Posted on 11/01/2010 10:18:41 AM PDT by Racehorse
As a top adviser in a multinational financial services company, Susan Grant 59, was used to effortlessly juggling numbers, client details and other complex information in her head. So when she found her thoughts so muddled she couldn't remember if she needed to take the interstate north or south to drive home, she knew something was wrong.
“I'd find myself talking to clients and unable to think of a word,” she recalled. “So I'd stop in the middle of a sentence — and then I couldn't remember the sentence itself.”
A series of medical tests resulted in six diagnoses — everything from Alzheimer's to drug overuse — before her condition was finally identified: frontotemporal disease, or FTD.
FTD is a term used to describe several little-known disorders that progressively damage the parts of the brain that are in charge of personality, decision-making and language. Also known as frontotemporal lobar degeneration or Pick's disease, FTD often is confused with — and misdiagnosed as — Alzheimer's disease. Yet while Alzheimer's destroys memory, FTD changes behavior. An easygoing person becomes aggressive. Someone fun-loving and outgoing is suddenly passive and withdrawn.
But the most alarming difference between Alzheimer's and FTD is the age at which it strikes. While Alzheimer's is primarily a disease of the aged, FTD tends to occur between ages 40 and 65 — hence the nickname “baby boomer dementia.” It can affect people as young as their 20s.
“It hits in the prime of life,” said Sarah Oxford, executive director of the San Antonio-based Frontotemporal Disease Association. “Most FTD patients are in their most productive years. They're mid-career, with families, young children. The effects can be devastating.”
(Excerpt) Read more at mysanantonio.com ...
What a bunch of #&$%@ Bull$%&!! I'm crawling back into bed.
Need the “ginko viagra”!
It’s the drug to take for when you can’t remember what the f*** you were doing.
You mean the conservative boomers? The 18-29 year old vote went 52% Republican in 1972.
1984 was the first Presidential election in which all boomers were finally old enough to vote in a presidential election, if you know your American history, then you know that the last 25 years America has been moving right as the boomers gained power.
Boomers are currently age 46 to 64, the age when a generation is running things, and trust me, as much liberalism as we have today, conservatism is much stronger than it has been in at least 80 years.
If you are serious, you better get it checked out. There are all kinds of reasons for dementia, including lack of B vitamins. It could be thyroid problems, toxic exposure, infections, tumor, drug reactions, and an assortment of causes that can be corrected. Even poor oxygen can cause memory loss. Please see a doctor. My husband has Alzheimer’s/Parkinsons, so this disease is up close and personal for me. Keep in mind that Alzheimer’s is only one form of dementia, so there’s a good chance you can be fixed up and raring to go. Ginko Biloba, along with Vitamin B 6 are good. Other poster might have more advice, though it seems the majority of them have dementia... ;)
What a bunch of #&$%@ Bull$%&!! I'm crawling back into bed.
Can't help but notice, you don't mention who you're crawling into bed with. If, anybody.
R.
It’s more likely all those prescription drugs they take.
The main side effects of cholesterol-lowering meds are dementia and muscle weakness. Seems like an obvious place to look for a connection.
Statin drugs are evil. Most cholesterol is good for you. It just needs to come from healthy fats.
Oh, yeah. I’ve been through a lot of tests and medications: thyroid, blood oxygen, anemia, sleep studies, glucose tolerance tests, etc.... The sleep studies were entirely ridiculous, and unfortunately that was the direction the doctor thinks needs to be investigated next. Most of the medications made it worse. I spent 3 months groggy because we had to eliminate certain medications as being a possible solution. I’ve given up on a medical solution. I simply can’t afford to loose any more time feeling worse.
Thank you for your reply. Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s/Parkinsons is hard and heartbreaking. I salute you for being there for your husband.
:p
I’m way ahead of you, Lame.
I saw this thread and immediately thought of you falling off the roof.
I bet you forgot you were up there and thought you were skiing down a mountain top. :P
And at least my roof isn't made of sticks and mud..........
:p
You forgot.
:-)
Lol! Sounds like I hit a nerve.
Quick, put a band-aid on it! :P
:-)
Yeah, like you need a head lock and a nuggie. :P
You guys are kinda . . . kool. Or, maybe kool comes from age, poor circulation and impending dementia. Thanks much. Really enjoyed reading the exchange between you guys.
Lol! That’s very sweet. Actually, I’ve been smacking him around for a couple of years now.
He must like it. He keeps coming back for more.
I’m always happy to oblige. :)
When I read that article, what I really wanted to say was...
I mean, I read the article.
Then I wanted to say.
What I really wanted to say was...
When I read that article, I mean. But in all seriousness, have these people been tested for prions?
That’s the first thing I thought of, even from the subject line.
She does, however, like pretending she's doing well as she posts from her state run hospital for the mentally challenged...........
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