following your writings with good thoughts and also to help take my mind off of my husband at the moment

Being retired military our medical visits etc were always through the Walter Reed Medical System (military) my husband and I noticed approximately a little more than four years ago the he was having some of what you describe. His PC made a Neurological appt for him at WRAMC tests were run, scans and all they could find is a bit more brain shrinkage than "Normal" but he got through all verbal & written tests fine. His condition seemed to get worse, so on a whim I asked our PC if there was some way we could see if it was one of the meds he was on, PC removed Lipitor from his regimen for 3-4 weeks, amazing, my husband immediately started reverting back to " normal", but because he had A-Fib his heart Dr at Bethesda Naval hospital advised he needed to go back onto a Statin again, and maybe we were mistaken about the Lipitor Vacation results, so he put him on a new med Vytorin - again slowly those symptoms started again to return and in 2011 he was re- evaluated at Neurology - now after 2 years - they diagnose him with ALZ - put on meds......but I still
believe this started by the use of Statins - recently the FDA had a Black Box Warning added for two new side effects of Statins, Diabetes Type 2 and Memory loss, from what I have read if you catch the forgetfulness/ memory issue within the first year it is reversible, after being on a Statin longer than that it is not reversible as Statins are made to remove Cholesterol from your body to help with heart attacks, etc, but it was never tested long enough to see that it also was pulling the Cholesterol out of the brain. The brain needs the Cholesterol to survive or starts to die. you can Google Statins/memory loss. Lipitor, The Thief of Memory is a good starting point. law suits against the big Pharmaceuticals for the Diabetes issue are rampant , next they will start for the brain/ Memory loss.
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I'm taking an online course with Johns Hopkins. I was just watching the video. So many good points. It's midnight here and I'm too tired to really listen to it. As I listened to it, I was relieved that that was normal forgetfulness. And I have not yet shown signs (memory lapse) for Alzheimer. Of course, he did mention, that if you do have Alz, you won't remember that you're having problems with your memory.

I'm thinking if you have time, you can find it, and then keep replaying it. I test Googled the words below, and the video did pop up.

Google: Hopkins Medicine - Do I have Alzheimer.
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David, I have a friend who has been diagnosed with MCI, at the Abigail Van Buren Alzheimer's Research Clinic at Mayo Clinic, Rochester Minnesota. The neurologist there is quite certain it is a precursor to Lewy Body Dementia. I think one of the factors in that diagnosis is that my friend has REM Sleep Behavior Disorder. Of course, no one will know until dementia symptoms appear and even then it can't be confirmed except by autopsy. He went through a 10-day Brain & Body Wellness Program for Persons with Mild Cognitive Impairment, at Mayo, and says it was highly beneficial.

Three years seems like a long period to wait for a more definitive diagnosis. I hope you have another three years before the disease has progressed to a point where diagnosis is more certain. In fact, wouldn't it be wonderful if you never reach that point, but have only MCI indefinitely? I know that is not likely, but I would think the longer the delay, the better.

My friend mentioned trying to talk to a couple of close buddies about his reactions to having a progressive, terminal disease and their reaction was that "everyone is going to die." That reaction seemed dismissive to him, like he is not being taken seriously. Does that sound familiar?
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Its hard. No one wants to believe you have Alz, they'd rather not face it! But you are trying yoru best to face it head on and for that I admire you. You can have bad memory from drug side effects or maybe vascular reasons or even migraines, but if you know its Alz and are doing your best to do as well as you can for as long as you can, and others are minimizing, I guess it can't help but feel discouraging rather than helpful. And yet I've been guilty of this too, when some of my older friends have talked about not having much time left, I and others often say things like no, you'll outlive us, you are doing too good....I guess it is hard to know what would be most helpful. Acatually, any ideas of what REALLY would be more helpful from your point of view would be great!
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I am not a doctor, and I hope this isn't out of line. But ... is it possible that your malfunction (whatever it is) is affecting your judgement of your situation? Have you taken these concerns to a counselor familiar with this sort of thing?

Have you had all possible brain scans? Recently my husband, who is forgetful, had a brain scan. The doctors said that the whole brain showed some shrinkage normal for age, but in Alz there would be more shrinkage in some areas than in others.
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exactly what is the Cognitive Function Test?
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My husband was dxd with MCI after psychological tests and MRI. He had a major depression episode in 2009. He was a college physics professor and after retirement a math tutor for college-bound high school students. He can no longer do his math problems, read Scientific American or even watch TV for more than 15 minutes. Whenever I try to talk about something, he tells me he's too demented to understand. He walks away from conversations at the dinner table with our children because he can't follow multiple speakers. It's very hard on him as he is very aware of his failings and feels that the only quality in life is exercise and food. He has lost interest in many of the activities we did together - visiting art museums, attending concerts. He doesn't get lost in familiar areas, won't wander away, reminds me of things that I forget. Every few months there will be another thing that he can't do that's new, like putting on his pants inside out. Will he progress to Alzheimer's? Hoping for the status quo.
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Personally I am not a doctor but I would want to know so I could place myself in a home where I could be cared for. I have no family to care for me.
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