Alzheimer's UTI Herbs Vs Doctors

The first time Edith acquired an urinary tract infection I felt so bad seeing her suffer with it. The way it was handled by the allopathic (regular) medical doctors was in my opinion was inhumane. Here is what they do where we live. Edith is my mother and she has Alzheimer's disease.

First I'd like to say that mom does pretty good communicating when in a familiar environment like at home. Put her in a strange place like a hospital and it gets difficult for her to focus and follow what is being said or asked of her.

The people in the hospital don't exhibit much patience in dealing with the situation and just want to get things done. They worry more of the time involved than the mental state they are creating in the Alzheimer's patient. They know she has trouble urinating.

It's an inconvenience to them and they need to put a little more effort into communicating. I could see the impatience in their face. They want a urine sample so they resort to a catheter and draining a sample for testing. They have drained her so the urgency and pain are gone.

That's the only plus I saw of the process. The way they handled the situation rubbed me the wrong way. I'm a proactive caregiver and you don't want to rub me the wrong way. I will not hesitate to make my feelings and demands known.

I can be a doctors, a medical assistants or a nurses worst nightmare if that's what I feel is necessary. I don't feel they are half as special as they do. The barbarians. Sorry if I offended any barbarians I didn't mean to insult you.

I don't intentionally look for a confrontation but if reasonable efforts don't work. The warrior awakes in me and I use whatever it takes. There is a warrior in you. Don't be afraid to let that warrior take control when you need it.

They send the sample to the lab to see what is causing the infection. This involves growing a culture and testing with various antibiotics to determine which will be the best choice. They then fax the report to the family doctor who in turn calls us. It's off to the drugstore to pick up the prescription.

The prescription requires taking food with it and is to be taken a certain times of the day. It's the end of the third pill taking day before she starts to improve in the discomfort department. She was able to pass small amounts of urine during the treatment period. I didn't need to take her back to the hospital to get her drained again.

So this whole process took over 4 full days until she started to feel better. That really tormented me but she was lucky in a way. She couldn't remember what happened before or how long it had been.

We have always been a family that used herbs for a lot of ills and had pretty good results. I even remember my grandmother collecting and using herbs. This was something that has always been used by our family. We would use them because we could and because we didn't have a lot of money. We did go to the doctor but I think it was more from being indoctrinated over the years.

When I saw how they did things at the hospital and the attitude they had I decided to do for mom what she would have done for me. I went herbal. Not the run of the mill watered down over filtered poorly made stuff you can get at the store. The same organic wildcrafted kick ass industrial strength stuff my grandmother would have made if she was still around. I wouldn't be surprised if she was there urging me on.

Months later Edith got another infection and it was worse because she couldn't pee at all when I noticed the problem. She was rocking on the toilet and saying no-no-no-no and had her hand between her legs. Well this the moment I was preparing for.

This stuff doesn't taste bad so she will drink it down with ease. I gave her 2 droppers full (around 120 drops) in about an ounce of water. Twenty minutes later another dose and a half hour later another dose. When she laid down it didn't bother her as much so she took a nap.

About two hours had passed and I see her heading for the bathroom so I followed. As soon as she sat on the toilet seat she started to pee and pee and pee. A nice strong constant stream and no pain or discomfort.

I continued to give her 4 doses a day for three days just to make sure the infection was gone. It was gone. About 6 months later another UTI so I did the same thing I did the last time hoping for the same results and it worked the same way.

I have used this two more times since. Once when the urinary tract infection was acute like the previous times and once when I caught it early. This treatment worked every time.

No hospital. No aggravated inconvenienced doctors. No catheters. No snappy nurses. No waiting for tests. No prescriptions. No special feedings so she could take the prescription. No waiting over 4 days before starting to feel improvement.

Best of all my mother didn't need to be thrust into a state of confusion, anxiety and fear because of the way she was treated at the hospital. Oh did I mention no bills coming in the mail from the hospital, the emergency room, the emergency room doctor, the lab test, the family doctor or the prescription. Yea!

I hate it when you go to the hospital because you don't get one bill you get 15 people billing you. That should stop. You should get one itemized bill from the hospital and they should pay the idiots that work there for their tests and services. They should pass a bill or law. Call it - "One Roof One Bill".

