Alzheimer's Caregivers Need Sleep Too.

Yesterday was one of my challenging days. Very early in the morning I was finishing up some things I wanted get done before I went to sleep. I was thinking to myself - It's 2:00 A.M. and it looks like I might get to catch up on some long needed sleep. You see my mother has Alzheimer's disease and she Had been keeping me awake. When some one has Alzheimer's it's better if you can sleep at the same time they do.

This isn't always possible because sometimes things need to get done and you don't get the chance while they are awake. So sooner or later you need to use some of their down time to catch up. Sometimes I just don't want a lot of stuff waiting for me when I get up so I try to do as much as I can before sleep. I know I'll have an easier day and I use it as kind of an alone time to slow down and think with out interruption and get in the mood to sleep.

I had a load of soiled clothes in the washer. Not every time but sometimes a person with Alzheimer's doesn't realize when they should head for the bathroom or where the bathroom is. They might not make it on time or may start to have their bowel movement before they sit down all the way. Oops. We have two bathrooms and for some reason mom will forget the one she's 10 feet from and walk though the house to the other one. This is not a good choice when time is of the essence.

When I think of it I often ask her if she feels like she could go. If she is walking around and near the bathroom I will ask her to go and see if she can go even if she says she doesn't need to go. About eighty percent of they time she can go when she thinks she can not or doesn't feel she needs to. Remember to always be nice about it. If it's upsetting to the person with Alzheimer's it's better to back off ten minutes and try again. Trickery is allowed with Alzheimer's and as long as they feel good through the process and after use it.

I like to get any soiled clothes, towels, sheets and carpets clean before I retire for the day. The day left me with those kind of chores. Around 2:30 A.M. I was exhausted and just wanted to sit down for a few minutes. When I went to get up my lower back was out. Not a little out this was major. When this happens everything slows down by necessity. I got the wash into the dryer and did as little as possible until just before 7:00 A.M. when I could head for the Chiropractor. I made it there but never slept until I got back.

When I got home my mother was still sleeping so I decided I would a least try to get a nap. After about 2 hours of sleep the neighbor decided to mow his grass and that ended my nap. I got up to see what was going on in the house and as I passed my mothers bedroom I saw she wasn't in bed. When she gets up to go to the bathroom during the night she may forget she was sleeping and head over to the other side of the house and sit in her reclining chair.

I found this would happen even if the lights are off in the rest of the house. For fear of her walking through a dark room and falling down I now leave one light on in each room of the house except the bedrooms. Enough light enters the bedrooms from the hall light. I also keep the television on in the room with her chair. I do this to catch her attention. Sort of like a moth to the flame.

This will often entertain her enough to keep her from exploring and moving things all over the place. It's a lot better than getting up the next day and find you need to search the whole house for stuff you need. You can't hide and lock up everything or you spend all your time hiding stuff or locking and unlocking everything.

As I approached the back room I could see she wasn't in her chair so I headed for the bathroom in the back corner of the room and she was not to be found. What I did find was the dreaded Alzheimer's misplaced bowel movement. Down the front of the toilet and on the floor. The soiled underwear cleverly hanging from the top corner of the door of the cabinet under the sink. I could see she had made an attempt at cleaning it up.

Please remember the person Alzheimer's disease doesn't do this on purpose and they don't like having a bowel movement all over them. They need to have some one clean then up even after they try to clean themselves up. I can not say this enough so hear goes. Do not get mad at them or show that your are upset or yell about the mess. It will be better off for all concerned if this is handled with a smile and comforting words and actions.

Anything you are thinking or feeling isn't between you and the person with Alzheimer's. If you feel upset or mad or like yelling it is between you and your god. These are your trials and tribulations and has nothing to do with the person with Alzheimer's.

Back to the bedroom and there she was sitting on the edge of her bed with a lost look on her face. She was there all the time but was in a part of the room you can't see if you just walk by the door. I'm so used to seeing that and finding her in her chair I didn't look completely inside as I passed.

I got her up and guided her down the hall to the clean bathroom and got her washed off and helped her get into some clean clothes and back over to her bed and tucked her in. I got her into bed by telling her it wasn't time to get up yet.

This gave me time to then go over and scrub and disinfect the bathroom and to search the house for any other clothes or the like that needed to be washed. Did I mention that a person with Alzheimer's may place their soiled clothing in the strangest places and may require you to search them out. I still can't find a shoe and I've looked all over the place.

Getting down on you hands and knees and cleaning up something that smells really bad until your done isn't my favorite thing. This mess wasn't as bad as some because it just involved the front portion of the toilet, the floor, the cabinet door and the sink. Often this is very watery or even maybe gel like. It goes everywhere. Even places you won't think to look so check everywhere if you are in a similar situation. Believe me it's so much easier when it's fresh.

