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Mom Hands Me 25 Bucks -- Bingo!
03/11/2010 - 21:46

By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

I wrote before about how mom use to play bingo with the pro's. When you play with the pro's -- no talking. If you talk during the game they will "shush" you.

Now mom is reduced to playing in this little game down the street that goes on for a few months during the Florida season. Small money. They pay about 10 bucks a game with one exception of the last game. The last game is a coverall. You have to get every number on your card to win.

Last night mom won the big game. She managed to cover her card all by herself. However, her friend had to tell her to yell bingo. Mom can plug those numbers, but she is clueless when it comes to what it takes to make a Bingo.

So at 9:30 PM, I drove over to pick up mom and two of her friends --Josie and Olga. Since mom won the last game, she was still all excited when I walked it to pick them up. There she is holding on to a 50 dollar bill. I try to get her to give it to me to...
03/11/2010 - 19:23

I have been busy picking up and putting things away. The maids come tomorrow for their monthly visit and I am always happy for their visit… I did laundry and hung some out to dry, plus aired out our pillows. Dave got me a new clothesline and put it up today. He knocked the other one down with the lawn mower last fall. It was an accident. I have already told him not to have any more accidents… I started cleaning out the pantry. I couldn’t believe how much I had to throw out because it had expired… I called my friend Joann in Benton, Arkansas… I am looking forward to watching American Idol tonight… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma
Reader Seeks Advice -- Nutrition, Dentures, and Dental Care
03/11/2010 - 14:07

I have a question to see if any caregivers are experiencing the same problem and could provide me with some help and suggestions?.....By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

From the Reader comments section:

As a caregiver, I have a question to see if any caregivers are experiencing the same problem and could provide me with some help and suggestions?

My mother is losing her teeth due to radiation (cancer treatment) and sometimes even forgets to show me her teeth and is afraid to show me the teeth. I fear her refusal to eat is increased by this making her lose weight faster. Even though I know why she is losing her teeth is anyone out there experiencing their loved one losing teeth and how can I keep nuitrients in her?

Do you think that dentures are a good idea at this time?

I thought of this earlier but the dentist had said because her roots were good at the time they could not pull them before she started losing them and now she has the...
A Day in the Life of Phil
03/11/2010 - 14:02

ONE of the worse things about this rotten disease is losing the ability of taking care of myself.....By Phil Reinoehl

My journey along this road of learning to live with Alzheimer's is becoming just a little more frustrating. I read the article by Kerry -- Haunted -- and I am at the beginning stages of the gentleman trying to figure out how to get out the correct credit card.

I recently am in the process of changing bank accounts to make my move from where I live now to the great state of Texas with my Son and his family.

So I tried to do this myself. I have done this before and went to my credit union to ask them what I needed to do. They told me my account would be closed.

I then went out to my car and got to thinking I wonder if I can still use my debit card or will I need to come and draw out money from a living, breathing real person,

I thought and wondered and just...
Haunted
03/11/2010 - 08:56

How blessed I really am......By Kerry Runyeon
Alzheimer's Reading Room

In the midst of a conversation regarding a netbook with a salesman at Radio Shack I overheard a man raising his voice to another salesman at the register. "This is ridiculous. I have never had this happen before."

The salesman was telling him he was trying to use a debit card as opposed to a credit card. Glancing over I could see an elderly gentleman with his nicely dressed wife standing right next to him holding on to his arm. As he pulled out another card he must have flipped it at the salesman because I then heard him say, "Oh I am sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I am just really frustrated. I had my wife at the doctors today. She has Alzheimer's."

In the meantime my salesman is explaining details to me about the netbook, but I can hardly listen as my heart immediately starts to ache for this man.

Sensing his frustration, I felt a need to go over to him and say, "I...
03/10/2010 - 21:52

Dave went to town to run some errands. I stayed home and chatted with DASNI friends at http://www.alzinfo.org/alztalk/flashchat.php … I had to call my dentist for an appointment because I broke a clasp on my partial. I can’t get in until Monday… I fixed supper and now I am watching American Idol… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma
Alzheimer's and the Dreaded Bowel Movement
03/10/2010 - 14:51

By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

I really wanted to entitle this article Alzheimer's and the Magic Elixir. However, I am not using anything to mask the taste of my solution so it just didn't fit. I also considered Alzheimer's and the Poop Panacea. Panacea does fit -- panacea is a literary term to represent any solution to solve all problems related to a particular issue.