We had used herbs for other conditions that our family doctor said herbs couldn't fix. This was years before the UTI problems. Each time my parents said they didn't take what she had prescribed she would try to scare us into following her recommendations and to take her prescriptions. She would make comments like it's probably to late now. It was to late because the condition was gone.

Every time a new medical condition was found she would stare me down and say you can't fix that with herbs and every time herbs worked. Not just worked but worked without side effects and better and faster than anything she could come up with. I'll go into more depth about this another time.

Why she looked at me when she would say you can't fix that with herbs I don't know. I think she wanted me to take sides with her. She may have thought I was telling my parents what to do. If you knew my parents you would know I didn't have that kind of power over them. No one did. They always would decide on their own. If they made it known to me what they wanted I would just assist them to make it so.

Alzheimer's Warning Urinary Track Infections

The first thing is getting a person with Alzheimer's to drink some water when they wake up. I do this because we all become dehydrated to some degree when we sleep. When you get older the brain doesn't work as well as it can if you don't keep hydrated. Also this gets the kidneys working and helps flush out anything that's in the urinary tract.

I try to fit in a serving of cranberry juice not long after mother gets up. I do this to help cut down on the possibility of a urinary track infection. It was thought that cranberry juice killed the bacteria that cause infection and I still feel that maybe be one of the things it does.

Now I have read that it makes the surfaces of the urinary tract very slippery and this makes it hard for bacteria to attach to anything and they flush out easily. I doesn't matter to me how it works. Only that it helps.

When people with Alzheimer's go to the bathroom they don't always wipe themselves in a proper manner. This is especially important for women. They can easily reach between their legs to wipe their bottom and smear fecal matter over their vaginal area. Females with Alzheimer's are at higher risk for repeat urinary tract infections because of anatomy.

That's a perfect environment for an infection to start and migrate up the urethra to the bladder and up the ureters to the kidneys. This is the most common direction for a UTI to infect them and you also. It's a lot easier to keep a person with Alzheimer's disease clean. When they develop an infection you must keep them clean and treat the infection.

I always try to be close by when mom goes to the bathroom. By watching how things go you can see a problem they won't or don't know how to tell you about. You see them holding their bladder area or exhibit a rocking motion while sitting on the toilet.

They may express discomfort with facial expressions or even verbally. If you are not there you can not see these signs when they first start. If the person did not have Alzheimer's they would be able to say they are having a problem long before this degree of infection. You must learn the symptoms.

Audio sounds may be as simple as a moaning or repetitive sounds like oh-oh-oh-oh or no-no-no-no. They will often use the same sounds and or movements if a second infection occurs so its important for you to learn what the person you are taking care of does when an infection flowers. You should look for return visits to the bathroom every few minutes also.

If you are going to be a caregiver your duties will include monitoring bathroom activities. From using the toilet to bathing and everything in between. You become a specialist of bowel movements, personal hygiene and safety. You will see, smell and clean up things you never thought you would have to clean.

I may be difficult at first but you'll get the hang of it. It all becomes boring and routine. Nothing will shock you. You may even find yourself breaking out in laughter at inappropriate situations. I often do. It's a good way to relieve tension.

A UTI can come on very fast so it is important that you learn the early warning signs. Once it starts it can escalate to the point where no urine will able to flow. If this has ever happened to you I know you understand how bad this feels.

Alzheimer's Imagine All The People

When people reach this stage of their life and the person is no longer able to remain in our reality. They often live in a world much more difficult than ours. Imagine getting old and one by one you give up your pleasures and the control of your own life. Then add Alzheimer's too.

You know that your physical ability is diminishing and you can no longer take care of yourself. On top of that your mental function is declining and your memories are almost impossible to recall. Your ability to understand what you see and hear is on the retreat.

The world that you live in becomes smaller and smaller. The sights, sounds, smells and the touch of a soft breeze that have brought you joy so many times no longer come to visit.

The food looks and smells good but your taste in food has changed and you don't like the taste of most foods so it's hard to please you. You don't enjoy eating most of the time. Even if something tastes good at first a few spoonfuls later you don't like it and don't want to eat any more.

Now take away your social skills and manners. Leave behind everything you have ever learned about etiquette. You struggle to remember the most basic vocabulary and how to use it.