When some one has Alzheimer's they do a few things when they make a mess. One is they may try to clean the mess up. The mess becomes harder to see but it is smeared over a much larger area. I prefer this didn't happen because there is always a lot more to clean and they get it on their hands and anywhere they touch needs to be cleaned and disinfected. Sometimes they get distracted and just leave it. Now comes the one I like the least. The person with Alzheimer's decides to try to clean up the mess but then goes on to hide any thing that has poop on it.

I'll warn you that they won't hide everything in the same place. This is why its good to know what was there before the accident and what they were wearing and what they carry around with them. That way you have a general idea what you need to find.

Now I have the really bad area cleaned and start to look for anything I may need to clean between the bathroom and where I found mom. Then I go to the bathroom I cleaned her up in and clean that up. Don't stop to take a rest until you get done. If you do a person with Alzheimer's may find their way back into the mess.

If you can't get them to go lay down for a while try to find something to keep them out of the soiled area. It might be a show on the television and maybe music will work sometimes or a snack. Whatever you do make sure you get them to wash their hands or you do it for them. If they do it make sure you supervise. I usually combine the two.

I keep moms fingernails short and I have a soft bristled tooth brush I use to help clean the fingernails and do it often. A person with Alzheimer's will put their fingers in anything so you want to clean the nails well. Remember to keep it light hearted and fun. Talk to them while your helping them and if you don't understand what they say back act like you do. Put a smile on your face and throw in a laugh here and there. It's contagious.

When cleaning I wear throw away purple nitrile exam gloves. I don't care for the vinyl gloves because they don't fit well and the latex gloves fail or rip easily. I try to use the safest cleaners I can find that still do the job and I use a separate disinfectant.

Use natural green products because every thing you use will get into you and the person you are taking care of. If some one gets a rash you'll know it wasn't from some harsh chemical cleaner. If the person with Alzheimer's gets into it when your not looking the outcome won't be as serious.

To deal with the smell I have found that the air freshener sprays just don't work well. I use essential oils and find them to work well. There are many to pick from and you can find oils that smell really good and kill germs at the same time. One or two sprays is all you need.

As far as clothes, towels, wash clothes or sheets etc go it's good to get them in the washer and let them soak with something to kill the germs and some soap. You can wash them when ever you have the time. Do it when your at home and not sleeping. Never leave a washer or dryer on without being home and awake.

The hoses on a washer can burst and flood your house and the pans they now put under the washer isn't going to take care of a pressurized hose bursting. The dryer can cause a fire because of the lint. The lint trap collects a lot of it but some always gets by and collects in the vent. If this lint catches fire and your not home or if you are asleep the outcome will be tragic.

Now that the unexpected has happened and has been dealt with the rest of the day can start. These messes can happen at any time and I don't always wake up to a mess that needs to be cleaned up. This type of thing can be worse than I just described and has been and will be. You just need to accept that this will happen and if you expect it you will find it easier to deal with. Now that you know this is going to happen you won't get upset about it as easily.

It will happen at the worse time. Waking up to it is never fun but neither is knowing you need to be somewhere and you can not make it on time because you need to change your schedule and start cleaning. Maybe people are coming over to the house and all of a sudden there is a streak of watery poop across the carpet and the bathroom is a mess and the smell is terrible and the person with Alzheimer's needs to get a bath or shower.

This is only one type of mess you will need to deal with so get yourself a sense of humor and give up the idea that you need to be in control and that things should go the way you think they should. The only thing you can control is you. Try it right now. Go ahead smile. Better yet let go and laugh out loud. Don't tell any body your going to do it just start laughing hard and loud. Laughing hard is a good way to give yourself an energy boost.

When something like this happens I take advantage of every chance I can to nap. This might happen soon after mom gets up. She may come over and sit in her chair and fall asleep. If she does I'll sit down in the chair next to hers and nap at the same time. Most of the time I know I need to make it more than half way through the day before she wants to take a nap. If she decides to recline in her chair I know that's only good for a half an hour to an hour of nap time. If she wants to go over on her bed for a nap I can usually squeeze 3 or 4 hours into the nap.

Try your best to get a full nights sleep each day. If you can't get it in one sleep period that's fine as long as you can add it all up to equal a full nights sleep. If it's not at least 2 hours long I don't count it. A half hour nap may help you feel better but it won't get your body to start detoxifying. Your body does most of its detoxifying and healing during sleep according to me.

O sleep! O gentle sleep!
Nature’s soft nurse, how have I frighted thee,
That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down
And steep my senses in forgetfulness?

Alzheimer's Coincidence Or Divine Intervention

This happened about a week and a half ago. Better late than never. Ever notice that even with the best intentions to sit down and get some work done things happen to distract you from it and in the end it seems like you were being guided. I had one of those days. Mom was more interactive this day and kept asking me to come out to the room she was in. She just wanted to spend time with me.

