28 out of 30! The toughest question on it is the "5 items" they recite and then ask you to repeat them 5 minutes later...I wouldn't have gotten that one either! The rest was pretty basic. She also recently passed the written DMV test for driving so her cognition is good. However, I feel she has slipped slightly (sometimes confused about dates, and phone numbers, etc.)...hopefully due to normal aging as an 85 year old brain is not the same as a 45 year old brain. Anyways, I have her do all the basics...eat healthy, DRINK ENOUGH FLUIDS, get enough sleep, manage stress, stay physically active, keep socializing, and she does read the newspaper and so forth for "cognitive exercise" as well as staying engaged in the world. I think the key is to keep going at all ages...and NEVER STOP...the body was made to keep moving, thinking, and engaging so you cannot stop! If you don't use it, you will lose it so keep going and pray for the best!!
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