You spend most of the day in a state of confusion. Recognizing those around you but not knowing who they are. Not knowing if you belong where you are. Are the people around you your family or friends or may they be people you should fear. Do you risk interaction with them. Often for no reason you become overwhelmed with fear and can't escape it.

You become frustrated because no one seems to hear your questions and when they do talk to you it doesn't make sense. You feel you are a burden and don't belong here because of the facial expressions you see and the tone of the voices you hear.

Nobody talks to you any more they talk at you. They talk as if you aren't even there. As if you aren't even here. You don't understand what that means but you know how it feels. How alone one must feel.

You can't tell those taking care of you that you are not comfortable or don't feel good. You're in constant pain and you can't do anything about it. You ate something earlier you thought was food but now you feel like you might have poisoned yourself. The shoes they have you wear make your feet hurt.

Your eyesight is getting worse and you will probably never see clearly again because you can't tell the optometrist which setting makes your vision clear. Don't forget the dentist. That's just some of it. Imagine all the people that are going through this.

Many times they may show signs of clarity and reason for short bursts. Like fireflies in the night. A flash, a flicker, a little streak of light in a void of blackness. As a caregiver it is important to look for those little streaks of light. When they happen don't waste one second of it.

It makes me wonder if these random re-connections can occur why can't we find a way to increase there number or duration. Why can't we bring them back to full function. If it's happening randomly there must be something that causes it. I know they study the progression of Alzheimer's disease and trying to find better ways to diagnose it. But is any one trying to study how the random access to previously blocked memory occurs.

I just want to say that I don't feel they are doing an acceptable job researching any diseases. I think they have gotten fat and lazy. I don't think they have any incentive to work any harder or smarter. They don't need to show true results to earn money for this. All they do is go out and beg and lie for more money with no accountability. A never ending source of money.

From watching closely it seems to me that the person is often still aware but when trying to express themselves their speech and movement becomes scrambled. They know what they what to express and in their head it sounds right to them but to us that listen it becomes a mixed up jumble of babble.

They make up there own language using words that sound almost right but aren't really words. At least to us. They become repetitive and you have no answers to put their questions to rest.

Other times it seems like the mind and body are on autopilot and what made them who they are is no longer there. Almost as if they are not present in the body when they are at their worst. As if they re-enter their body and are more of what you recognize is there when at their best.

When a person with Alzheimer's like symptoms is repetitive they may be asking or saying something again because they forget they did it already. It may be there is something wrong and what you are hearing is an attempt to express that. I might mean nothing more than they are stuck in a loop.

If there is a problem like a urinary tract infection they may feel extreme discomfort. Since they can't express that as we would they say something and keep repeating it because the pain continues. What they say becomes attached to the discomfort and they repeat.

It's a primal response like when you have a tooth abscess. When the pain becomes intense enough people have a tendency to moan and begin a rocking motion. This response is a release. It helps break the focus on the pain.

When I see or hear something repetitive I like to check things out just to make sure there isn't something physically wrong triggering it. If there doesn't appear to be a physical issue I use some of the techniques I use to break there focus on it that are in other posts.

It may be their way of saying they need some one to make them feel loved or cared about. Not just cared for. They may need reassurance they fit in and are safe and that you know they are there. They feel doing annoying things gets them noticed faster than doing what you which they would do.

How many times does a child do annoying or disobedient action and gets negative attention rather than seeking out positive actions and getting positive attention. This is most certain because negative actions always attracts more attention and often positive actions return no attention at all.

Maybe when a child is doing what we don't want them to and we think they are doing it on purpose they are not. At least not in a conscious way. Maybe these actions in the person with Alzheimer's disease or Alzheimer's like symptoms originates from the same process that triggers this type of behavior in children.

Remember that Alzheimer's disease and the Alzheimer's like symptoms of dementia and senility are all very complex disease processes to cope with. The diagnosis of this is very traumatic to the person and may cause issues. When you get told you have it you know it's a life sentence and your on you way out of this world.

This is usually a long unforgiving journey that nobody would sign up for. It's one of those milestones that make you face your mortality. Make sure you address the persons concerns. Don't let them feel they will be going through this alone. Talk about everything and leave no stones unturned.