This happens often but this time she was pestering me every few minutes. With Alzheimer's disease it's unusual that she could keep that idea going for as long as she did. I resigned to the fact I wasn't going to get anything done any way so I went out and sat down.

Being with a person that has Alzheimer's disease you become aware of things most people might not notice. When I'm at the computer I constantly listen for the slightest noise or vibration or movement caught out the corners of my eyes. You begin to notice patterns of normal activity. Anything that is outside of that pattern catches your attention. Your awareness of everything around you is heightened.

The room we were in has large windows one next to the other. You see around outside very well. The road isn't far about 50 or 60 feet but with the trees and bushes you only see a glimpse of part of a car or person. We live on a corner property and it's normal for people to turn onto the road and stop to get their bearings or pick something up that slid off their seat.

If you look toward the bottom of the yard you see a longer stretch of road. Well I see a car slowing down but I don't see it stop because of the bushes. I looked toward the bottom of the yard and I see a car the same color almost stopping and then doing this again and again. I've seen this before when a cat or dog is on the run to freedom.

If a pet gets free in the area it often shows up here. The yard is full of bushes that were planted as food sources and cover for birds. This landscape seems to attract runaway pets too. About 15 minutes past and I see the car go by again. I go out but it's to far down the road for them to notice me. I go back in and sit down and about the time I expect the car to come past again I start looking out the door. Instead of the car I see an elderly woman walk past the door, go down the steps onto the driveway and head for the backyard. Now that was out of the ordinary. I went out and asked her it I could help. Was she looking for her pet?

By her response I could tell she had memory problems. Not lost to the world but not all there either. I asked her where she was trying to get to and who she was. She new her name (RUTH) so that helped and she was going to her son's house. She gave the name of the road we are on but said she was looking for the big house and didn't know the address.

All the houses are about the same size one this road. I asked where she was coming from and she mentioned her daughter and pointed up the other road and said it was over the hill but didn't know the address there. Her house was about 10 miles away. She was visiting her daughter and no one was there because her daughter had to work. So she decided to walk to
her son's house.

It was hot out and she looked a little hot so I got her to come into the air conditioned house and I looked for her son's name in the phone book. His name wasn't but there was a women in there on my road with the same last name. Two numbers and both had answering machines. I left messages. She knew her son's name but not his wife's first name. I didn't know for sure so I also called the operator for more help but she had no listings for Ruth's son.

I got her something to drink but you need to take care because you don't know if they have health issues. Can they have sugars or are they allergic to anything. Now I had 2 elderly women with Alzheimer's in the house. I lucked out. Both pleasant, happy and talkative. She mentioned she had been walking for quite a while. She was ready to get on her way so I kept talking about different stuff to distract her. I didn't feel it was safe for her to wander off on her own.

If she did take off I would have to call the police and get them involved and I hadn't ruled that out for the current situation. She was starting to say her goodbyes and thank you for being so helpful when the phone rang. It was her son. It was him driving slowly past just before she showed up here and was driving all over the area looking for her. His sister called him and said she wasn't there when she got home.

He said that three other people had left messages on his answering machine and one had mentioned giving her a ride to the corner I live on. Nobody had taken her into custody and kept her. They just let her go. I'm happy to say this had a happy ending. It worked out well for the son because I had gone through my mother running away. I was able to calm him down and let him know other people go through the same thing.

The poor guy was so worried he was shaking. He didn't seem mad about it but he wasn't very open about what he was going through. You could tell it was forcing him to make some mental adjustments. This isn't unusual when your a newbie caregiver or family member trying to deal with Alzheimer's.

Being experienced I gave him some tips and what he should consider doing so this doesn't happen again. All the talking in the world isn't going to give you the skills you need. It does help when something happens but experience gives you the skills. He seemed to look like the shaking had stopped. He was off to get home and tell everyone she was safe.

See what I mean. If things hadn't happened just the way they did. If mom hadn't kept coming in and asking me to come out to the back room and sit with her. She must have come in and asked me seven times. That's a pretty long time for her to stay focused on something. It was as if there was some guiding force nudging her to nudge me.

It seemed it was meant that I saw Ruth go past the door. I thought it strange that her name was Ruth. My mothers sister is also named Ruth. She also has Alzheimer's disease like symptoms. It might have been Ruth's last chance to get home safely. I didn't notice as it was happening but when it was over I thought how many things had to fall in place. I wonder was this all a coincidence or was there some sort of divine intervention happening.

In some strange way I feel like I was being gently guided into the right place at the right time. What do you think? Do you feel like you have ever been nudged or guided? To do something or that you ended up somewhere at a certain time that made you think. What if?

Alzheimer's Run Rabbit Run.

I noticed mom was making quite a few references to things that happened decades ago. I remembered this is what my friends father started doing right before he would stand on the front porch and wait for his wife to pick him up so they could "go home and he could watch what he wanted on his television". Well he was already at his current home and his wife was inside and so was his television and he could watch what ever he wanted.

