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One of my closest friends is showing signs of Alzheimer - It seems that her symptoms are getting worse - The most accruate way to determine if it's Alzheimers or something else is a MRI - The problem is she is a hypocondriac about her health and every little thing she thinks she is dying - When something developes she should be concerned about she does nothing as she becomes fearful - She seems to be questioning her memory problems also as she has said to me maybe I have Alzheimers - My problem is how to broach the subject and get her to see a doctor knowing she will become fearful which will prevent her from following through -
Time is of the essence as the longer you put off taking the proper medication the disease will continue to progress - At the point you notice symptons is already too late except to slow down the progress of the disease - Any input would be gratefully accepted - Thanks -
Hey, the best way to bring it up with someone is right after they express some concern over their memory and wonder if they might have alzheimers. That's how I was finally able to bring it up with mom and after we spoke about it, she was willing to go have the workup. They did not do an MRI--they went on symptoms alone, and had a talk with her about driving and such. They said that the meds have about a 25% chance of slowing the progression of AD, and my mother chose not to take them. Also, they told her to get off the tylenol pm. Is your friend on any meds? This should be looked at as many meds can cause symptoms of dementia, and mom has already improved quite a bit from getting off the sleeping pills.
The meds slow down the progression of more severe symptoms but do not prolong life. You just have a faster slide down later. People with BAL usually don't notice memory problems, that is more a symptom of depression.
One of my closest friends is showing signs of Alzheimer - It seems that her symptoms are getting worse - The most accruate way to determine if it's Alzheimers or something else is a MRI - The problem is she is a hypocondriac about her health and every little thing she thinks she is dying - When something developes she should be concerned about she does nothing as she becomes fearful - She seems to be questioning her memory problems also as she has said to me maybe I have Alzheimers - My problem is how to broach the subject and get her to see a doctor knowing she will become fearful which will prevent her from following through -
Time is of the essence as the longer you put off taking the proper medication the disease will continue to progress - At the point you notice symptons is already too late except to slow down the progress of the disease - Any input would be gratefully accepted - Thanks -
If I may ask, how old is your friend? I would broach the subject more like...let's go to the Dr. and see what it could be. Maybe she is just forgetful (?). I know I sure am. Maybe she has ADD. I do. Or it could be what you fear. Does it run in her family?
Every single sibling of my Dad's (including my Dad) died of it. And it's on my Mom's side too. At 52, I sometimes wonder myself. However, I think that it's more about aging and ADD than anything else. I would not tell her you want her tested for Alzheimer's, just to go to the Dr. to see what it could be.
The meds slow down the progression of more severe symptoms but do not prolong life. You just have a faster slide down later. People with BAL usually don't notice memory problems, that is more a symptom of depression.
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I'm not sure I understand this. Is BAL, alzheimer's? Mom has had symptoms of memory loss and personality changes for at least 15 years, maybe 20, but has only recently expressed any anxiety about it and has mentioned that she doesn't know if she has it but "something is going on." She's got classic symptoms such as believing that people are stealing from her and hoarding behaviors, as well as losing her purse and other important objects on a daily basis. Once she was convinced that the hired man was stealing her scissors, of which she had 20 pairs! My aunt found them all under a mattress. As far as I know, she's never had depression and the doc ruled that out.
If I may ask, how old is your friend? I would broach the subject more like...let's go to the Dr. and see what it could be. Maybe she is just forgetful (?). I know I sure am. Maybe she has ADD. I do. Or it could be what you fear. Does it run in her family?
Every single sibling of my Dad's (including my Dad) died of it. And it's on my Mom's side too. At 52, I sometimes wonder myself. However, I think that it's more about aging and ADD than anything else. I would not tell her you want her tested for Alzheimer's, just to go to the Dr. to see what it could be.
Good point, mistygrl092. I wanted to ask the similar questions: how old is your friend? What makes you think she has Alzheimer's?
You said she is hypochondriac. This made me think of anxiety right away. Someone with untreated or poorly managed anxiety and/or PTSD can be quiet forgetful. So unless your friend was diagnosed by a professional, I would not jump to AD conclusion
Good point, mistygrl092. I wanted to ask the similar questions: how old is your friend? What makes you think she has Alzheimer's?
You said she is hypochondriac. This made me think of anxiety right away. Someone with untreated or poorly managed anxiety and/or PTSD can be quiet forgetful. So unless your friend was diagnosed by a professional, I would not jump to AD conclusion
I sure wish the OP would come back and let us know how old her friend is. Could be she's 50 and going thru menopause, lol. Lord how forgetful we get at that time. And as you pointed out, there are many reasons for dementia, and medications is a big category and depression and anxiety are another.
First of all thank you all for your responses - My friend is 59, we have been friends for 40 odd years - She does take an antidepressent but she has been on this medication for 20 years -She went through menopause maybe 5 years ago - The reason I believe she is an hypocondriac is by the time she was 10 both of her parents had died and she was orphaned -
I realize stress can be a factor but she is a teacher and is off for the summer - Instead of seeing a slight improvement it seems to have gotten worse - She asked me a question which I gave her the answer to - I then made her repeat the answer back to me which she did but within an hour she had totally forgotten the information - She seems to have trouble finding the right word - Last Thanksgiving we took a bus to a restaurant during the ride she became confused as to where we were -
I have done a lot of reading and I subscribe to a newsletter as my father had a form of dementia from sustaining repeated head injuries -Is there any other reason not to box -
Sorry for the delay to your answers however I am also in the process of moving and things are a tad hectic -
After additional details it does seem that your friend's cognitive abilities are deteriorating.
I would suggest a visit to neuropsychiatrist.
Good luck to both of you.
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