Day 17 - Other Types of Dementia

Yesterday I spent some time looking at the differences between two of the most common forms of dementia:  Alzheimer’s disease and Vascular dementia (the second one being what my husband’s diagnosis was).

When a person has two or more "dementias" at the same time, it is known as "Mixed dementia".  Some other forms of dementia include  the following, which are listed in no particular order along with a direct link to additional information:

Parkinson’s disease

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/parkinsons_disease/parkinsons_disease.htm

Huntington’s disease

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/huntington/huntington.htm

Lewy Body dementia

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/dementiawithlewybodies/dementiawithlewybodies.htm

Frontotemporal dementia

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/picks/picks.htm

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cjd/cjd.htm

Since today's post has been sharing the websites available to reference other types of dementia, I would also like to share some of the things I have learned during our journey with Dementia's Demands:

Slight forgetfulness is common as we age, but usually not enough to interfere with our lives.

At first, it may be hard to know that a person is forgetting; they become very good at concealing that fact from others.

The person may deny anything is wrong, or blame others for their problems.

Normally, a person with a mild to moderate dementia may be able to continue doing most of the things they have always done.

Little things may enormously upset the person with the disease.

Tasks previously done may now be too difficult for them and they may react by becoming angry, upset or depressed.

Many of the person's behaviors or changes that occur are not the result of an unpleasant personality; but are the result of damage to the brain and usually beyond their control.

Damages to the brain can cause changes in emotions, personality, and the ability to reason.

Some people may have hallucinations; these are real to the person having them.

Some may become suspicious of others; they may hide things or accuse others of stealing them.

Remember - not all of these symptoms will occur in the same person; and some may never experience symptoms I have mentioned, but may experience other symptoms not mentioned.

And, also remember that the course of the disease and the prognosis vary with the specific disease, and also with the individual person.

So, no matter what you are dealing with in your role as caregiver, remember in most circumstances,  it is the disease and not the person.  Read up on what you are experiencing with your loved one; know the symptoms and what to expect.  But, most importantly, be sure to take care of yourself, the caregiver.  I will spend a couple of posts on Caring for the Caregiver in a few days.

Thank you for joining me on this journey!