We saw him in the middle of the front yard watching for his ride as days passed. You could tell the way his was moving around and where he was looking he was thinking about walking home. The home they used to live in years ago. After he started to become impatient about waiting it was evident he had to be kept in the house unless he had some one with him every time. He was under close supervision from then on but most of the time he didn't know it.

As time goes by memory gets worse and they will need you to watch them more. Be sneaky watching them or they may find it strange to see you staring at them every time they look your way. The progression is going to be different in each person that has Alzheimer's disease. The symptoms may be different and it gets worse. You need to be aware that as their memory degenerates the memories from earlier in their life will seem to them to be current memories of things that just happened a little while ago.

It is important to take action and get locks on the exterior doors that need to be locked and unlocked with a key on the inside as well as the outside. I put a second set of locks on our doors and I'll never forget that day. Let me tell you my personal story of the day I wished had never happened.

One day out of the blue I felt compelled to put new deadbolts on the exterior doors. I new sooner or later I would have to do it. Why not Now? I went and bought two double (inside/outside) keyed deadbolt locks. One for the back door and one for the front. It was winter so it was cold but it had been going up in the low 40's during the day. It was a late purchase and the stores were closing. I didn't buy new drill bits because I was sure I had what I needed at home or so I thought.

The back door was easy because it already had a deadbolt so all I had to do was take the old one out and put the new one in. The front door was metal on both sides with a wood core. Well it turns out that the hole saw I had was for installing deadbolts in wood doors only. It was hard but I made it threw the inside surface but when it came to drilling from the outside in the hole saw did nothing but take the paint off the metal. Great - all the stores were closed by then.

This is where I should have thought about why I decided to put the locks in this particular day. Why did that pop into my head when it did. This is one of those times the universe was giving me a little nudge by putting that urge in my head. I listened enough to get started but didn't finish. I had realized in the past when I get that type of feeling I had better get it done or the universe was going to set me up with a strong wake up call. I was just so exhausted by that point it didn't register.

Since mom had not tried to leave to this point I decided it would be sufficient to block the door. I placed stuff in front of the door that was heavy to me thinking that a 130 pound 88 year old woman with Alzheimer's disease couldn't move everything and get out. I was tired and not thinking at the time. What I should have done was take the door handle assembly out and put the lock in there until the next day. I could have pushed one of the reclining chairs in front of the door and slept in it.

The next morning I got out of bed and as I always do I went for a walk about the house to see where my mother was. I walked into the living room and saw everything I had placed to block the door was strewn across the room. How this happened without waking me up I don't know. Instant panic.

I had thought about what it might be like when I saw this happening to other families. I can tell you it's so far beyond that and nothing you want to go through. Never! I just woke up and wasn't all there yet. I was thrown into a state of instant panic. What do I do first. I felt every minute that passed and every decision could determine the outcome. The adrenalin was on overdrive and my heart pounding. I felt I had to act fast and no time to think about it. It felt like I was thrust into an altered state of consciousness.

I ran to the door and it was unlocked. I ran around the house to see if by chance my worst nightmare wasn't really happening. I looked behind anything that could hide a person that might have fell down or was hiding but she wasn't there. I ran outside and around the house and looked everywhere. Then I ran to the neighbors and asked them if they had seen her but again no sign of mom. I noticed the crossing guard that stands at out corner in front of our house and ran to ask her. She hadn't seen her either.

I didn't even know what time she got out of the house. I ran inside and dialed 911 for the police and had to tell them my mother was missing and she had Alzheimer's. We live on a corner property so I went out to the corner and looked down both streets. The crossing guard was keeping an eye open for her when she wasn't helping the kids cross the road. There's a school across the street from us.

I was at the end of the drive way and a police car pulled up and there was mom in the back seat. Looking at me with a smile like nothing had happened. All these years I thought it would be her looking at me in the back of a police car. The Officer asked if he had the right address and then pulled in the driveway.

She wasn't in bad shape after the walk she took. They found her a couple of miles away as the crow flies. She wasn't dressed for the weather. All she took with her was two clean pillow cases, an ash tray in her pocket and a pair of the large plastic sun glasses they give you at the eye doctor after they put those drops in your eyes that make it hard to see. No coat, no identification, no regular glasses and she didn't have her false teeth either.

It's really hard to understand what she's saying when she has her false teeth out. The police officer told me the name she had given to him and it was her maiden name. There was no way to connect her to our address until I called. Only about 5 percent of the people with Alzheimer's disease make it home safe when they take off. The police officer said they were looking for a man that had disappeared the day before and was hoping they could find him before it was to late.

