Alzheimers Program on PBS Last Night

[leafman60]

Not that I am pegging the demographic profile of this site's participants, but did anyone see the  program about Alzheimer's last night on PBS?

I am always skeptical about anything on the media, especially NPR and PBS, but this sounds like a catastrophic problem that is growing to the point of a future calamity for the nation's health care system.

http://www.pbs.org/tpt/alzheimers-every-minute-counts/home/

There was another program last year on NOVA that dealt more with the medical background of the disease.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/alzheimers-be-stopped.html

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[Lannis]

I share your concern about the presentation.

These outfits depend on how many viewers they have.

Which program title will attract more viewers:

"Alzheimer's - An Approaching Tsunami of Complete National Disaster"

or

"Alzheimer's - A Problem to Be Faced And Managed"    ?

It's the other side of a good coin - people no longer die of infectious diseases like diphtheria or typhoid or influenza, so we live long enough to die of Alzheimer's or cancer now ....

In any case, it's a bad thing to get, as bad for the family as for the victim.

Lannis

[oldbike54]

 Alzheimer's is a national health concern , and as more of the baby boomers age out it will become more of a problem . The PBS Doc does a good job of highlighting the issue .

 Dusty

[blackcat]

No pun intended, but I forgot to watch the show.

[Sasquatch Jim]

No pun intended, but I forgot to watch the show.

Hey! That's what I was going to say.  Now, what's this thread about again?

[Orange Guzzi]

As the Daughter say's, be nice to me, You may need me to wipe your behind someday.  I don't know if this is blackmail or not. 

[Sasquatch Jim]

 No chit?  Couldn't she just feed him a lot of bread and cheese?

[JJ]

I gave up watching commercial TV nine months ago, but my 93-year old mother has Alzheimers and dementia.  She is in a nursing home in Tampa...and my younger sister looks after her. 

These days, she does not recognize my voice...my photo...nothing.  It is very sad...when my sister tells her that I am her son...she looks puzzled and says:  "Is that Bob from California?"...or..."Who is that guy with the white hair?"

Last time I tried to speak to her over the phone...she told me my father was dead, (he passed away a few years ago...) and she did not know who I was...

It is not an affliction I would wish on anyone...and like cancer...I hope they find a cure someday....

[bad Chad]

I'll look for it.  My mother suffers brutally from Alzheimers, and I suffer from its scourge as well, not that I have it, but it damages everyone that has a relationship with the afflicted.

It's an absolutely horrendous way to leave the planet.  The afflicted don't just lose their memory and sail off into the sunset, they lose EVERYTHING that makes us who we are, it bits and peaces.  It can't be stopped, and it eats away with an appetite that would make a Great White envious.

I would rather have my mother die of almost any other disease than see her go through the all encompassing  pain of losing everything, and I mean Everything that means anything to a human being.

[Arizona Wayne]

I have a high school friend whose husband has dementia right now which leads to Alzheimers and since I've had a head injury I was told I might end up this way.

A few months ago there was a series on the internet called "Awakening from Alzheimers" where a woman(Peggy) interviewed Dr.s who are specialists with these 2 ailments. 1 of the recommendations to deal with them is to use coconut oil for cooking and I put it in my coffee every morning too.   Actually the CO comes in a paste form and melts with heat.  I get 54 oz. of it in a jar from Sam's Club for $16 and it lasts a long time.  I got 2 books and interviews of Dr.s who are dealing with this different ways.   Since I've been using the CO my faculties have stayed the same.   Some patients have actually improved and been brought back to normal nowadays, so there is some hope now if you get the right treatment.

[redrider90]

I share your concern about the presentation.

These outfits depend on how many viewers they have.

Which program title will attract more viewers:

"Alzheimer's - An Approaching Tsunami of Complete National Disaster"

or

"Alzheimer's - A Problem to Be Faced And Managed"    ?
Lannis

I thought the program was called "Alzheimer's: Every minute counts."
 

