Chilly Days and Spooky Nights

Fall is in the air, and when I take the dog out first thing in the mornings, I see frost on the ground and ice on the stock tank. Each day, I think I’m dressed warm enough for a winter’s day, but haven’t convinced myself that I’m to the point of needing gloves and a stocking cap. At least that’s how I feel until the wind hits me.

Halloween will be here soon so my thoughts turn to things that scare me. I know I’m in the age group where Alzheimer’s isn’t even considered “early onset” anymore. I’m now included in the scary statistical risk for women over age 65. One in nine people over age 65 have Alzheimer’s disease. The really scary part for me is that of the 5.2 million people with Alzheimer’s, more than 3 million are women.*

A few weeks ago, I wrote about showing up at grandparent’s day a day early. Now, I’m so paranoid about appointments that I keep them in electronic form and write them on the wall calendar. Yet, I still second-guess myself. I’ve been bringing the music for line dancing class while our fearless leader is recuperating from knee surgery. I arrived early to set up the equipment, and no one was there. I glanced at my watch to double-check the time and saw that it was still ten minutes early. I mentally assured myself it was the right day. Eventually, everyone showed up and I breathed a sigh of relief that I was at the right place, at the right time, and on the correct day.

A few days ago, I opened the microwave and started to put the gallon milk jug in it. “Oh, my gosh!” I said. “What was I thinking?”

The next day, I shook creamer into my cup because it mixes in better when I pour the coffee. I opened the refrigerator, grabbed the milk, and started to pour milk on my creamer. Wouldn’t that have been an interesting drink?

Yeah, Halloween is a time to think of scary things, like Alzheimer’s and the ten warning signs of Alzheimer’s:  (1) Memory loss that disrupts daily life. (2) Challenges in planning or solving problems. (3) Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure. (4) Confusion with time or place. (5) Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships. (6) New problems with words when speaking or writing. (7) Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps. (8)  Decreased or poor judgment. (9) Withdrawal from work or social activities. (10) Changes in mood and personality, including apathy and depression. *

Scary behavior aside, this Halloween has been special. My brother and I finally put our twisted tales and yarns together into a book titled Apparitions.  The goal was to have it finished in time for Halloween. Well, we made it in some respects since the e-book and paperback are available online. I don’t have the copies I ordered yet. There was a delay while we tried to get the cover to suit us. Another delay was my reluctance to let the book go live because of my fear that I’d made a stupid mistake during the editing process or missed a simple error.

My husband assures me that my mind tends to jump ahead rather than staying in the present. It might have to do with mental overload. I have too many appointments, obligations, and an out of control to-do list. Multitasking has turned into multi-taxing on my poor stressed out brain.

Halloween is a time of trick or treat. I’ve decided to treat myself to peace of mind in regard to turning into an absent-minded retiree. At least with my optimistic attitude, I believe my occasional odd behavior is from being distracted rather than a sign of early stage dementia. At least, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.   

*source: Alzheimer’s Association: 2016 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, https://www.alz.org/documents_custom/2016-facts-and-figures.pdf

Copyright © October 2017 by L.S. Fisher

http://earlyonset.blogspot.com

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Individual Results May Vary

How often have you seen an advertisement—weight loss, growing hair on a bald head, miracle cure—where the final statement is: Individual results may vary. Yep, that is the catchall phrase to get the advertiser off the hook when the product miserably fails to deliver.

It is not just advertisers who promote the cautionary tale about individual results. When you develop a disease, you may often hear the same comment from your doctor. Along the way, they’ve tried to steer you toward the healthy path, but they know that some people defy all the odds, which they refer to as statistics.

I participated in a video conference recently, and the speaker talked about lifestyle as a way to increase your chances of attaining overall health for your body and brain. Of course, the ideal situation would be a strictly healthy diet, an exercise plan, and mentally stimulating activities.

The downside is that as humans we can’t always resist the donut, we’re too time crunched or physically drained for exercise, and rather than read a book, it’s much easier to zone out in front of our favorite TV program.

Although population in general would benefit, we all know individual results may vary. We all know the person who smoked, ate junk food, and never left the couch for anything more important than getting a beer out of the fridge. We may write off these individuals as having a death wish, but sometimes they just go on and on until they reach a ripe old age. On the flipside, we all know people who eat right and exercise but develop cancer or die from cardiac arrest. Individual results vary.

Yes, there are exceptions to known statistical risk factors, but as the researcher pointed out: Most of us fall within the middle and how we monitor our health can make a life changing difference. Lifestyle may be our best defense against Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

Genetics and environment play a major part in our overall health. If we are born with genes that increase our chances of developing Alzheimer’s, we can’t change that. In some cases, we can improve our environment. Where we are born and raised can affect our health throughout life. If we live in an area with air pollution, contaminated drinking water, or unhealthy living conditions, it increases our chances of developing life-changing diseases.

The bottom line is that no pill or treatment is a cure all for any disease. Hopefully, we are on track to find an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s, but even when that happens, how we take care of our bodies and minds can make a huge difference.