This happened January 24, 2006 and it has haunted me every day since. I constantly check the door to see if I locked it. I even check it if I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. I know I checked it before I went to bed. You do it so often that when I remember doing it I want to make sure I'm remembering doing it right before bed. Not some memory of doing it another time sneaking in and making me think I did it when I have not.

I try to lock the door right after I unlock it and go in or out. Even if I'm unloading the car after food shopping. This is important because I sometimes get so tired that I could fall asleep when I don't plan to take a nap or sleep. I've grabbed a cookie and sat down for a couple of of minutes to watch the weather on the evening news. The next I know I'm waking up an hour later with half a cookie on my chest and cookie still in my mouth.

Always do safety and security stuff right away. Don't tell yourself you'll come back and do it in a few minutes. You might think it's easier or more convenient now but it's not easier or convenient the one time you forget and it leads to tragedy. Do it now!

When mom ran away I had no indication it was going to happen. While I was searching the house for her I noticed she had collected several piles of belonging to take with her. I guess she would start one pile and look for something else to take with her and she would forget about the stuff she had already had together. I found a small plastic waste can she had loaded up with shoes and a strange choice of things to take. So if you find little stashes of things it might not be collecting, hoarding or organizing. It might be the person with Alzheimer's is planning to travel.

When a person has Alzheimer's disease they try to return to the places they went to in their youth. The street they found my mother was were a girl friend she worked with at Bell Telephone had an apartment. Right across the street from the apartment was a diner she would meet up with her friends and they would eat or just have coffee. Having Alzheimer's you don't know where they may end up.

I'm glad she had not headed for one of the places she lived before I was born. When she lived there it was well kept and safe all times of the day and night. I don't feel safe going to that area now in the daytime. Who knows what could of happened to her. Maybe nothing. Even in the worst places there can be a kind person that decides to help the helpless.

I take my job as caregiver very serious and pride myself in doing whatever it takes. It's strange the way you can do everything right time after time. The one time you mess up is the one time you can't afford to.

Got Alzheimer's Take Ginkgo Biloba Now.

An area of interest we always had was herbs and natural healing and this is where we got the best results. We had always used herbs but you become brain washed into believing that doctors know what they are doing and in truth they do a lot more guessing than you would suspect.

When I mention herbs to the family doctor I always get one of those are you kidding glares. Oh no here he goes again type looks. Needless to say I don't get the normal welcome at the doctors office. I am tolerated at best. I think they feel I will contaminate the others in the waiting room with my ideas. I have - Ha Ha HA!

After I was able to get my mother Edith off the prescription drugs she was on I could sense a coldness coming from the direction of the doctor. She is now prescription drug free and healthy except for Alzheimer's disease. What percentage of people over the age of 90 do you think there are not on prescription drugs. Not many. Down in the single digits for sure.

Every time the doctor diagnosed a condition and whipped out her prescription pad she would look at me and say "You can't cure that with herbs". Every time she did that we went home and looked up the prescription in the Physicians Desk Reference (a.k.a the PDR) to see the side effect and warnings. What we concluded was the drugs were too risky. Each time we found a natural alternative to use that worked faster, better and with no side effects.

I would like to bring to your attention that although an herb may be considered safe and harmless some individuals may have allergic reactions on occasion. When trying something for the first time I take it myself to test it. I start with a small dose and watch for an adverse reaction.

I have also taken the herbs I use in amounts that would have some people question my sanity. By doing this I have found that many herbs are used in amounts to small and that sometimes a small adjustment in the amount taken makes a big difference in the result I get.

Always be safe and start small until you know what you are doing. There are people that have severe reactions to peanuts and wheat and strawberries. Many of the medicinal herbs are used in cooking on a regular basis. You probably use medicinal herbs and spices when you cook.

When ever I use an herb I use whole herb. This gives me the best results. I stay away from the products that have been standardized because I want the original balance of compounds found in the plant. What they do is try to pick the one ingredient they think is responsible for the action and then they set it to a certain percentage. Most product lines have a plain whole herb product and one that is standardized.

For example on the label it may say extract standardized to 6 percent for a certain chemical or compound. Whenever possible use the unchanged organic whole herb. By whole I mean the way it grows without being altered or enhanced by changing the chemical composition.

It's fine to use it powdered, chopped and in it's natural form dried or fresh. Some herbs are so hard you would find it almost impossible to powder yourself. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to learn how to use herbs. No matter what your level of education you can learn to do this stuff.

The use of ginkgo biloba goes back thousands of years. The first time we can find it mentioned is in ancient Chinese materia medica Pen Tsao Ching. This was from 2800 B.C. and was attributed to Shen Nung the first emperor of China. If it didn't work do you think its use would have survived that long.

Ginkgo biloba does not cure Alzheimer's disease at the doses I've tried but I feel by what I have seen that it can be a valuable tool. It can be used alone or you can combine it with other herbs to create a formula. I use three other herbs along with it.