Their mental and emotional state will play a big roll in getting through this ordeal. It's very important that every body involved has their head in the right place. That goes for the person that has been diagnosed, the family and the caregiver(s).

When a person has Alzheimer's they tend to remember things from long ago. If they aren't looking in a mirror they may even think they are a young child. I can't count the number of times my dear mother has called me daddy. They make act out of character for their age. They may often think they are young. They may act and do things you would expect of a child.

Sometimes I think we allow ourselves to be bothered because we are so close to the person we take care of. It's hard to see and accept that a person we knew so well has been reduced to this terrible condition. Maybe when we look at that person they become our mirror. Is this my future and is this what my existence is destined to become.

All I ask is that when the person you are taking care of starts to drive you crazy remember who the driver is. It's you not them. You allow and choose to let their actions influence you. You choose to regard them as the stimuli that drives you crazy.

This is not the case. This is the difference of going for the ride or tapping into your higher self and choosing to be a compassionate being. When you view something as negative it causes the negativity in you to grow. The person that is driving you crazy is not doing it on purpose. They have had their ability to choose stolen away from them.

So don't punish the spirit because the vessel has become damaged. When you start feeling like ignoring the person or start viewing them as an annoyance or you just want to scream and yell. Have a talk with yourself.

Look at yourself in a mirror and tell yourself you are not going to respond to this insanity with insanity. That you allow your higher self to take a dominant role in the way your react to the physical world and the other beings that share it with you. In time all things pass.

The majority of us have a similar fate awaiting us in not to many years as long as our life isn't cut short by choice, accident or disease. The longer we live the closer the chance of being a victim of Alzheimer's disease, senility or dementia gets. The statistics of avoiding it aren't in our favor.

It doesn't matter who you are, what you have done or how much money you have. It doesn't matter what color your skin is, the language(S) you speak or where in the world you live. It doesn't matter if your religious, spiritual, agnostic or atheist. It doesn't matter if you never went to school or have multiple advanced degrees. There are no magic pills to take, no doors to lock, no secret hiding place or sanctuary to take refuge.

Even if the person you take care of wasn't one of your favorite people take care of them as you would want some one to take care of you. Do unto to others as you would have others do unto you.

Alzheimer's Beware The Media

Beware of info through any form of media. Any time you see a report or ad on television or in magazines or the world wide web you are getting the story that is usually slanted or has a spin. You have probably heard of spin doctors. They take a situation and present it in a way that will have you thinking the way they want.

This is not just true in politics but in almost everything you see. This is also true in the area of medicine and pharmaceutical drugs. Be aware that the local TV station often will form partnerships with local hospitals.

If things get slow in one of the departments of the local hospital or revenue is dropping you may see the medical journalist of the TV station doing stories that encourage the viewer to get checked or tested for a certain condition. You will often have a medical segment on the news that has a doctor from that hospital in an interview or hear of a new treatment that you can get there.

Often these so called new treatments aren't new everywhere else. Just at that hospital or to the region. Very seldom does the medical community share what they are doing. That is not just from doctor to doctor but hospital to hospital and region to region. That keeps the money coming to them.

The Advertising budget of the pharmaceutical drug companies is very large. There lies the danger. The media has become more dependent on the money they get from them. Companies don't want to advertise some where that their product is condemned.

You'll notice that a television station will allow the news to release minor information when there is a known problem with a drug. There is very seldom much of a follow up. It might even make it into some of the hour long news related shows. That same station will let the drug company advertise that drug knowing how bad it is on their network. I guess they believe that saying the benefits out weigh the risks.

If a large portion of the budget comes from say the pharmaceutical industry the media source has a vested interest in protecting it. To get an idea of the control count the number of drug commercials some evening or see how many are in your favorite magazines. Seeing all these ads has an impact on what you think even if you don't think they do. You want to believe and there's the trap.

Pharmaceutical corporations dump unbelievable amounts of money into advertising. Seems to me they were doing pretty well before the were allowed to advertise directly to us on television. Do they do it to sell drugs. Remember we are to stupid to control our own health. Is it for damage control when good drugs go bad. How often their drug is mentioned or how many days in the news.

