Is This True?

H20

Registered User
Jan 31, 2010
57
0
There is a statement going around on Facebook and I have no idea where it originated from but people passing it around are asking others to share it. Before I share it, I just wanted to ask if this is true....I have copied and pasted the statement below. Thanks for your help.

STATEMENT AS POSTED ON FACEBOOK...IT SAYS THE FOLLOWING.

Firstly there is a difference between Alzheimer's and vascular dementia- Alzheimer's patients can have medication that helps their cognitive state where as vascular dementia patients have a death sentence. They progress backwards to the point where they can't look after themselves and are in a newborn state. But unlike a newborn they lose the ability to swallow. Then the choice must be made as to provide a feeding tube or not.
Imprisonment in one's own rapidly shrinking brain is how a doctor described it to me. I wouldn't wish Dementia/Alzheimer's on my worst enemy. As the patient's brain slowly dies, they change physically and eventually forget who their loved ones are. Patients can eventually become bedridden, unable to move & unable to eat or drink. There will be people who will scroll by this message because Dementia/Alzheimer's has not touched them. They may not know what it's like to have a loved one who has led a battle against Dementia/Alzheimer's. For all the people I know, I ask a small favour.If you know someone who has battled with Dementia/Alzheimer's or is still struggling, please add this to your status for one hour. Copy & Paste to support victims & families affected by this cruel illness as there is no cure and there are no survivors Hold your finger on the message to copy it, then paste it on your page. No tagging or sharing . Do this on behalf of all caregivers who love or care for someone with this disease please ?
 

Jessbow

Registered User
Mar 1, 2013
5,678
0
Midlands
most of it I would say Is true, maybe not all of it applies to everyone, but most of it to most sufferers.

The truest bit is there is no coming back- you can slow the progress ( or try to) but no one recovers.

Not everyone progresses to the state of new born, and not many have the option of a feed tube- when you get that far you'd wonder about the viability of it anyway.
 

Beate

Registered User
May 21, 2014
12,179
0
London
Everyone is different so while this may true for one person, it will not be true for another, so posting something like this as gospel truth for everyone is deeply irresponsible in my opinion. I can only imagine this person hurts a lot and wants to tell others, but it would have been better to say "This happened to my relative" instead of saying "This will happen to everyone".
 

BeardyD

Registered User
Jan 19, 2016
89
0
While much of it is true there are some major inaccuracies and generalisations (Only 2 types of dementia? Alzheimer's patients do not have a death sentence?).

I'm usually one who likes to "tell it like it is" but I would class this as a scare-mongering chain letter and ignore it.
 

jenniferpa

Registered User
Jun 27, 2006
39,442
0
You can share it if you want but really, such shares do nothing to improve the recognition of dementia as a disease or improve the support for people with dementia or their carers. Also, no one can say if it's true or not. Everyone with dementia is an individual (if you've seen one person with dementia, you've seen one person with dementia) so everyone's experience will be different. Finally, and most importantly, I think (in fact I know) that some people seeing this will be massively upset for no good reason.

In my view, like so many other things on facebook, it's trite and not helpful. Frankly, I'm guessing that most people suggesting others share it have no real idea about the reality of dementia, or even what they are trying to achieve by sharing it.
 

Chemmy

Registered User
Nov 7, 2011
7,589
0
Yorkshire
In my view, like so many other things on facebook, it's trite and not helpful.

Well said, Jennifer. Rather than salving their conscience 'doing their bit' by sharing on FB, maybe people should 'do their bit' by finding something practical to do to help their fellow man.

Passing the time of day with a real elderly person standing next to you in the checkout queue is worth a million FB shares.
 

Saffie

Registered User
Mar 26, 2011
22,513
0
Near Southampton
The thing is that people are being asked to 'copy and paste' the post, rather than simply 'share'. I really don't understand why people on FB are asked to do this other than to absolve the original poster of any responsibility for the content. I will share posts - though probably not this particular one - but I'm afraid I will never 'copy and paste' a FB post.
 

LadyA

Registered User
Oct 19, 2009
13,730
0
Ireland
It's very inaccurate - it's almost saying that Alzheimer's Disease won't kill a person, that there's medication for Alzheimer's Disease - but if you have Vascular Dementia, then there's nothing to be done.
 

cragmaid

Registered User
Oct 18, 2010
7,936
0
North East England
I too never copy and share....I might or might not choose to agree with the sentiments, and as such I might post a comment.....but I am paranoid about my security. Most of the people who would read my posts are close to me anyway and so would be aware of my feelings regarding a topic such as this. I almost never post outside my friends list.

