Will we all end up having Alzheimer or Dementia?

[Clementine]

Sometimes I really get depressed, will we all end up having Alzheimer or Dementia? Nearly everyone I know who has old parents has to cope with them having Alzheimer or severe Dementia, ending their time in a home or hospital.
Mum has Alzheimer, my favourite neighbour has just been diagnosed.

Look at this forum, many of our forum members have partners, parents and aunts and uncles with Alzheimer. Some have to cope with two or three of their loved ones having this illness.

I am only 64, but sometimes I get confused, I have problems concentrating to finish my sentences, I have problems with doing small talk at a party, I am trying to learn a new language, but it just does not go in. We live a life of constant activity, our brains have hardly time to rest. Since childhood we have been exposed to chemicals in our food, hormones in our meat, obnoxious fumes in the air.
Do we have a chance?

 

[Goingitalone]

Sometimes I really get depressed, will we all end up having Alzheimer or Dementia? Nearly everyone I know who has old parents has to cope with them having Alzheimer or severe Dementia, ending their time in a home or hospital.
Mum has Alzheimer, my favourite neighbour has just been diagnosed.

Look at this forum, many of our forum members have partners, parents and aunts and uncles with Alzheimer. Some have to cope with two or three of their loved ones having this illness.

I am only 64, but sometimes I get confused, I have problems concentrating to finish my sentences, I have problems with doing small talk at a party, I am trying to learn a new language, but it just does not go in. We live a life of constant activity, our brains have hardly time to rest. Since childhood we have been exposed to chemicals in our food, hormones in our meat, obnoxious fumes in the air.
Do we have a chance?

I used to agonise over this subject, too.

These days I think it's a bit like when you buy a certain model of car. You maybe buy one cause it's rare. Then that type are all you see wherever you go.

When we're caring for someone we tend to move in the same circles, meeting other carers. We can get into a similar mindset.

I'm afraid I'm not good at explaining.................

 

[jacque]

i worry also.

i worry also will i get this disease , my dad was diagnoised in may with mixed dementia, his mother sufferered from this disease , out of my dads family of 9 sibling 5 had this our is suffering , my dads brother was diagnoised at 65, he is in care now at 70 , dads neice was diagnoised at 51 , and another brother was diagnoised there 3 wks ago. at times i think i,ve got it. my wean gets frustrated with me at times cause i 4get wat we were talking about , r im told i dont listen de her. its probabley the worry and all the information that i cant hold a thought. wil i get it . i dnt no. but it crosses my mind .

 

[Grannie G]

Do we have a chance?

I believe we do.

Lots of people had dementia in the past but in the aged it was called senile dementia and in younger people it was called a mental health issue.

No one talked about it, it was a hidden disease, kept behind closed doors, either in a psychiatric hospital or at home, cared for by an ever present extended family.

I know there are chemicals in food but at least we are not breathing in soot.

Every age/era has it`s weaknesses. We have an older population than ever before so something must be improved. Stress can be held responsible for many things. All we can do is try to live the best life we can.

 

[Canadian Joanne]

Clementine, the statistics are that one is more likely to develop Alzheimer's as one ages. The reason why it seems so much more prevalent now is that far more people are living longer than ever in all history. Since Alzheimer's is a disease of aging, and it is the most common form of dementia, it can appear overwhelming.

We live a life of constant activity, our brains have hardly time to rest. Since childhood we have been exposed to chemicals in our food, hormones in our meat, obnoxious fumes in the air.

Yes, although the factors above may well be part of it, I think we should recall the conditions in the Victorian age, for one, when foods were adulterated and/or contaminated. A little more info http://www.victorianweb.org/science/health/health1.html

There were certainly lots of obnoxious fumes in the air - London peasoupers were the most obvious and well known.

To sum up, we're living longer, with better health overall. Things could be much worse.

 

[Chemmy]

Look at this forum, many of our forum members have partners, parents and aunts and uncles with Alzheimer. Some have to cope with two or three of their loved ones having this illness.

I don't mean to be flippant - but surely that's just because it's a dementia forum? It does give a one-sided view of the world.