I've seen an increase in ads for cholesterol lowering drugs, blood pressure drugs and medications for Alzheimer's disease. Whenever the drugs are shown to be harmful and it makes the news they saturate the media with ads to try and counter the bad press. They bombard you with dozens of their ads for each mention of organ failure or death.

They have even been known to change the name of drugs. When the reputation of a drug makes it hard to market because of it's danger you can apparently just change the name and keep selling it. Any one for a little purple pill.

What pressures are put on the Food and Drug Administration to take the kind of actions they should have when these drugs were being approved. Where did the people that work at the FDA work before. Who do they work for when they leave the FDA. Who do they work for now. Not us. The number of drugs getting approved and then later removed from the market are at record highs.

How would you like to be one of the victims of one of these dangerous drugs. Remember the FDA, drug companies and your doctors told you it was safe. It wasn't safe for the people that had renal failure or liver failure or heart failure or respiratory failure or death. Have you noticed that the side effects of these drugs are more dangerous the what they are being prescribed for.

So the next time the media starts to spout out the newest improved making progress on a disease report remember who the messengers are. In fact as I'm writing this the television is on in another room. I just heard some one say "If we get enough money and enough doctors we can come up with a cure for this". Notice they said money first. They're not looking for a cure they're looking for your money.

Alzheimer's Imagination, Manipulation And Trickery

There are many ways to get the person with Alzheimer's disease to do what you need them to do. Their lack of memory can work in your favor. If asking doesn't work try saying things like - remember you agreed to do this before you had your snack. Perhaps use - don't you remember you asked if you could do this earlier and I said you had to wait until I finished what I was doing. Well I'm done now so lets go do it.

In the earlier stages and into the intermediate level of Alzheimer's using remember works well. I think this is because they don't want you to know they don't remember. They are very good a hiding the fact they don't remember. I have seen many people talk to my mother and thought they were talking to a normal person of her age.

However if they had asked her to repeat what she just heard they would have realized how bad she is. Somehow they can give a proper response for the conversation. This is almost like a survivor skill. Not allowing the disability to show they are venerable and an easy target.

I've seen this in other people with Alzheimer's disease. I don't know how it works but I find it fascinating. Like some kind of innate primal instinct. This must be stored away in some yet not effected area of the brain to work this well.

I have also used - we do this every day about this time so lets get it done and we won't need to do it later. This type of thing works well when the person with Alzheimer's disease is forgetful but they can still understand what you say. The variations you can come up with are endless.

Imagination, manipulation and trickery are good tools to use when you use it the right way and for the right reasons. If the person with Alzheimer's stays focused on the issue try a simple positive diversion.

Like changing the channels on the television and then laugh like you see something that made you laugh. You can walk out of the room and turn around and come right back in singing a song as you enter. These little stunts make it hard for them to remember what happened a short time ago.

This doesn't just work when you are trying to get them to do something. It can be used to change an emotional or mental state they are in.

Remember even if they can't talk or understand what you say the may be very capable of picking up how you feel and they may turn on that emotion in themselves or feel they are the cause.

If they see you looking sad or angry or fearful they may become sad or angry or fearful. It can work the other way around too. So if you see they are in a negative state express happiness, joy, love and other positive energy and they will often begin to mirror you.

Do not wait until later to address the issue if they are having a bad time. Do it now. They may not have a concept of time and the way they feel right now is they way they think they have felt and will feel.

They may feel like they have always lived in fear and will always be in a state of fear. So take a moment of your precious time and transform their existence into the happy, joyful, fearless and loving world they deserve.

Alzheimer's Believe Who? Believe You!

I could go into all of the possible causes for Alzheimer's disease but since the medical community doesn't know it would be a waste of time. The things that get on the news, that are said to prevent or slow the progression of this terrible condition, are all wrong. The doctors that push this disinformation are doing nothing but blowing smoke and spreading information that will not help you. If they believe what they say it amazes me they made it through medical school.

There enthusiasm seems to add to their credibility but don't fall for it. This false hope is used to make you think they are working hard and making progress to keep you in their grasp. You often here there is evidence that there is a link to... This means nothing. They crunched some numbers so to speak. They found that a percentage of people that do something have the disease or not. Not every body just a certain percentage.

