Early on set regardless of the type of dementia is terribly devastating for the families that have to deal with it.imagine, in your 50's, looking forward to retirement and diagnosed with dementia that will only get worse.
You are right, gladimhere, it is not rare for more than one kind of brain defect to be present. Which certainly can complicate treatment! "Early onset" can apply to more than one kind of dementia. It just means the dementia started earlier than is typical -- usually before age 60. I have a friend struggling with early onset Lewy Body Dementia, for example.
And some have more than one type of dementia. A friend's wife has early onset semantic dementia. Haven't heard of it before and I have heard there are more than 70 types of dementia.
As I said two years ago on this thread, The worst kind of dementia is the kind your loved one has.
Each specific kind of dementia has its own characteristics and its own likely symptoms.
There are more than 50 types of dementia. (Some say more than 70.) Every case of dementia is a specific kind, but very often the specific kind is not easily identified. My husband's dementia was Lewy Body. My mother's is Not Otherwise Specified -- in her case she has not been through extensive testing to try to label the kind. It is not ALZ and it is not Lewy Body. It certainly is Something but we don't know what that something is. (Nobody just has "dementia" -- it is always some kind of dementia, but sometimes the only way to know what kind is via autopsy of the brain.)
A good memory care facility has to be able to deal with all the possible symptoms of all the possible kinds of dementia. That is not as complex as it sounds. Several kinds of dementia include hallucinations. Many include paranoia. Some involve progressive loss of memory and in others the memory loss seems random. Treating hallucinations is pretty much the same no matter what kind of dementia someone has. The same with paranoia, or memory loss.
Being able to identify the particular kind of dementia can be very helpful for the treating physician, particularly as it related to drugs. And it can be helpful to caregivers in knowing which symptoms are most likely. But at home or in memory care, the symptoms have to be dealt with as they come up, regardless of the label on the disease.
After being diagnosed with vascular dementia, my sweet mom said Thank God, at least it isn't Alzheimer's. After watching her decline for the last 2 1/2 years, I am not sure that this has been a blessing. There are certain things my mom cannot do - follow any process, understand anything with numbers, use the phone.The remote control is baffling to her. Selecting clothes to wear is a major challenge and her concept of time is gone. She will not remember if anyone came in the room 8 hours after they were there. It appears that with these strokes - there are certain things in her memory that are completely gone. I am not sure that Alzheimer's has the same progression but there are good days and bad - but on good days, she will still not be able to use the phone, remote or follow any process that is more than 2 steps.
aggiemom~dementia is a catch all term for any elder who has a progressive memory loss diagnosis. There are several types of dementia with Alzheimer's, Vascular and Lewbody being the most common. When looking for a memory care facility, it should be well equipped and knowledgeable about "dementia". There is no particular facility (that I know of) that deals only with Alzheimer's or Lewybody. My mother is in memory care and the facility is excellent in their care, giving her meds on time, the activities provided and the attitude of the caregivers as far as being compassionate and caring people.
Dementia diagnosis was said to lead to Alz, but was put on meds anyway she did terribly (went batty and sometimes had uncontrollable emotional fits) on aricept, was allergic to exelon both in tablet and patch, ours is only on Namenda now (which by the way, I saw is being recognized for treatment of OCD). Dementia is not a normal part of aging, but can occur through any brain injury, such as a car accident, stroke, etc. I am an education major, and using questions, to ask her how she feels, why she thinks this way or that, although people are not implying things, she often thinks so, and many things she says could be, but simply aren't. It's that short term memory thing again, it keeps getting in the way. Doing the vitamin thing, Super vitamin D3 and omega 3. Since she has been home again after being in assisted living, she is perking up and doing well.
Dementia is not a specific disease. It's an overall term that describes a wide range of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to reduce a person's ability to perform everyday activities. Alzheimer's disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of cases. Vascular dementia, which occurs after a stroke, is the second most common dementia type. But there are many other conditions that can cause symptoms of dementia, including some that are reversible, such as thyroid problems and vitamin deficiencies.
Dementia is often incorrectly referred to as "senility" or "senile dementia," which reflects the formerly widespread but incorrect belief that serious mental decline is a normal part of aging.
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Each specific kind of dementia has its own characteristics and its own likely symptoms.
There are more than 50 types of dementia. (Some say more than 70.) Every case of dementia is a specific kind, but very often the specific kind is not easily identified. My husband's dementia was Lewy Body. My mother's is Not Otherwise Specified -- in her case she has not been through extensive testing to try to label the kind. It is not ALZ and it is not Lewy Body. It certainly is Something but we don't know what that something is. (Nobody just has "dementia" -- it is always some kind of dementia, but sometimes the only way to know what kind is via autopsy of the brain.)
A good memory care facility has to be able to deal with all the possible symptoms of all the possible kinds of dementia. That is not as complex as it sounds. Several kinds of dementia include hallucinations. Many include paranoia. Some involve progressive loss of memory and in others the memory loss seems random. Treating hallucinations is pretty much the same no matter what kind of dementia someone has. The same with paranoia, or memory loss.
Being able to identify the particular kind of dementia can be very helpful for the treating physician, particularly as it related to drugs. And it can be helpful to caregivers in knowing which symptoms are most likely. But at home or in memory care, the symptoms have to be dealt with as they come up, regardless of the label on the disease.
Dementia is not a normal part of aging, but can occur through any brain injury, such as a car accident, stroke, etc. I am an education major, and using questions, to ask her how she feels, why she thinks this way or that, although people are not implying things, she often thinks so, and many things she says could be, but simply aren't. It's that short term memory thing again, it keeps getting in the way. Doing the vitamin thing, Super vitamin D3 and omega 3.
Since she has been home again after being in assisted living, she is perking up and doing well.
Dementia is often incorrectly referred to as "senility" or "senile dementia," which reflects the formerly widespread but incorrect belief that serious mental decline is a normal part of aging.