Nearly everyone I know (and I'm 58) doesn't have parents with dementia. They have parents with cancer or heart problems, parents who have Parkinson's or arthritis, or, if they're lucky, parents who are in their 90s and coping very well, bar the odd ache or twinge.

Those in our parents' generation are now in their 80s/90s - and old age invariably comes with health problems attached.

Enjoy today, Clementine, and don't worry too much about tomorrow.

 

[sunray]

I wonder too

From time to time it crosses my mind that I might get Alzheimers like Mum but I figure my children will find me a nice nursing home and my mind will fade away at it's own pace. I could also worry about cancer (in my family) heart disease (in my family) or stroke (also in my family medical history).

I guess it is best to just go on enjoying life within our means and not worry too much about what lies ahead.

Sue.

 

[Rural Mouse]

Hi Clementine. I have had the same thoughts too, it is worrying and awfully tempting to wonder if it is lifestyle, environment, food etc of the times we live in. Until they come up with some answers I suppose we shall have to just keep coping and hope for the best.
It has made me very aware of NOT putting my own daughter through it all. The stress of caring too, lack of sleep and constantly living on adrenaline, must have a lot to do with the forgetting and other symptoms you mention, same here. It did occur to me to wonder what personality types get it, as my mum became very negative and bitter years before it started due to her health problems, she also had a need to control throughout her life, not excessively but definitely there.

Just rambling now so will get going, been on here far too long anyway..

By the way Goingitalone your signature really made me chuckle.

RM

 

[Saffie]

I agree with Chemmy - an increased aged is bound to show up more case of age-related diseases. Also, be thankful that today, even compared with 30 years ago, life is easier on both sides of the dementia spectrum - you may not think so but it is for both sufferer and carer.
30 years a go, when my mother had Alzheiner's disease - something we had never even heard of, there was no society with fact-sheets and guidance. We were left totally on our own, even care homes wouldn't accept someone with diagnosed Alzheimer's . A manager told my sister and I that people should go into a home before AD develops but most left it too late as we had with my mother. All my mother received was an appointment with a Geriatrician who told my sister not to worry as much of what she feared would probably not happen. We were then left to get on with it.

 

[allthings]

HI clementine will we all end up with alzeimers dementia! I dont think it is as simple as that, personally i think it is genetic and i think there are lots of factors involved too complex to understand, i say this because my wife has alzheimers at age 51 and probably has had it 2 years previously. it definitally runs in familys as her mum had it died age 71 and her older sister aged 55. in care home. i think it is triggered by certain life events. so i dont think we will all end up with alzheimers dementia, its like anything in life it might happen it might not.

 

[NeverGiveUp]

If everyone knows someone who has dementia then why are so many people so misunderstanding of the illness?

It is a serious problem, but I think, as others have said, it is because we are so in contact with it, the analogy of the car was an excellent description.

 

[Jill1]

I so agree with Chemmy and one thing I have learned in life is worrying will not change an outcome of anything, that I found out the hard way.

 

[KAnne]

Sometimes I really get depressed, will we all end up having Alzheimer or Dementia? Nearly everyone I know who has old parents has to cope with them having Alzheimer or severe Dementia, ending their time in a home or hospital.
Mum has Alzheimer, my favourite neighbour has just been diagnosed.

Look at this forum, many of our forum members have partners, parents and aunts and uncles with Alzheimer. Some have to cope with two or three of their loved ones having this illness.

I am only 64, but sometimes I get confused, I have problems concentrating to finish my sentences, I have problems with doing small talk at a party, I am trying to learn a new language, but it just does not go in. We live a life of constant activity, our brains have hardly time to rest. Since childhood we have been exposed to chemicals in our food, hormones in our meat, obnoxious fumes in the air.
Do we have a chance?

I seem to spend my time thinking I'm getting it Clementine, it's scary and I resent the thoughts but what can you do. I bet everything is perfectly normal in you but you're hypersensitive to every little thing. That's what I think anyway

 

[memo]

I also think that I have a problem with my memory. Can.,t find the car keys forget

Sometimes I really get depressed, will we all end up having Alzheimer or Dementia? Nearly everyone I know who has old parents has to cope with them having Alzheimer or severe Dementia, ending their time in a home or hospital.
Mum has Alzheimer, my favourite neighbour has just been diagnosed.