[Matt Story]

I thought the program was called "Alzheimer's: Every minute counts."

Correct.

[oldbike54]

I thought the program was called "Alzheimer's: Every minute counts."

 

Correct.

 Knowing that would require watching the show .

 Dusty

[Lannis]

I thought the program was called "Alzheimer's: Every minute counts."

Note that after the OP had watched the show, his takeaway was:

"....but this sounds like a catastrophic problem that is growing to the point of a future calamity for the nation's health care system."

Where'd he get that impression, I WONDER? 

So regardless of what the show's title actually was (and Google was my friend), the usual infotainment content seemed to "come out" a bit in the description of the show.   I just came up with a more appropriate title to emphasize the "How can we get them to  .... " nature of the network.

I'm fully aware of the impact and horror of this disease, as people here have described it.

Lannis

[leafman60]

One point of irony brought out in the program was that often times the caregivers of Alzheimers victims develop serious health problems themselves from the stress/wear-and-tear of taking care of the Alzheimers victim.

[Gliderjohn]

All I will say is that it is a sad and hidious disease that affects way to many and will only become more common as our population ages.
My mother had about a seven or eight year decline into Aizheimers with the last five years of her life in a Aizheimers unit.
I spent quite a few evenings on on the phone trying to talk her down when she was was have a "sundowners episode". She basically regressed back to the womb and died, but then again she was 99.5 years old so she did pretty damn good.
GliderJohn

[Arizona Wayne]

This is what did President Ronald Reagan in.  But like I've said, if you hook up with the right Drs. now there is hope.  At least that is what is claimed now.

Same thing with cancer.  If I ever get that I'm not going to listen to a Dr. that recommends chemotherapy.  There are better alternatives if you want to live longer.  Chemo patients die.

[redrider]

The ingestion of aluminium has been linked to the disease. I use cast iron and SS. Never ever use non stick pots and pans coated over Al. Tin foil hats are ok though.

[blackcat]

I have a high school friend whose husband has dementia right now which leads to Alzheimers and since I've had a head injury I was told I might end up this way.

A few months ago there was a series on the internet called "Awakening from Alzheimers" where a woman(Peggy) interviewed Dr.s who are specialists with these 2 ailments. 1 of the recommendations to deal with them is to use coconut oil for cooking and I put it in my coffee every morning too.   Actually the CO comes in a paste form and melts with heat.  I get 54 oz. of it in a jar from Sam's Club for $16 and it lasts a long time.  I got 2 books and interviews of Dr.s who are dealing with this different ways.   Since I've been using the CO my faculties have stayed the same.   Some patients have actually improved and been brought back to normal nowadays, so there is some hope now if you get the right treatment.

You might want to read this:

"...simply adding coconut oil to the diet would not provide the neurons in the brain with an alternative energy source. The diet is also linked to very high cholesterol levels, which increases risk factors for stroke, heart disease and dementia."

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/info/20074/alternative_therapies/119/coconut_oil

As noted in the article, "Update: The trial into coconut oil has been delayed. The results are now due in mid-2017."

[Arizona Wayne]

You might want to read this:

"...simply adding coconut oil to the diet would not provide the neurons in the brain with an alternative energy source. The diet is also linked to very high cholesterol levels, which increases risk factors for stroke, heart disease and dementia."

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/info/20074/alternative_therapies/119/coconut_oil

As noted in the article, "Update: The trial into coconut oil has been delayed. The results are now due in mid-2017."

That video said the coconut oil results would be posted in 9/15 in the US.   That was 16 months ago.  I watched interviews of 12 Dr.s who specialize with dementia, Alzheimers patients in 2016.  They talk about successes in their work.  Some of the Dr.s recommend CO, some didn't.   CO is just 1 method to fight these diseases.

I read so many pros/cons of what cooking oils to use I really don't know what is fact and what is not any more.  Seems there are as many cooking oil opinions as motor oil opinions.  At this point in my life I'm a believer in CO over all others.

