I know AD is just one type of dementia, probably the most common, but in the long run, does it really matter what type it is? Don't they all end up in the same place with the same results? Not trying to sound like a smart mouth, I just really wonder about this.
mim i copied from one of the deb's older posts this explanation of the dementias, but its lacking the EOAD early onset.
it may help to explain the differences, it can make a difference as to what type of meds they use. some meds make them worse depending on the type. but yes all fatal in the end. divvi
For types of dementia, this is a good article - http://www.webmd.com/brain/types-dementia
Yes, most dementia patients do end up in the same place with the same results. However, knowing which type your LO has is important because:
Knowing which symptoms go with the dementia you are dealing with helps you prepare for what is to come, and to get support.
Different types of dementia respond/or not, to different medications and treatments. For example, if you are dealing with Lewy Body Dementia, you're going to get hallucinations, so it's good to learn how to deal with them and the doctor may be able to prescribe medication to lessen them.
Some dementias are curable - such as those caused by NPH (Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus - water on the brain). A shunt is put into the brain to drain the fluid= symptoms disappear; some dementias are caused by brain tumors - If your LO is lucky enough to have one that is non-cancerous and operable = no more syptoms. Some dementias are caused by vitamin B deficiency. The correct amount of Vitamin B = no more symptoms.
I always explain dementia in this manner: Dementia is a SYMPTOM (or group of symptoms). Dementia is like a cough and a fever. They are symptoms. The doctor does tests to find out what is causing the cough and symptoms. It may be an upper respiratory infection; it may be bronchitis; it may be pneumonia. Which ever one it is, he treats accordingly. In the same way, some of the symptoms of dementia are forgetfulness and cognitive decline. The doctor does tests to rule out the cureable causes (above), and more tests to find out if it's vascular, frontal lobe, Lewy Bodies. When everything else is ruled out, it's Alzheimer's. He then prescribes medications and treatments accordingly.
Sure wish people did not include 'old timers' dementia! My DIL's mother is having memory problems at age 64. She is diabetic and does not do a great job controlling it. She laughs off not hearing people and admits she will answer 'yes' even though she didn't hear or remember. Her friends all joke it off as 'ol timers dementia' thinking it is funny. I know many of those people and they are in their 70s and 80s where some memory loss is normal as long as they remember later. Her mom does not remember and laughs it off.
I told her to write a letter to her mom's primary care physician letting him know because when she goes in if asked will say nothing is wrong. All the kids minimize her problems too. DIL is and always has been more aware of health problems - it started with her bio mom being a schizophrenic and dealing with that until she was adopted at 8; her own health problems, her kids health problems and my hb's AD.
Charlotte, good advice for DIL. With the unmanaged diabetes, sounds like VaD. I have a friend whose MIL has diabetes and VaD which improved greatly once the diabetes was managed.
We just found out my DH has Lewy Body. He had hallucinations earlier in the disease but now the issue is aggression. They had him on anti-pyschotics and the reaction was so bad I thought he was going to die. Guess people with Lewy Body can't take those. Now the challenge is to find something that works. He is in a pysch hospital right now... :(
joan- Just a week or so ago I came across the same site (I think so, anyway), that you described. I was looking for "cortical basel degeneration" which is not exactly in my daily use vocabulary. If it is the same one, it had text on the right side of the screen and what I guess I would call a slideshow on the left side.
I thought it was a very good site. I had always been so frustrated because no one could really say for sure, or they changed their minds about H's dx. I could read just about any article and say "well, he is a little bit that", etc.
Shannon, I am sorry things are so tough right now. H's most frequent dx was FTD. I hope the hospitalization will help.