When individual results vary, we should strive to make sure our individual results vary toward a positive outcome.

Copyright © October 2017 by L.S. Fisher

http://earlyonset.blogspot.com

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A Lucky Mistake

I left early for grandparent’s day at my grandson’s school so I could go by and visit my mom. Delays can happen when driving more than an hour, and I didn’t want to be late for the 2:10 event.

I  had called Mom as I pulled out of the driveway. “Would you like to go with me?” I asked.

She was having lunch with my younger sister. “We’ll be home by the time you get to town,” she said.

When I arrived, my mom and sister were at Mom’s house. We had a nice visit and a photo op before Mom and I headed to the school. We arrived at the school at 2:00 p.m. and I sent my daughter-in-law a quick text to double-check the grade he was in. “I think he’s in the fourth grade,” I told Mom, “but one year I showed up for grandparent’s day and went to the wrong room.”

My daughter-in-law confirmed that he was in the fourth. “We’re here!” I texted.

Mom and I walked up to the door and pushed the buzzer. “We’re grandparents,” I said. The door unlocked and we went inside. A woman behind a desk motioned for us to come inside the office.

“Grandparents day is tomorrow,” she said, holding up a flyer as proof.

Just then my phone buzzed, “Oh, no,” my daughter-in-law texted, “it’s tomorrow.”

I immediately thought of Alzheimer’s sign #4 “Confusion with time or place.”  Just as quickly I remembered that, occasionally, messing up an appointment is a normal age-related change. Whew! Dodged that bullet.

“This is what happens when you retire,” I said. “You lose track of the day of week or the date.” Today was the tenth and grandparent’s day at school was the eleventh. Close, but no horseshoe, as the old saying goes.

“You are exactly on time,” the woman said as if I needed some reassurance that I wasn’t completely in la-la land. “You’re just a day early. You can come back tomorrow.”

“I have an appointment tomorrow,” I said. Yep, for 2:15 p.m. no less.

“We have practice tomorrow,” my mom said. She and other family members play music at area nursing homes and they do a final run through before the week begins.

“Could we at least see him?” I asked.

She buzzed his room and in a few minutes, he came down the hall. We had hugs and a photo op.

“Enjoy visiting with your other grandma tomorrow,” I said.

I couldn’t help but think going a day early was a lucky mistake. I was able to spend time with my mom and saw my grandson. Grandparent’s day came a little bit early this year.

Copyright © October 2017 by L.S. Fisher

http://earlyonset.blogspot.com

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The Ten-Year Leap

I can remember a co-worker who always said getting old was better than the alternative. She did have a solid point.

Unfortunately getting older does have its pitfalls. A good day can be defined as one when something isn’t aching. It seems that the older we get the harder it is to jump out of bed in the morning. I tend to drag myself out of bed and head toward the coffee pot. After the first cup and a few stretches, I feel almost human again.

It scares me to think that I’m the age now when Alzheimer’s isn’t even considered early (or younger) onset. Nope. I’m solidly into the age where if it happens, it falls into the statistical data as the ages of greater vulnerability.

Although Alzheimer’s is a disease and not a normal part of aging, age is still the biggest risk factor. If that news wasn’t bad enough, two-thirds of the Americans living with Alzheimer’s are women.

A gene called APOE (apolipoprotein E) regulates lipid metabolism. Less than five percent of the population has APOE2. This gene lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s. The most common variant is APOE3 which does not affect risk of the disease.

The culprit is the e4 version that increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Most of us don’t know whether we carry the e4 version of APOE. Jim’s neurologist asked to do genetic testing on Jim and I gave permission. He had one copy of APOE4 and one APOE3.

Gender further increases risk, especially for women. A study at Stanford University Medical Center in California used brain-imaging studies to determine that a woman with one copy of APOE4 has a much greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s than a male with one copy.

A study at the University of California found that women with a genetic predisposition to develop Alzheimer’s disease do so at an escalated rate between the ages of 65 and 75. It is believed that the reason the risk increases for women in this age bracket is because menopause and decreased estrogen begin at about 51.

If you inherit two copies of the APOE4 gene, your risk is even greater. This too, is not a complete determinant since some who have two copies do not have Alzheimer’s and some who don’t have the e4 version have Alzheimer’s.

People whose parents have dementia often fear developing dementia in their older years. My dad died when he was my age, but my ninety-year-old mother is as sharp as ever. I believe part of Mom’s success is that she is active and takes almost no medications. In fact, we’re pretty sure she’s in better health than my siblings and I are.

The good news is that APOE4 isn’t a doomsday diagnosis. The bad news is that I have entered the ten-year period when women experience a leap in developing Alzheimer’s disease. More good news is that I at least plan to stay active like my mom. My goal in life is to find that fountain of youth she found and drink my fill.

Copyright © October 2017 by L.S. Fisher

http://earlyonset.blogspot.com

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