The key is not just the herb but getting high levels of plant based nutrients at the same time. With out the needed nutrition the body doesn't have the proper building blocks to rebuild and repair. If your body tries to replace a cell it uses what you give it. If you input low quality nutrition you end up with a cell that may not function the way it should. It may not be as flexible or do its job as well. The membrane wall might not let water, nutrients and waste pass in and
out of the cell the way it should.

What I do is get as much high nutrition in whenever I work on a condition. Another thing you might find useful is when you try to fix a condition your body might not agree with your choice. If there is something the body feels is more important to fix it may try to address that first.

You might be able to find Ginkgo trees growing near where you live. They have been added to landscapes almost everywhere. You may have one on your own property. Ask around and see if some one has access to one of these trees and you may find yourself a free source for the leaves and that's what you use, the leaves.

Try not to use one that is right next to the street. Especially a heavily traveled street. I try to find one at least 50 feet away from the road so the tree isn't loaded with stuff found in a cars exhaust. Pollution is worldwide but the trees that are away from heavy traffic or dump sites and land that may have been exposed to toxic chemicals are what you look for. The elementary school I went to had a Ginkgo tree.

I feel ginkgo biloba probably helps because of the antioxidants it contains working together with the flavonoids, glycosides, ginkgolides, bilobalide and terpene lactones. All these phyto chemicals require each other work and they work in a synergistic way. If you want great results use only whole herbs. Not only do whole herbs work they are cheaper than herbs that have had their compounds messed with.

You don't need to know all chemistry about it. All you need to know is it helps and will not harm you. Try to buy the best you can afford. If you can't afford the best still use the herb. It might not work as well or as fast but it will help. Ginkgo biloba is used to help other conditions besides Alzheimer's disease.

One of the things that I noticed in using ginkgo biloba was that my mothers overall mood improved and stayed there. It got rid of the up and down emotional mood swings. Any day you can elevate the mood of a person with Alzheimer's is a good day. It makes everything easier for the person taking care of them too.

The person with Alzheimer's is more willing to cooperate if they are happy, feel they are where they belong, feel they are wanted and loved, are asked to do something and not told to do it. If they decline to do something just stop asking for a few minutes and try again with a different approach. Don't be a control freak. It's nice to be important but it's more important to be nice.

Alzheimer's To drug or not to drug that is the question.

To drug - or not to drug - that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous doctors, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them.

To drug or not to drug that is the question. The answer isn't an easy one but is most important. Consider what your doctor tells you but know you should not use them for your only source of information. They don't have to live with the decision you do. The doctors answer isn't the only answer and it's not always the right answer. Be aware. Be in control. Be enlightened. Be informed. Watch your health care professionals like a hawk.

The doctor wanted to put Edith on a well known prescription that starts with the letter "A". We wanted to start her on the herb ginkgo biloba. The thing is that ginkgo biloba can take two to six months to show benefit. Some people get results after only a week or two. If you don't get fast results be patient it's worth it. The doctor only wanted to try the ginkgo biloba for two weeks. Well after a few more visits to the doctor she convinced us to try the "A" drug. This was a big mistake. It took a friendly, happy and loving person and changed her personality overnight. She became argumentative, belligerent, confrontational and I could come up with a negative term for every letter of the alphabet.

This was not from the progression of Alzheimer's but had I not known what I knew I would have believed the doctor. The family discussed this and we all agreed this was not the way we or she would want to handle her treatment. We stopped the drug known as "A" after one week of hell for her and for us. It took me a month to get her back to the pleasant caring person we all loved. Thank God the effects were reversible.

Edith was started on 5 mg of that drug and the doctor wanted to increase the dose to 10 mg doses by the end of the month. When we got to see the doctor she tried to shame us and told us it was probably to late now for the drug to work at all. As if we took her only hope for a slow progression into the depths of this disease that steals away everything you are. Doctors should stop making statements like that. It's nonsense to say that and doesn't make sense. If it isn't going to work now it wasn't going to work 3 weeks ago.

This was the start of an incredible journey and a great awakening in my own consciousness. My own spirituality became stronger and I found in myself another glimpse of our greater self. If you think you could not do what do or have done you are wrong. I have learned to take back control of our health and be responsible for it. This will empower you and make you stronger and smarter.

Question everything. You won't believe the things that come out of a doctors mouth that they can't prove. If they make an effort to offer proof. Question their proof. They might not like it but who cares what they like. Their ego isn't important your health is. The medical industry is out of control and it's time they know we don't like them doing what they are doing.

No one has more interest in their health condition than the one that is sick. That's why you hear so often of patients knowing more than the doctors that treat them. The ill person often seeks knowledge far beyond what doctors know because they live with their illness 24 hours a day. I learned to look beyond the knowledge that doctors deem credible and question the doctors sources of knowledge. When did they replace the Hippocratic oath with the Pharmaceutical oath and the Insurance Company oath.

