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R
rdoyle7554 Asked October 23, 2024

How long can you live with dementia?

What is the time line of dementia?

Geaton777 Oct 23, 2024
My Aunt was diagnosed in her late 80s (which means she had it probably a few years before it became very obvious). I don't know what type of dementia she has (but definitely not Lewy Body). She lived in her home with her sister and had daily help from 2 family caregivers who played games and exercised her and loved her. She was healthy all her life (not obese, no bad habits, no inherited diseases, ate a Mediterranean diet). She fell 3 times over the course of 10 years. The last fall at almost 101 she broke her hip and passed while in rehab. All this to say I think each person's trajectory is unique because of variables, so whatever answers you get, take with a grain of salt.

AlvaDeer Oct 23, 2024
It varies.
There is just at ton of information online, but it varies widely according not only to the individual himself, but to the type of dementia and to the person's overall health.
You will find averages if you go online with your question. I would post your question as something to this effect:
"What is the progression of Alzheimer's (or dementia type you are interested in)"
"What is the average age lifespan after diagnosis with Alzheimer's"
"What are the stages of Alzheimer's".
Good luck.

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golden23 Oct 23, 2024
My ex mil lived for 20 years with Alz. She was diagnosed in her late 70's and lived till her late 90's. I think that's the longest I have known about. My mother had vascular dementia and lived 5 years past her diagnosis, which is what was expected. Neither had any co-morbidities. They were both healthy other than the dementias.

funkygrandma59 Oct 23, 2024
It really depends on what type of dementia one's been diagnosed with and at what age. And often more than one kind of dementia is involved as well, which can alter the life expectancy's.
So vascular dementia(the most aggressive of all the dementias)has a life expectancy of just 5 years, and Lewy Body dementia(the second most aggressive)has a life expectancy of 5-7 years. And Alzheimer's(the slowest progressing of all the dementias)if developed later in life has about a 10 year life expectancy, but if one is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's, the life expectancy can go on for 20+ years.
So basically the answer to your question is anywhere from 5-20+ years.

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