This kind of information means nothing and just adds to the confusion. Every time they get on the news it makes you think they are working hard and making progress. This is to keep you thinking they are near finding a solution and if only they had more money they could find it faster.

They say if you keep your mind active by reading, puzzles and continued learning. They say to exercise often to maintain a good blood supply to the brain. They have dietary recommendations. Things you shouldn't do. These aren't a preventative for Alzheimer's disease. People that live there life like this already still get Alzheimer's disease or Alzheimer's like symptoms. Those recommendations are what you should do to maintain your general heath.

Then when you get Alzheimer's they tell you to take drugs that don't work and are dangerous in my opinion. If you haven't realized it by now they are stabbing in the dark looking for answers, coming up empty and trying to sound like they found something. People expect results so they put on a show to make you think they are making progress and here are some things to slow down the progression. Personally I'm getting tired of the lies. I want to see proof. Real proof. Not the garbage they are dumping on us now.

If you take care of an Alzheimer's patient or suspect yourself of being in the early stages or have been diagnosed with this disease you should not listen to a doctor and believe blindly what you're told. The time is now to take responsibility of your own health or of the loved one you take care of. It is easier to listen to some one that has been to medical school but you are the one that has to live with the outcome.

If you follow what they tell you to do you can find the progression of the disease in the Merck Index and its not good. The Merck Index will tell you the outcome if you're an average person doing what the average person does and eats what an average person eats. Don't be the rule be the exception. Remove yourself or your loved one from that average list and your journey will not be the same as the average Alzheimer's patient.

The medications they prescribe are said to slow down the onset of Alzheimer's Disease. How can they make this claim. My personal opinion is they can't have a legitimate clinical study because Alzheimer's disease advances at different rates in each person. Comparing two people or two groups of people regardless the number can't support a reliable comparison.

Since every person with Alzheimer's disease or Alzheimer's like symptoms progresses at their own rate if you don't treat them with medications you see the true progression. How can you prove that a prescribed medication has slowed or increased the rate of progression.

Can you say that because the group that got the test medication had a slower progression it was the medication or was it luck of the draw. The only way a reliable clinical test could be deemed reliable is if a person could split into two identical people. That's not going to happen and that's how they perpetuate the lie.

I am not going to believe what they say until I see them reversing the disease. Slow down the disease? I don't think so. I don't think they are really looking for a true cure. At best maybe a drug they can sell you the rest of your life. They all ready do that but it doesn't help.

Just like all the other diseases. It's always control heart disease or control liver disease or control kidney disease or control diabetes or control glaucoma or control arthritis. When was the last time they really cured anything.

When a person has Alzheimer's disease do you want to add to that the multitude of side effects that come with a prescribed medication. And they will manifest. It's bad enough when a person can tell you they are having a reaction they don't like or causes distress. With Alzheimer's the person can't always express a problem verbally.

They might just indicate that something feels wrong or hurts but don't know how to describe the symptom or the location. Worst they may not be able to say anything and just suffer until the problem gets so bad it becomes an emergency. You might end up torturing them for the rest of their life. Remember it might be your turn next.

If you have been given or taken by choice the responsibility to care for a loved one or family member with Alzheimer's do both of you a favor and take off the blinders. Once the allopathic (regular) doctors get control they will have the Alzheimer's patient on prescribed medication for Alzheimer's. Then when the side effects start to show up they will prescribe more medication to control or lesson the side effects. Then those drugs will have side effects.

This is a vicious circle and before long the list of medications will grow and grow. Remember every prescription drug has side effects. Every one. Also know that some drugs can not be stopped on a whim. It is dangerous to stop many drugs abruptly. Always ask you doctor and look it up in the PDR.

That's the Physicians Desk Reference and it contains full descriptions of the prescription drugs except maybe the just released ones. Even though it's full of usable information you must be aware that what you read in the PDR has been written by the company that makes the drug. Even though they do not expect you to read it the information has been filtered. What is in there will still cause you to worry and it should.

Remember that when you are older you are more likely to have side effects and they may be more serious and probably will be. If you see the drug has warnings in a black box really think about it. The product info in this book is supposed to be the same as the product info that comes with the drugs. You may not see this when you buy a prescription drug. This comes in the box the drug is in and you usually get a small portion of that container.