Your doctor may not be telling you all of your medical treatment options. You might only be told of treatments your health insurance approves of or covers. You might not be told of the one or more treatments that would be better you. I don't like my choices filtered or censored. I'll decide what's right for me.

Alzheimer's And so the journey begins.

I think most people get a feeling that a family member has Alzheimer's disease. Anything might trigger that feeling. A change in speech or comment that's out of character. They might do something they would never do. They might respond in an unusual way to something they see or hear. It might be anything different or unusual but strange enough to cause you to pay attention. If the person is up in age the thought of Alzheimer's will enter your mind. When the real concern starts and you know there is something wrong you will start to hope it's less serious than Alzheimer's disease.

Like normal forgetfulness attributed to age. Maybe it's mini strokes. They can treat that can't they? I know it's a vitamin B-12 deficiency. A 30 day regimen of injections and we can switch over to sublingual pills and they will be better. Maybe taking choline is what they need to do. You can drive yourself crazy.

So you go to the doctor and they take over deciding. What a relief it is to put the decision in the hands of a doctor. What's their game plan. You pay them a lot of money and they will tell you what you told them. The layman is not permitted to diagnose, treat or prescribe under penalty of fines and incarceration. So you need the expertise of a doctor to place the tag of a specific condition like Alzheimer's disease on a person.

I have found that you will know no more after the tests as you did before them. But as long as there is another test to do there is always a possibility they may find something else. Now they are coming out with more expensive tests to tell you the same thing.

People that can afford the new scans will get them. I don't blame them for wanting to eliminate all possibilities. With something as scary and final as Alzheimer's disease people will do anything to prove it's not true. There are many forms of senility and dementia that have similar symptoms. Of course the doctor will say they have confirmed their suspicions. You have Alzheimer's disease - Slap! Maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones you never know. I pray you are.

What does this mean for the person with Alzheimer's or other similar diseases and their caregivers. They will more than likely be all classified and grouped into the same category and the tag they place on them will be Alzheimer's. What's in a name any way. It's the person that's important not the name of the disease. You are not the disease you are a person that just happens to have a condition that needs to be addressed.

It was about a year and a half before Edith's doctor was told we had a suspicion of Alzheimer's disease. This doctor is certified in Geriatrics and saw Edith on a regular basis but didn't have a clue until we brought it to her attention. My father and I were there during the checkups. We couldn't understand why the doctor wasn't picking up on what we thought was so evident during the visits. We finally decided to tell her. Maybe when I saw certified in Geriatrics framed on the wall I read it wrong and it really said she was a certified geriatric.

There had been more than a doctor patient relationship between my parents and this doctor or so it would seem. They knew a lot more about each others families and interests. There was exchanges of personal contact info beyond what was normal. Cell phone, beeper and home phone numbers and home addresses. The office visits were longer than you might expect because every body just kept talking. Edith would do things like go to the family blueberry patch and pick a few quarts of berries to take to the doctors office.

I'm not bringing this up to attack the doctor and make her sound bad. I want you to be aware that just because the person is going to see a doctor doesn't mean the doctor will be skilled or perceptive enough to see there is a problem without being told. Look at how much more than average the doctor knew my mother Edith and didn't see Alzheimer's.

I think that often when an older person has a feeling something isn't right they don't tell the doctor. They go in for their doctor appointment every 2 weeks or once a month. This will be depend on what drugs the doctor has them on or what condition they have. If they get through the examine without the doctor finding anything they don't mention it. This isn't just With Alzheimer's disease but with other problems as well. At least with Alzheimer's you have an excuse. You don't remember to tell the doctor.

Doctors only see you when you come to the office. If the doctor notices a problem or if another person is there and mentions that they have noticed a change in the persons ability to remember. The doctor may try seeing if they can remember a few words. They will do this by asking the patient to remember a short list of words. The doctor then engages the patient in a general conversation. After the conversation the doctor asks the patient to recall as many of the words as they can. This only shows if the patient can retain the words in their short term memory.

This will not determine if Alzheimer's disease is present. It is usually the first test to check for cognitive dysfunction in an otherwise normal person. They may also ask questions that a person with normal memory should know. Do you know what you ate for your last meal? Do you know what month it is or what day it is? Do you remember what the weather was like yesterday? You can see the choice of questions are endless and can be easily used in conversation without causing suspicion in the patient.

And so the journey begins. Multiple tests and many trips to the doctor. Don't forget your prescription. There may be more prescriptions in the future to mask the side effects of the first drug so don't put your wallet away yet. They will have to do blood tests to make sure the medications aren't causing liver or kidney failure. If a problem does show up it they will probably say it's not from the medicine it's from the progression of the disease. They will then proceed to take the person off the drug they suspect is causing the damage.

Alzheimer's - What's getting into you?

