JOAN’S WEEKEND BLOG – JULY 26/27, 2008 – OUR DRUG TRIAL INFORMATION

Because many of your spouses are in drug trials; about to start drug trials; being considered for drug trials; or have been in drug trials, I want to bring you as much up to date information as I can. If you look on the Message Boards, there is an older topic –drug trials/vaccine trials. I wrote an entry late Saturday evening requesting that anyone whose spouse is in a drug trial, post information about the particular trial; side effects; behavior changes; adverse/positive reactions under that existing discussion topic. Although I understand that everyone will react differently to a particular drug, I still feel it will be helpful to all of us to know what others are experiencing.

My husband is participating in the Elan Infusion BAP Trial – Phase III.  We were told to expect a call next week for him to come in for his first infusion. He will be infused via IV for one hour, and then he has to stay there for 4 hours of observation.

Even in the midst of all of the week’s emotional trauma from the driving situation, I still managed to find something that fascinated me. Preceding next week’s infusion, Sid had to undergo extensive cognitive testing and interviewsthis Friday. I had to fill out a multitude of forms concerning his behavior and abilities, as well as undergo two interviews by two different doctors concerning his functioning and behavior. What struck me as so interesting was the behavioral interview. She asked me questions about behavior issues that I had noticed in the past year, but thought were just “odd”. I never equated them with AD.

She asked me if Sid expressed concern about crowds. Sid never minded big concerts, but in the past year, when I mentioned going to one where there was going to be a huge attendance, he refused to go, saying he didn’t like crowds.

She asked me if Sid was afraid of new experiences. In the last year, whenever I would ask him if he wanted to go someplace new or do something we had not done before, he would refuse quite adamantly, giving the reason, “It’s the unknown. I don’t like the unknown.”

It is something to think about – as differently as AD affects each person, there are so many aspects of it that are the same. Maybe some of the behaviors that you considered “eccentric” or just plain weird were due to Alzheimer’s Disease.

Please post all drug trial messages under drug trials/vaccine trials.

Feedback to joan@thealzheimerspouse.com

View Printer Friendly Version

The material included on this website contains general information intended as information only. This site is not intended to provide personal, professional, medical, or psychological advice, and should not be relied upon to govern behavior in any certain or particular circumstances. The opinions in the blogs are solely those of the owner of the website. The opinions on the message boards are not necessarily endorsed by the owner of this website, and are the opinions of those persons writing the messages. All material on this web site is for demonstration and informational purposes only.

The Alzheimer Spouse LLC 2009 All Rights Reserved