This article is about implementing a solution to a problem with someone suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

I knew the solution to the dreaded bowel movement for years. I couldn't get my mother to cooperate. When she wouldn't cooperate, I would give up. At least three or four times over a two year period.

I was finally able to implement my solution for one simple reason -- I was learning new and better techniques as an Alzheimer's caregiver over time. I was figuring out how to make things happen through trial and error. I was marrying all of my ideas together and pulling...
Grieving the Living
John H. Pruett, Jr.
03/10/2010 - 14:30

I would like to thank Dr. Sivak for the invitation to become a guest blogger. I dearly appreciate it! In January of 2010 we moved my father, 71, in to a memory care home. Dad has dementia, either the vascular type or the Alzheimer's type or both. About three weeks later my mother joined him in the memory care home. This was unexpected but necessary. My mother, 70, has a long history of mental illness and prescription drug addiction. Some combination of the two has led her to have memory problems herself and specifically what I would call amnesia both anterograde and retrograde. These amnesia and memory problems have been coming on very slowly over the last several months and have become a lot worse in the last few weeks. This, obviously, has eliminated my mother as an adequate caregiver for my father. Hence, the move to memory care for both of them. One of the things that has struck me has been the fact that I am having to grieve the loss of my parents despite the fact they are...
Alzheimer's A Sudden Flash of Genius?
03/10/2010 - 11:07

Like everyone in the Alzheimer's community, I believe we need more funding for Alzheimer's research. We need to investigate all legitimate hypotheses. We need to do it now.....By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

Most invention and breakthroughs in science are accompanied by what is later described as "a sudden flash of genius." I have always imagined that this is what will happen when an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease is discovered.

Rudy Tanzi is a professor of neurology and director of the genetics and aging unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. After having a beer with his buddies, Dr. Tanzi went back to his office and looked at his list of genes associated with Alzheimer's disease. He noticed that many of the genes looked like genes associated with the so-called innate immune system. He walked into the office of his colleague Robert Moir and mentioned this to him. Moir then handed Tanzi a spreadsheet, it was a...
Guest Blogger and Radio Interview and other stuff.
Joseph J. Sivak MD
03/10/2010 - 00:47

I seem to get a lot of queries about SSRI's so I am going to try and technologically advance and do an audio podcast on them over the next week or two. I don't know how it will go, so bear with me. I will be on Wisconsin Public Radio this coming Monday 3/15/10 at 8am CST, talking about Alzheimer's and When can I Go Home? So if you are the neighborhood of Milwaukee, or Madison, or north of Chicago, or East of the Twin Cities, tune into your local WPR affiliate.Now I have had this blog up for maybe 7 months. I am sure you are as tired of listening to me as I am, so it is time to move into a new realm. The realm of guest bloggers. I will have my first one coming on in a few days.His name is John H. Pruett Jr. He is a therapist and counselor down in Georgia. His father has Alzheimer's. Not so long ago, I had the honor and pleasure to be able to read a little story/tribute he wrote about his Dad. I don't want to sound too cliche' but it was pretty moving and just a really decent,...
I almost
03/09/2010 - 22:10

I almost forgot to do a journal tonight… This morning the nurse came to visit Dave and I and then this evening the nurse’s aide came to visit me… I did laundry and fixed supper. I messed up on the recipe when I made the cornbread but we ate it anyhow… Dave and I both have been extra tired today… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma
ALZHEIMER'S IN THE NEWS
Joseph J. Sivak MD
03/09/2010 - 19:38