I am a straight speaking person as a rule, but the phrasing of this post is cruel. Research will bring you facts, but spreading unkindness like this is simply mean.

So, I would not forward a message like this.

BTW Jennifer is right.... " When you've seen one person with Dementia...."
 

BR_ANA

Registered User
Jun 27, 2012
1,080
0
Brazil
It is not true that if a PWD is not tube feed she will die.

Everyone will die one day. Sooner or later.

Btw, they are not babies, they had their whole life, so they are unique persons with unique life experiences.

Worst enemy? Not sure.

I've visit my mum at late afternoon (sundowning time). Some PWD are smiling and asking me to date them(or give them a handshake or a hug). Some are confusing me with some enemy. (So I apologise and say good bye, calming them). My mum is always smiling to everyone.
 

Aisling

Registered User
Dec 5, 2015
1,804
0
Ireland
There is a statement going around on Facebook and I have no idea where it originated from but people passing it around are asking others to share it. Before I share it, I just wanted to ask if this is true....I have copied and pasted the statement below. Thanks for your help.

STATEMENT AS POSTED ON FACEBOOK...IT SAYS THE FOLLOWING.

Firstly there is a difference between Alzheimer's and vascular dementia- Alzheimer's patients can have medication that helps their cognitive state where as vascular dementia patients have a death sentence. They progress backwards to the point where they can't look after themselves and are in a newborn state. But unlike a newborn they lose the ability to swallow. Then the choice must be made as to provide a feeding tube or not.
Imprisonment in one's own rapidly shrinking brain is how a doctor described it to me. I wouldn't wish Dementia/Alzheimer's on my worst enemy. As the patient's brain slowly dies, they change physically and eventually forget who their loved ones are. Patients can eventually become bedridden, unable to move & unable to eat or drink. There will be people who will scroll by this message because Dementia/Alzheimer's has not touched them. They may not know what it's like to have a loved one who has led a battle against Dementia/Alzheimer's. For all the people I know, I ask a small favour.If you know someone who has battled with Dementia/Alzheimer's or is still struggling, please add this to your status for one hour. Copy & Paste to support victims & families affected by this cruel illness as there is no cure and there are no survivors �� Hold your finger on the message to copy it, then paste it on your page. No tagging or sharing ��. Do this on behalf of all caregivers who love or care for someone with this disease please ?

Totally inaccurate. It is like "chain letter" of long ago. I would not copy/paste/send it to anyone.

Aisling
 

nmintueo

Registered User
Jun 28, 2011
844
0
UK
That Facebook item seems vague, not very informative, uses unnecessarily dramatic terms like "death sentence", short on actionable information, and really not very helpful.

However, the point it implies - that vascular dementia brings a shorter life expectancy - is borne out by the information published by Alzheimer's Society and by the NHS:

The progression of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=133

On average, people with Alzheimer's disease live for eight to ten years after their symptoms begin. However, life expectancy does vary considerably depending on how old the person is and other factors as mentioned above.

On average, people with vascular dementia live for around five years after symptoms begin, less than the average for Alzheimer's disease.


Alzheimer's disease
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Alzheimers-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx

On average, people with Alzheimer's disease live for around 8 to 10 years after they start to develop symptoms. However, this can vary considerably from person to person.

Vascular dementia
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vascular-dementia/Pages/Introduction.aspx

The average survival time from diagnosis is around four years.

Incidentally, here's an interesting article published yesterday about tube feeding:

The Decline of Tube Feeding for Dementia Patients
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/30/health/tube-feeding-dementia-patients.html
 
Last edited:

CynthsDaugh

Registered User
May 5, 2015
139
0
Salford, Lancashire
However, the point it implies - that vascular dementia brings a shorter life expectancy - is borne out by the information published by Alzheimer's Society and by the NHS: url]

Yes, statistically vascular dementia can bring a shorter life expectancy. However to me the FB post implies that Alzheimer's can be stopped in its tracks with medication which is inaccurate at best.
 

Wigan

Registered User
May 5, 2013
73
0
I would just ignore it. No 2 people are the same and what I have learned from all of my research is that whilst Alzheimer's eventually affects all of the brain and is usually slower to progress, vascular and other types of dementia affects part(s) of the brain and that is why often some skills can be retained.

Having said that and to prove the point about no 2 people being the same; mum has vascular dementia and is very different to a lot of the other residents at the care home she is in. Some of them don't recognise their loved ones, thankfully mum does. A neighbour of mine developed Alzheimer's 3 years ago and has declined rapidly so there is no set pattern and the various stages in both Alzheimer's and dementia don't always follow that course.

We are all unique in our own way and nobody can predict how or where the course of an illness will take us.