[blackcat]

As noted in the article, "Update: The trial into coconut oil has been delayed. The results are now due in mid-2017."

[Arizona Wayne]

You follow the UK experiment while I follow the US experiment.

[Chuck in Indiana]

It runs in my family on my dad's side. My Grandmother, and 2 out of 3 of my aunts. Trust me, it's about as nasty as it gets. Fortunately, they were all in their 90s before it just wasn't "hardening of the arteries" any more..

[bad Chad]

Coconut oil only works for a select few, it certainly didn't for my mom.  As her neurologist explained to me, it appears that for a few very lucky folks who have just the right DNA, it can be a major help, but for most not much.

Aluminum was thought at one time to be a factor in Alzheimers, it has since been ruled out.

[bad Chad]

This is what did President Ronald Reagan in.  But like I've said, if you hook up with the right Drs. now there is hope.  At least that is what is claimed now.

Same thing with cancer.  If I ever get that I'm not going to listen to a Dr. that recommends chemotherapy.  There are better alternatives if you want to live longer.  Chemo patients die.

Depends majorly on what type of cancer you have, how advanced it is, as well as how your body works.  I'v had two unrelated cancers, both would have killed me had cemo not been available to me.  Yes, its nasty bad stuff, like trying to kill a house fly with a baseball bat, but in many cases it works, were everything else fails.  I certainly would not rule out alternative therapies, but one has to be very skeptical when approaching that stuff, there are a ton of charlatans pushing all kinds of "natural" cures.

[Kiwi Dave]

The Glen Campbell movie "I'll Be Me" (2014) was certainly an enlightenment for me.

My problem is I recognized a lot of the symptoms.   

[RANDM]

It runs in my family on my dad's side. My Grandmother, and 2 out of 3 of my aunts. Trust me, it's about as nasty as it gets. Fortunately, they were all in their 90s before it just wasn't "hardening of the arteries" any more..

Mum's side for me, did for both Mum and my Uncle though
Garnet was a Boxer in his younger days which I don't think
would help at all.

Who knows for sure how it is for the patient? I think it
could be worse for the Fam. Once I got over the my own
feelings about her having no memory of me I started
Thinking that it didn't matter as much as wether she was
happy in herself and concentrated on that.

I used to just sit and talk with her - not worrying about the
subject or wether it made sense or connected with anything
but because it made her happy to chat.

Had some interesting convo's !!!

Maurie.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Mum's side for me, did for both Mum and my Uncle though
Garnet was a Boxer in his younger days which I don't think
would help at all.

Who knows for sure how it is for the patient? I think it
could be worse for the Fam. Once I got over the my own
feelings about her having no memory of me I started
Thinking that it didn't matter as much as wether she was
happy in herself and concentrated on that.

I used to just sit and talk with her - not worrying about the
subject or wether it made sense or connected with anything
but because it made her happy to chat.

Had some interesting convo's !!!

Maurie.

That's not so bad.. but what if she was *mean* ? Angry? Who knows how she was feeling? Not a pretty thing.

[RANDM]

It would be difficult to handle an angry Alzheimer patient.
I was lucky in that Mum was in a care facility with trained
Nurses (may all Gods bless them) and buy their account
she was more like a good but slightly mischevious child.

She'd only get unsettled if you were trying to get her to
Remember something or recall an event/person
whatever - but if you just chat and let them talk about
Anything they like and don't question things they say
then they're just happy to have company and talk.

Maurie.

[Muley]

My mother died of another dementia called Pick's disease which is similar to Alzheimer's but affects a different part of the brain.  It took nearly 10 years to kill her which was two days before her 70th birthday.

A childhood friend succumbed to Alzheimer's at age 60.

As others have said, it takes away everything.  As no one said, no one knows what the patient understands or hears while they are helpless to communicate back to us.  That would be a horrible way to live, and thinking that might happen or be happening to a loved one is hell on earth.