Major news outlets buzzing about report released by the Alzheimer's Association today. It all comes from a press release from the Alz Assoc. It is always good and important to keep this in conscious awareness. Data comes from a Federal Survey, not sure who conducted by, but the just of it is that African-Americans are at twice the risk of whites, and Hispanics 1.5 times greater risk than whites at developing the disease. It does point out the relative under-diagnosis in these racial groups. I think the point is that part of the rise in these numbers, is that fact that it is now being diagnosed more often in these racial groups. Alzheimer's does cut across all socio-economic groups races and religions. It will be important to see how this new report affects research funding, I certainly hope it does in a significant way.It is still underfunded, relative to other diseases, and still profoundly ignored.Its an awesome press release and the Association is doing their job at raising...
Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures 2010
03/09/2010 - 12:20

In 2009, unpaid Alzheimer's caregivers provided 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care, this healthcare service contribution to the country is estimated to be worth $144 billion.....By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures 2010

  • 5.3 million people have Alzheimer's disease. See Sobering Statistics about Alzheimer's Disease
  • Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. See Dementia and the Eight Types of Dementia
  • Alzheimer’s disease was the seventh-leading cause of death across all ages in the United States in 2006.
  • Alzheimer's disease was the fifth-leading cause of death for those aged 65 and older.
  • There are 10.9 million unpaid Alzheimer's caregivers in the United States....
How Do we Talk Parents Out of Denial and Into Getting the Legal Work Done?
03/09/2010 - 02:01

The best doctor in the world will not stop the inevitable. We will all die. Only in the last decade or so have end-of-life wishes become something discussed readily and, for some people, it's still a subject that is best avoided.
80 Percent of Medical Bills Contain Errors -- 20 Percent Don't ( + Video)
03/08/2010 - 22:14

.....Or you can do nothing. This is the equivalent of going into your wallet, taking all the money out of your bill fold, and flushing the money down the toilet..... By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

Problems with medical billing errors drive me crazy. Not our bills, but the medical bills of relatives and friends. I understand why people might be frustrated or confused. Did you ever try to read a typical medical bill? The only person that can read a typical medical bill is a person that has been trained to read one.

Here is real issue, only 20 percent of medical bills are correct. If you took a 100 question multiple choice test and checked A for every answer, it is likely that you would get 25 percent of the questions correct. I am assuming that you didn't bother to read the questions. So you would do better by guessing every question on a multiple choice test then a typical medical billing company can will do when sending out medical bills.

When...
03/08/2010 - 21:58

It was another rainy day here in Piedmont… The chat room is working now and I was happy to chat with my friends again… I picked up around the house, brushed the dogs, did laundry, fixed lunch, and supper… I had to call my doctor for another prescription for Advair because I lost the one he had given me… Tonight I watched the wedding on “The Bachelor"… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma
Political Action Summit
03/08/2010 - 14:38

I'm in DC for the Alzheimer's Political Action Summit. Last night we had a candlelight vigil and David Hyde Pierce was there. We had 11,000 people also join us at the Lincoln Memorial on line through the virtual candlelight vigil as well. Alan and Jennifer joined us and Jennifer shot this group shot and then someone got a shot of them with the Washington Monument behind them. Today we had a
Iowa State Students Create a Memory Care Garden for Alzheimer's Patients
03/08/2010 - 14:08

You can sometimes connect with a person in the late stages of Alzheimer's by using something from their childhood as a memory trigger--a song or porch swing..... By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

For some time now, I have been trying to think of ways to get more students on this website, and how I might work with students to improve what we were doing here. Students of every age and particularly those that have been touched by Alzheimer's disease.

Max Wallack is only 13 years old. He is providing us with important insights into Alzheimer's disease when he writes on this website. There are many millions of students that are being touched by Alzheimer's disease as I type these words.

I want to get more students involved with the Alzheimer's Reading Room. I am now hoping to find some teachers and benefit from their experience and advice. My first attempt to get students involvement failed -- miserably. Then came Max. Max re-energized and convinced me...
Hospice by the Sea Wins and Dotty Has a Good Time
03/08/2010 - 09:54

We had a good time. It was a wonderful effort by ordinary people. And amazingly, Dotty was more alive and aware then she has been in quite a while.....By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room


We made it to the Hospice fund raiser last night. As they announced the names of all the resident volunteers here at the Pines of Delray I was really impressed. A long list of people chipped in to make it happen.