The drug stores put some warnings on the label and may often give you a very basic write up on the drug. If you do by chance end up with the actual product information from the manufacturer you will likely need strong magnification and a medical dictionary to half understand it.

Look at study results. If a study runs for a unusual time period they may have stopped the study early. If they included the results from beyond the cut off time they may not have been able to get the drug approved. Also look for how many people were in the clinical trial. Does the number of people in the study seem like a strange number. Perhaps people were removed from the trial.

This is my opinion but I would not get involved in any drug trials or clinical studies for Alzheimer's. At best nothing bad may happen but complications often do. I've seen some results of clinical trials gone bad and it's not pretty. I don't feel the drugs they have available now are effective or safe but that is my personal conclusion and you must do your own homework and form your own. You are the one that has to live with the decision and it may haunt you a long time.

Don't listen to a friend or doctor and feel less responsible because some one else said do this or do that. You learn and make an informed choice. Don't let any one tell you what choice to pick or let them limit you choices. Make no on the spot decisions except in an emergency. Learn what makes an emergency an emergency. If you are told take these pills today because tomorrow will be to late you may want to recognize this as a pressure tactic to get control over you again.

Remember you are not deciding for yourself. This is a big responsibility and should not be taken lightly. Don't make the choice because a doctor tells you a drug should be administered. Most doctors don't read the PDR unless you make them. They get most of their info from the drug company representatives that drop off free samples at there office.

If I listened to the doctor my mother would be dead by now. No matter what your going to need to make some hard choices. Make sure you can live with them. Just do you best. That's all I can ask of you. Early onset forms of this disease are on the rise.

You could wake up tomorrow and friend or family member may get the first subtle thought that there is something different with you. When you are this close to Alzheimer's disease you notice your own forgetfulness more and in those around you. There was something else I wanted to say if I could only remember what it was.

Alzheimer's Music Hath Charms To Soothe

The day can vary extensively from day to day regardless of what stage of Alzheimer's Disease the person is in. Many of the symptoms may overlap and that's why I don't even consider regarding them as accurate. There can be many changes happening and if things look like they are getting worst don't think the person won't snap back.

There will be periods of time where the Alzheimer's patient will get worse for maybe hours or even a week or two. This is normal and then just when you think the change is permanent they are back. This is harder on the caregiver and after you go through it a few times and see this happen for your self it will be less stressful. Get used to it because it will happen through out the course of the illness.

In the beginning stages its simple but you still need to keep an eye on them because you don't know when the person with Alzheimer's will manifest a symptom that needs supervision. When the Alzheimer's patient still knows what's going on you should be vigilant but invisible as possible or they will feel uncomfortable with you staring at them. Be less obvious so they feel like the setting is normal and not supervised even though it is.

You should be aware of what they are doing but they shouldn't feel watched. Be sneaky. If you need to get a closer look have a reason to go over to see what they are doing. Don't make it seem watching is the reason. Bring them a drink or a healthy snack. Have a question to ask them. This is a good practice regardless of the stage.

Keep things upbeat and happy. At the end of the day the conversations and activity may not be remembered but the emotion of the day will stick with them. Your main purpose besides the necessities is to keep them in a state of happiness and give the the feeling they are loved. Do not complain to them or tell them the things that worry you. That's for you to deal with and they don't need that in their world such as it is. If the person with Alzheimer's feels happy and loved you did good.

Don't just be with your friend with Alzheimer's when you must be to do your minimum required duties. Each day spend quality time with them. Hold their hand and with a friendly face talk to them in pleasant tones. Brush their hair or gently stroke their head. Give them a back rub or massage. Give them hugs through out the day. A kiss upon the forehead or cheek. The touch of another can be one of the most comforting and healing things. Read or sing to them. It doesn't matter if they don't understand the will enjoy the interaction.

Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast. To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak... I noticed this by accident. On days when Edith can't get a recognizable word out and her confusion can't hide if I start to sing or hum a tune she will start to join me. I must repeat it several times before she starts. I have also had some success with children's rhymes.

This stuff stays in her memory longer for some reason. I can't sing and if you heard me you would either laugh or tell me to please stop it. Even though I can't carry a tune it works. So if you can't sing and it is embarrassing to you do it anyway. To think they told me in grade school that acting as the class clown wasn't going to help me in life.

