Is it Alzheimer's or Dementia? How to tell?

after receiving many notices about replies to this post and reading many answers that are in general, correct, but also possibly misleading and confusing, i felt compelled to search the ama, jama, and other medical sites for a correct explanation that is in terms every person could understand. this is the one that did it best, from webmd.

"Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia. Symptoms of Alzheimer's, including early-onset Alzheimer's, include problems with memory, judgement, and thinking,..........but there is no cure for this form of dementia."

the last part is the most sobering, and hits like a kick to the stomach. it is true, that no one really knows until death and autopsy if done. my mother has had 5 different diagnoses. nph, alz, stroke, lbd, vascular dementia. it is probably a little of each.

i feel that with all the research that i have done during and over three years of being with her 24/7, i know as much as they do. what i do know is that the best thing for her is love, patience, and creating the best enviroment that works for her and me. in other words, i have to be part of her world, because as time passes she gets further from mine.

she takes one pill for her blood pressure, the side effects of other drugs we tried were worse than what it was treating. lewy body drugs can be dangerous for alz. patients, it goes on and on. diet is a big factor, too much sodium and too much sugar always triggered anxiety and behavior problems. people and surroundings needed to be controlled, my brother for example, who she wants to see also sets her off, so i watch for the signals and send him away when it is time. the bottom line, listen to what people have to say, try things knowing it may or may not work or will change suddenly, do what is best for her and don't forget to make sure you take care of yourself.

True Augie, but if she isnt diabetic, they may only eat sweets. They lose their taste budsand sense of smell and it gets worse. A friend of mine who works in a nursing home told me they have to put maple syrup on most foods to get patients to eat, sad but true. I do not see sugars aggitate my mother at all, but change of caretaker or environment definately will. Keep singing, its the best therapy going, they use a different part of their brain to sing and to listen to singing!!!! I even sing what I want to say alot and she gets it better, lol.

patdoug, love your story and it bring back memories of my Mom 4 years ago. At one point I held up a big sign that said "I dont know" because she kept asking me if my son like his new girlfriend. Oh did she laugh at that sign but it worked. Dementia, alz, who cares, no one ever really knows. Dehydration, a lack of b12, or a urine infection can cause a lot of this thou so beware of those issues. Other than that, enjoy that he can walk and that he can talk. My mom can no longer do those things and I just got a hoyer lift to hoist her around. She still smiles and hums songs with me, and she will live in our home, spoiled, forever. take care.

how many caregivers take care of one or more of their parents due to finacial circumstances just want to know IM not alone

I have been caring for my dad for 3 yrs. now and have watched him get more and more forgetful. He will ask the same question 50 times in 3 hours. He will get up out of his chair and make laps around the island in the kitchen, while trying to figure out why he got up. When talking to someone, he will ask and say the same things over and over. He seems to fly off the handle when ask simple questions. He can eat breakfast and 10 minutes later ask for something to eat and can't tell you what he had for breakfast. He will tell me he starving but when you give him something to eat, he loads it down with salt and takes 2-3 bites and is full. So I only feed him things I know he will eat. His hygiene is very bad. He forgets to put his teeth in the morning. He can't remember people's name's. Is this dementia or Alzheimer? Either way, I act like the question he has asked for 50 times is the first time he has asked. As far as the laps in the kitchen go, its exercise for him. Some people don't mind him says and asking the same thing over and over. I really don't concern myself with the other people who don't understand. I think when he had cancer in his throat, that when they did the radiation they burned his taste buds up. I block some of the holes in the salt shaker to try to control the salt input. I mark on the calender for when he needs to take a shower. It may take 3-4 times to get it done but he does finally takes a shower. I have put a note on the mirror in his bathroom to remind him to get his teeth and always check before we leave the house. I care for my 7 yr. old granddaughter, who was diagnosed with Autism when she 2 yrs old. I have found that alot of the same things that work for her, works for my dad. Everyday my dad tells me how happy he is that I here with him. That somehow makes those long days worth it for me. I will be here for him for as long as I can keep him in his home. :)

There is no way to tell if your Mother has alzheimers unless she has a brain autopsy done within so many hours after her death. (pre-planned). Dementia is not a disease, its a symptom, a symptom of alzheimers, vascular disease, etc, and many other diseases. Dehydration is most common for confusion, or a urinary tract infection so check those out first. I have had my Mother to her regular doctor and the head of Neurology many times, they do not know the answers. Just love and understand her, its a long journey that declines slowly. Good luck.

I suffered gradual memory loss that eventually cost me my job. Turned out to be a heart medication I was taking.

dementia is the overall catagorization, alzheimers is a form of dementia, just as vascular dementia, lewy body disease, etc... these different classifications are determined by the cause and the symtoms, and sometimes the symtoms are the same and often they overlap and happen simultaneously.

How true how true!!!! My dad has dementia and alzheimers compounded by a stroke to the front temporal lobe which affects reasoning. He does things like pull the dining chairs across the floor. This prompted my mom to move all the dining chairs out to the garage. He moves her plants spilling dirt all over the floor. Eats the dog food because it is crunchy. Tries to move the TV. Walks a million miles a day. Can't sit still for more than 5 minutes. It is a virtual prison for both of them. My parents are in their early 70's. Both worked hard and retired from wonderful jobs so that they could go and travel. They built a new home and paid cash. Bought a nice vehicle and paid cash. They wanted to be set so that (we) their children wouldn't have any worries. Then from one day in December last year - our world turned up side down. Dad was home and fell. They believe it was a stroke that caused the fall. But they didn't determine that till much later. The next drs appointment they told us he had dementia and early onset ALZ. We were in disbelief and my mom refused to believe. In her mind it was a misdiagnosis. They were going to go on and do the things they had planned. She tried to keep on as if nothing was wrong. Dad got to where he would ask who she was. She brushed it off as he was just having a bad day. He stopped driving. He would ask where his mom was. (deceased several years) The decline in his appearance and weight was very fast. He is a shell of the former person he was. Speech is total jibberish. There are split seconds where there is a bit of clarity. My mom is sad all the time. She is his caretaker because she refuses to put him somewhere. They have been married 52 years. She wants him home. And for the most part we have done very well. My siblings and I help her daily. It's because we love and respect them both. We are with each other thru the good and bad. Our parents gave us a great life and we want to honor them by helping where we can. It is hardest to see that they will never get to do the things they wanted. I know they are lucky because they have good insurance and my dad MADE SURE that his family would be cared for and taken care of. He was great with money and was never extravagant. My mom will be fine financially. But I truly believe she would have been better off if he had lost his legs or an arm. She is with him daily but misses the man he was. Has no one to talk to. And she longs to travel with him. It is sad for us. I know that my mom will be ok. She is strong. I thought I knew what this disease was. There is really no way to know unless you are in the smack dab middle of it. Hospice is our saviour. They have helped our family more than we could ever repay. I am just hopeful that my dad can live out the rest of his days in a world that is in his mind --calm, beautiful and disease free. He deserves that.

stacylee-I smiled when I read your post. But I have to say that your parents are lucky.....NOT because of the financial provisions, though that IS nice, but they are lucky because they have such loving, caring, appreciative children that pitch in and help each other as well as your parents. How many parents and even siblings would love to be able to say that...... Surely you all are gems. I encourage you not to be sad because they didn't get to do the things they wanted. That is highly over-rated compared to them being able to rest in the loving care of their children. I thought this was the stuff of fiction, but ....glad to say, you have proved me wrong. Families like this DO exist.
God bless you richly