The Pines of Delray is about a half a mile long and a quarter mile wide. A tiny place. When I put that into perspective and see how much money was raised it shows me what can be accomplished by a small group of people. More than is usually imagined. I wondered to myself, I wonder what would happen if we could get the entire country pulling in the same direction?

The interesting thing is this is a middle class demographic. The generosity is impressive.

The group...
Suspecting Prodromal Alzheimer's Disease Clinical Trial (BMS-708163)
03/08/2010 - 09:51

By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

This is a very interesting Phase II clinical trial. Basically, the researches are looking for people that are suspecting Alzheimer's either on their own or because someone around them suspects Alzheimer's. In other words, the person is experiencing memory loss, or senior moments that are disconcerting.
"By learning more about the early stages of the illness, we may be able to delay or prevent full Alzheimer's," said George Grossberg, M.D., director of geriatric psychiatry and principal investigator for the study at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. "With this study, we want to know if a medication can help people who may be having a few senior moments, before those issues develop into daily memory problems that affect their ability to function on a regular basis."
Safety and...
We Shall Overcome
03/08/2010 - 03:36

Tonight at the Alzheimer’s Action Summit Candlelight Vigil more than six hundreds voices sang “We Shall Overcome.” Accompanied by an acoustic guitar and with candles held high, the sheer grit and determination of the advocates makes overcoming Alzheimer’s seem more a palpable possibility that just a lofty goal.Steve spoke of living with Alzheimer’s. How we need to use our voices to deliver a firm message that Alzheimer’s is the seventh leading cause of death. It is time to stop accepting crumbs that fall from the table. The time of polite asking has come to an end.David Hyde Pierce motivated us to make our VOICE heard at the Capitol, the White House, and across the nation. Those of us at the Candlelight Rally were joined by more than 10,000 virtual candles. This is the tenth time I’ve lit my candle at the vigil. Something seemed different this time. Maybe it’s something as subtle as the name change from Public Policy Forum to Action Summit. Maybe it’s because we didn’t just have a...
Well Within Interviews Lori La Bey of Alzheimer’s Speaks
03/08/2010 - 01:24

Here is the link to the radio interview
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=44869
Oh How The Mighty Have Fallen
03/07/2010 - 20:29

If you’ve followed any news on Alzheimer’s research for the past year, you’ve heard  of the great hope (or hype some might say) about an investigational medicine called Dimebon.  A rusty old antihistamine from Russia, Dimebon had been heralded as the next breakthrough for Alzheimer’s treatment.   Big Pharm Pfizer had stepped up to buy the rights to the drug and, along with its subsidiary company Medivation, was awaiting Phase III clinical trial results.
And the envelope please (sorry I’m watching the Oscars as I’m typing this)…
Long story short, the results were negative – Dimebon acted no better than a placebo with respect to cognitive function improvement in a large (800 patients) scale study.
You’ll find plenty of news stories reporting this downer-of-a-story; I like Dr. Scott Mendelson’s article from the Huffington Post found here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
The Infectious Visit
03/07/2010 - 20:12

The Infectious Visit  by Lori La Bey of Senior Lifestyle Trends
Today was a wonderful day.  My cousins, Sandy and Donna came to visit Mom.  We talked of getting together for years.  It’s hard to believe how much time has passed by.  We went from talking of getting together with our classic cars at the downtown North St Paul  Friday night car shows, to me now being divorced over two years (Tom got our 66 T- Bird).  Where does the time go?  It was so nice to spend the day together, just catching up and laughing.
Yes, it was this past Saturday we met at Mom’s nursing home so Sandy and Donna could visit with her first.  None of us knew what to expect as she sleeps most of the time these days.  The girls said, “Hi Aunt Dorothy.”
I always loved the tone of their voices.  They are both so love filled, it just seeps out them.  I don’t think either of them really knows that about themselves, but I’ve always noticed it since I was a small child.  I could...
03/07/2010 - 19:02

I woke up this morning feeling much better… Rainy today and I walked in the rain. One of my favorite thing to do… The ice cream truck came and took us to Chili’s for baby back ribs. YUMMY!!! We never made it for ice cream… We stopped and looked at an open house. It was really nice… I called Jeanne, George, Carole, and David… Goodnight All… Keeping The Faith In Oklahoma