Even if I make up the tune and the words. When I can't get her to remember 5 minutes ago when conversation is involved she will start singing or humming the tune a half hour later. If I can keep this up for a half hour or more it seems to help her regain her ability to access her language skills again. When she's having a day with communication difficulties it's worth trying. Every little bit I can stimulate her makes it easier on the both of us.

Music isn't just helpful for the person with Alzheimer's disease or Alzheimer's like symptoms it can really help the caregiver. When you have too much to do and feeling overwhelmed put on some music. Let it use it's charms to soothe the savage beast in you.

Alzheimer's Treasures And Traps

Even though I forgot to set out the treasures and traps today wasn't to bad. The first thing I came across was a coffee cup on the counter by the kitchen sink. A puddle of liquid around the cup and something orange colored in the cup. It did look drinkable but I knew we didn't have orange drink in the house. Orange juice but not drink. This one was easy it was liquid dish soap - yum.

She got into the a zip lock bag I had those small packages of condiments like ketchup and horseradish and soy sauce and duck sauce etc. I found the bag along the side of her recliner chair and one of her pockets full. Luckily she didn't start opening them. When she does the contents end up everywhere.

Just our luck. While I was writing this I was concentrating to much on this and not enough on my mother. She made the trek to the bathroom on the other side of the house and started to go before she had managed to sit all the way down and it splattered all over the back of the toilet seat, the toilet tank, the sink cabinet, the back wall, the side wall and the floor. Amazingly she wasn't a mess. So I'm just back from cleaning that mess up.

I just found some other things moved around in the kitchen but no big deal. I went to get tea bags out and she had moved everything around in there and put measuring cups in with the tea bags. With Alzheimer's a person will pick something up and instantly forget where they got it. It seems that instead of just putting it back on the counter there is a need to put it away. Even if it's the wrong place and it always is.

Things will be put in the most abstract places. In different rooms and in a place that has no similar items. Like taking measuring spoons from the kitchen and going into another room and putting them in the desk or in the back corner of a closet. Sometimes you don't find them during a search but come across them by accident days, weeks or even longer.

It can be completely normal when you get up or like this and of course there will be days you'll just want to run away screaming. Every body will need to deal with different things but as you learn the different patterns that some one with Alzheimer's has you can set little diversions that catch their attention. Leave things around that will spark an interest but they can't make a mess with or at least a mess that's easy to clean up.

It's easier to clean up little pieces of tissue paper than it is maple syrup. Things that a small child would find interesting sometimes work. You may have to design the trap to a specific tendency. I noticed my mother can't stand it if a tissue or a piece of toilet paper has a ripped edge. She will tear little pieces off over and over again trying to get a straight edge.

If I leave out a few torn tissues or a strip of toilet paper by her chair she will see them and start trying to fix the irregular edge. I may leave a pile of say 10 tissues on the arm of her chair and she will pick each one up and examine it and compare it to the others. She then often folds them up one at a time into little squares. She can get quite involved in it and seems to even enjoy it.

Let them explore and find these little treasures and traps so they won't get into the things you don't want them to get into. Once they find their little treasure they often sneak off with it to try and figure what it is and that can keep them busy for quite some time. Just remember to keep an eye on them and make sure they don't have something harmful.

This is a way I have found that keeps mom active and moving around instead of just sitting in her chair. All activity you can come up with is good. It's much easier to help some one that can move around. It's good for them and for you the caregiver.

I try to set up several of these in different places and try to offer some variety. If a person has Alzheimer's disease or has Alzheimer's like symptoms they don't seem to be creatures of habit. Each time they wake up they may go a different direction and anything they see that catches their eye or anything they hear may attract them.

That's why I leave the television on. No matter where she is in the house she can hear it. 99 percent of the time I can count on that to get her attention. She will search for the source of the sound. When she gets there she will see her favorite chair and on the table next to it a snack and a drink. I put other things there that have caught her interest in the past to keep her there and busy.

If I'm sleeping and wake up I walk through the house to see if my little Alzheimer's friend has been up and about. I check on her and then I go check the treasures and traps I have spread around the house before I go back to sleep. This can give up a good idea of the extent of the activity while your asleep. You will probably be surprised.