What do you do when Alzheimer's disease or another critical health issue decides to visit? One thing I did do was collect all the aluminum cooking utensils and pans along with the pans that had non-stick coatings. Aluminum gets into your food very easily. The food does not have to be acidic for this to occur. You have more than likely heard of the possible connection of this metal and a few others with Alzheimer's Disease. There seems to be a higher level of aluminum in the brain of people with Alzheimer's. This may not be the cause though. It might just be it's higher because they have Alzheimer's disease.

The non-stick coatings put off unhealthy gases when you cook with them. This gets into the air and the food. These gases have killed many a pet bird. Remember the canary in the coal mine scenario? The miners would take canaries in a cage down into the mine and if they continued to sing and act normal if was safe. If the bird suddenly stopped singing or just dropped over dead the miners knew the conditions were unsafe or even deadly. Well if you cook with non-Stick pots and pans and your bird drops dead do you think its safe to use.

Also in food packaging they use a form of Teflon coating on the wrappers of snacks and candy bars to keep the packaging from soaking up moisture and oils. This may be used with other foods too. This substance gets into the food and you. It has recently been in the news that these chemicals are being detected far above the level considered safe. The more you eat the more you store in your body. My feeling is I don't want this stuff in my food and I don't feel any level is safe. They just keep finding ways to poison us. I don't want any of these compounds anywhere near me or my food at any level.

When was the last time you heard - buy our aluminum pans they are light weight and they leach the healthy mineral aluminum into your food? Have they said use our non stick cookware because it's easy to clean, the food has more eye appeal and the chemicals that get in your food and the gases that are released from our products will improve your health? Or maybe that we have applied a Teflon product to the packaging we put your food in and its so good for you we use extra. Your not going see that because it's not good for you.

Go through your house and check the labels on everything. Not just your food. The stuff you use to clean with. The drain cleaners and toilet bowl cleaners. What do you clean your floor or carpets with? What do you put in the washer when you do your clothes? Do you put anything in the clothes dryer for softening or static cling? There are healthier choices for all of the junk you are using now. It's amazing that we have been so brainwashed into believing that what they sell us today is better than what our grand parents used we don't even try what they used. Simple things like baking soda or vinegar or salt or citrus oils. The list is endless.

I've done this many times before I wised up. You buy a product that's supposed to be the best and it isn't as good as what you were using before. Then months later you see it says New - Improved on the label. So stupid me I fall for it again and I can't tell the difference. This isn't one product. You see it all the time. What I think they mean is they improved their manufacturing process or substituted some of the ingredients for cheaper ones or they improved their profits but not the actual product. On top of that if you check the label you will probably see chemicals you don't want or need.

Keep in mind that many of the things in your house put off gases that are not good for you. The paint on the walls. The curtains and carpet. The composite furniture that's mostly glue with a little wood fiber for strength. Even the stuff they build your house with. Synthetic materials in you clothing.

Plastic is a major player that's often overlooked. You think it's not releasing molecules into your food or beverage, think again. It's even attached to the dust particles you breath in. In fact there is a high chance there are plastic molecules in your blood right now. Why don't we hear about this? Follow the money. What is plastic made from?

I have heard that because of all the plastic that gets dumped out in the open or at sea these little bits of plastic are found in the blood of polar bears and found inside of the algae in the ocean. Not only are we breathing in but it's in the food chain. Both plants and animals are effected.

Let's face it even if they don't cause Alzheimer's they still aren't good for you and if you have any disease don't push your luck. Any time you are faced with a health issue it's time to stop fooling around and start cleaning up the body and the environment you live in. Every thing that you eat, breathe or comes in contact with your skin. Chemicals made in labs and chemical manufacturing plants are very hard for the liver to process and eliminate from the body. Try to remove as many as you can from your food list and your home. The immune system works to get these chemicals out of you because it recognizes these chemicals as not belonging and starts an immune response. If it's busy cleaning up the junk we expose ourselves to it's less likely to focus on what we need it to.

To many of you this might seem a little extreme. But once you have Alzheimer's disease or any other life threatening or terminal disease you will wish you had. It's easier to do it when your healthy than it is when the doctors exhaust your insurance and send you home to die. Stop buying the products that have compounds that poison. I don't expect you to do it in a day but get started. Read labels. Oh, most of this stuff must have labels but the labels don't need to be truthful. They might not say what's in the product but give you the number for Poison Control.

There are now more than 5 million people in the United States living with Alzheimer’s disease and the numbers are going up. Not just the elderly because there is a growing population of seniors. Early onset of this disease is increasing much more and at earlier ages. Every 72 seconds someone develops Alzheimer’s. Add to that the number of people that have not realized they have a problem and aren't being counted yet. I believe the numbers are much higher. Are you scared yet? You should be. That's your intuition giving you a wake up call. Listen to your intuition now while you can still understand what it's saying.