Look at this forum, many of our forum members have partners, parents and aunts and uncles with Alzheimer. Some have to cope with two or three of their loved ones having this illness.

I am only 64, but sometimes I get confused, I have problems concentrating to finish my sentences, I have problems with doing small talk at a party, I am trying to learn a new language, but it just does not go in. We live a life of constant activity, our brains have hardly time to rest. Since childhood we have been exposed to chemicals in our food, hormones in our meat, obnoxious fumes in the air.
Do we have a chance?

I seem to spend my time thinking I'm getting it Clementine, it's scary and I resent the thoughts but what can you do. I bet everything is perfectly normal in you but you're hypersensitive to every little thing. That's what I think anyway

I also have become very forgetfull .Cant find my car keys? .where is my purse? what is her name? it goes on and on.but it could also come down to depression and anxiety.I find my self staring into space, very tearfull.It is three and half years since my mam died, and yes I miss her and love her more than you can imagine.I have joined a local church and it gives me great comfort and strength to have the faith that she is with my dad .One day we will all meet our loved ones and what a party that will be x

 

[rjm]

will we all end up having Alzheimer or Dementia?

No! But we will all end up dead. And we all do have the option to choose to live whatever years we have left to the best of our ability or to just let them click over one by one until they are gone.

It doesn't matter if the glass is half empty or half full - order another round

 

[ChristineR62]

I live down a small cul-de-sac - 7 properties, including the two corner houses, which are really on the main road, but I've known the residents practically all my life. My mother, who went into a home with Alzheimer's in December 2009, had lived here since she was 3,

In those 7 properties, as I type right now, there is one man in his 70s, a couple in their late 40s/early 50s (similar age to me), a man in his 70s, a lady in her 80s, the lady adjoining me who is in her mid/late 50s, and a couple who are both in their late 60s, so we're all fairly mature - some more so than others.

My mother is the only one who has shown signs of dementia, so I would like to think that statistically, the chances of getting dementia are pretty rare.

 

[Izzy]

No! But we will all end up dead. And we all do have the option to choose to live whatever years we have left to the best of our ability or to just let them click over one by one until they are gone.

It doesn't matter if the glass is half empty or half full - order another round

I can't agree more rjm. As they say up here 'what's fir ye will no gang by ye'. I suppose that could be translated as que sera.

 

[winda]

I don't particularly worry about this as both my parents had cancer and both were in their 70's when they died. There were also many members of the family on both sides who have had cancer. So I would have thought that I most likely will also have it.
But I also hope that I may have some control over things and that if I lead a reasonably healthy lifestyle I could minimise my chances. I feel the same way about dementia. Is this naive?

What did concern me though was when my husband first went into the care home and I couldn't always tell who were the residents and who were the visitors. Very worrying.

I think that my experiences have really made me realise that you really have to concentrate on the present and not to worry too much about the future.

 

[Sunbell]

Seems there are many of us with the same thoughts lol! I have 10 members of our family passed on with alzheimers/dementia and my mum has it and is in care. I think that because most of us are already past retirement age ourselves with our own ailments to contend with plus worry/anxiety for our own children, grandchildren and partners then there is the constant worry and upset with visiting/helping care for our loved one with alzheimers - no wonder we think we are going down the same road. It all seems to come at the time in your life when you should be able to relax and take things easier and slower but the pace of today's living doesn't help. I sometimes wish I could switch off from it all and concentrate on my own life BUT you cannot alter the way you have always been and I have always been there and cared for others and it is hard to break the routine (probably if I did I would be miserable anyway!) My motto is 'keep smiling and carry on regardless' and hope there will be a place in heaven for me lol.

 

[NeverGiveUp]

I think that when you have lived in the world of dementia you suffer from brain overload, it is a bit like living in 2 parallel universes at once.

Memo.

I usually get stressed out when I need the car as I wonder if it is alright to go out. I have tried to train myself to chuck everything into my handbag, that way, when I can't find the bag I phone it - go round the house to find the ring tone, works every time.