What are your thoughts on Altzheimer's Disease?

[AnitaS]

SO's brother, Grumpy, recently came over and said that his dad has Altzheimers. This was a guy who just 2 years ago was sharp as a tack. My opinion was that Altzheimers doesn't just come upon one without notice. Grumpy said, "Oh yes, it does. His charts SAY that he has Altzheimers." He's in a nursing home and is being drugged [for what reason, no one knows.]

Yesterday, I called Lucky to see what she needed supply-wise. She said she didn't know, so I went down a list of things I usually buy. I got to "spoons...Do you need more spoons?" She said, "What's that?" I rephrased the question to "silverware...what you use to eat your oatmeal, forks, spoons, knives." She said, "Oh! No. I have plenty. I've been using the plastic spoons and have been washing them."

To ME, this looks like the beginning of Altzheimers setting in, but as long as I can rephrase and have Lucky understand, I'm not worried.

I just don't buy this "overnite Altzheimers" theory. What do YOU think?

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[FrmlyZ]

I don't remember what I think.

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[Peter Errington]

Could it possibly be a stroke? My understanding is that Alzheimer's is not a sudden event.

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Peter Errington

[Little Nipper]

Alzheimer's is only one of many kinds of dementia (which means any kind of "loss of mental function"). My mother in law had Alzheimer's. The onset most emphatically not fast. However, during onset, the person can learn to cover up, compensate or deflect suspicion. At a certain point, that coping mechanism can just break down and give the appearance of a more sudden onset.

My father is now diagnosed with multi-infarct dementia - a loss of mental function due to a series of mini-strokes. With him the onset has also been gradual, but my understanding is that the pace at which multi-infarct dementia progresses is not very predictable.

A web search on "dementia" would probably net you far more hits than you could profitably sift through, but I know there are many, many causes.

If you knew what drug he's being given, it might provide a clue to follow back to the diagnosis.

I know that back in the nineteenth century, some of the elderly were said to suffer from "galloping senility", a condition that came on fairly rapidly. No doctor would use that term any more, but I'm sure the condition hasn't disappeared, only changed names.

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Little Nipper