My husband has ADD and Lewy Body Dementia and ADD makes the dementia even more confusing for me. The therapist keeps asking has he always been this way? and the answer is yes but it is now worse. I looked hard for any studies of a relationship between ADD and Lewy Body Dementia, as both involve Dopamine, but I didn't find it. My husband had extensive neuropsych testing and the Motion Disorder Specialist (the specialist for Parkinson's and therefor Lewy Body Dementia) said it isn't normal or even normal Parkinson's to have a 30 point gap between verbal IQ and performance IQ. He said that is a result of Lewy Body Dementia. Guess what? Our son was tested without his ADD medication to have the paperwork for accomodations at college, and he had a 28 point gap between verbal IQ and performance IQ.
I think the main effect for us has been that I was already so frustrated with my husband for forgetfulness and disorganization and etc. that it is particularly hard to take it getting worse as the dementia progresses. On the other hand, he was already used to making mistakes and so he doesn't get so upset about not being as capable as he used to be.
Does your husband take medication for the ADD? Mine takes Clonidine for sleep but nothing directly for the ADD. The doctor has started him on Wellbutrin hoping that might help with his not being able to get himself to do things he knew he should do (like exercise or go to bed at a decent hour) but I haven't seen any effect.
This is a big issue with me. I have written about it before on other threads. I, too, have looked extensively for a link between ADD and AD and have not found it. I spoke to Sid's neurologist, and he dismissed the idea. However, I worked for 25 years with kids with ADD and language disorders. I tested scores of kids. Sid has ADD.
These are my observations and experience:
Based upon Sid's own stories of his school experiences, as a professional, I would say he had severe ADD, but in those days, it was not recognized or treated. His teachers called him stupid, and insisted he wasn't trying. His father disciplined him negatively because of his "laziness." He wasn't able to pay attention to oral information; his mind was always wandering; he could not pay attention to words in a book. I don't think he ever finished one in his life. When he was tutored one on one with someone who understood he was a visual learner, he always did well.
As an adult, he never finished a house project; could not pay attention if a conversation was too long or not of his specific area of interest; was a workaholic because it took him twice as long to complete things as someone who was more focused. He was an excellent salesman; an excellent manager - won scores of awards for increasing his store's business, but struggled to stay organized.
ADD is ADD. I did not think it got WORSE or was PROGRESSIVE, yet that is how it seemed in the beginning of AD. He was more disorganized; his concentration was worse than it had ever been; he kept repeating himself; he could not remember what he or anyone else (especially me) said. He had trouble learning anything new. We attributed it to job stress, until it got so bad that I took him to a neurologist (the WRONG neurologist), who said it was ADD, and put him on Adderall, which only made the personality changes of irrationality, unreasonableness, and temper flare-ups worse.
So then we moved to Florida to the correct neurologist, the correct diagnosis, and the correct medication. HOWEVER, it has been my contention all along that those with ADD are either more PRONE to AD or it comes on faster for them, or SOMETHING. It seems to me there is SOME connection, but I cannot find a doctor or article to support it.
As for performance and verbal IQ discrepancies, they are very common. Remember - I did verbal testing on kids for years, and worked with psychologists who did the full IQ testing. In every case, where my verbal testing came out low, the psychologist's verbal testing was low, and often, if the disorder was strictly a "language disorder", the psych. testing showed a huge discrepancy between verbal and performance. However, sometimes, what looked like a "language disorder" ( poor verbal comprehension; poor auditory processing), often turned out to be ADD, and the verbal scores improved when the student was put on ADD medication.
So there's my story. I would be interested if anyone else's spouse has ADD, and what their story is. Thanks, gypsy, for bringing it up. Although you probably got way more than you asked for with my lengthy answer.
Actually both my husband and my son have verbal IQ 30 or so points _higher_ than performance. Do you think it is partly that dementia appears to come on faster in people with ADD because when these areas were already problems it doesn't take much progression for them to become serious problems?
So few of the generation over 50 was diagnosed or treated for ADD. Though I know one man in his 70s who has been on stimulants for 20 years or so (and says he wonders what his life would have been like if they had been available earlier). He is very sharp.
Oh jeez, I'm way too tired and "unfocussed" to say much on this right now. But my situation is a bit different and wondering if any others have the same. I have ADHD. Talk about the blind leading the blind! I remember right after DH's diagnosis I visited my prescribing psychiatrist and I said, "So I guess AD trumps ADD, huh?" "Uh, yeah, I'd say so," he said, and then prescribed Xanax saying it would "melt my anxiety" for those times when I just couldn't cope with DH's whatever moods at the time. More on this when I've had some sleep.
But, any other spouses with ADD out there? Would like to hear how you've learned to cope now being forced to take on the very tasks which were always so difficult and which you depended upon your spouse to handle.
My husband's sister displays some of the symptoms of ADD and I've always wondered if she has it. It would be interesting to know if there is a relationship between that and AD, whether they tend to run in the same people/families.