Parent with dimensia

[motormike]

Feel your pain graphite9...
I'm 61 now and happy to have made the decision to stop anti-depressants.
Therapy helped me find ways to treat without meds.
Trusting the medicine industry is risky business.
God bless her and you with your trials...

[patthesoundguy]

I had a very close friend who was basically an extra grandparent. He lived next door my whole life he was family. He was one of the most clever smart people I knew. He was in his 80s when dementia took him from us. It came on in such a way that we didn't really notice. It all started with him putting raw gas in the chain saw. Frank was uber healthy and took great care of himself. It became very clear there was an issue when he disappeared for a day and couldn't tell us where it was he went. All he could say was he went to visit those people. We had to make the call to take his license away. Frank was a great driver he was a stock car racing veteran who raced and won many races in the 50s. My parents took care of him in his home as long as they could but he almost burnt the house down and couldnt do anytjing for himself. Dementia and Alzheimer's are horrible and having seen it more than once I feel for anyone having a loved one affected.

[patthesoundguy]

I was given antidepressants once about ten years ago. It was the worst experience of my life. I told the doctor my symptoms and was given Zoloft. I wasn't asked about diet or sleep habits. I was malnourished and sleep deprived. I took that junk for a week and stopped. I didn't sleep a wink that week and felt so horribly whacked I didn't know which way was up. I've known quite a few people that antidepressants have caused some issues for them. They are very very dangerous indeed. And I wouldn't doubt that they could be the cause of your mothers dementia. I feel that antidepressants are major cause of suicide.

[ped]

hi graphite. sorry to hear about your mom. that's a tough one. one day at a time my friend. all the best to you and your mom.

[motormike]

...good medicine, that face-time is priceless.
It's the one thing I've learned over time...people need people.

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

My Dad left this world in 2 years due to dementia, never having taken a pill in his life. His body soldiered on for another 10, sans brain. It sucks to be Next in Line, but don't try to find a reason; there isn't one. Enjoy the good times that remain.

[wentwest]

My mother-in-law was almost completely mentally gone by the age of 58, after taking anti-depressants and tranquilizers for most of her adult life, sometimes prescribed and sometimes slipped to her by a pharmacist friend. She carried on in an increasingly bad state for years, and died at 66. It was awful. You are correct that you need to find a care facility for her now. You can not take care of her and your own family without that sort of help. Get a signed broad form power of attorney and a health care designation form signed by her right away.

[Rip_City_Spree]

Yo B sorry to hear about this my wife's gma has dementia and has had it for atleast 4 years now. Its terrible thing to be here physically but have no mental faculties. It's tearing her mother apart as her father was taking care of her with help from live in nurses and he just passed away not long ago so now it's up to he mom to care of her and its a tough road that isn't easy for anyone. Hang in and my thoughts are with you and your family. If you need anything bud you know how to find me. Don't hesitate. It's so strange how people that are healthy living people get these things. Lost my father 10 years ago to lung cancer never smoked never drank full time job, side job 2 softball teams at 55 fell over one day at work and 6 months later passed. It's not easy watching a loved one deteriorating lean on your friends and family for support that's the only way to get through these things.

[LMH]

All these events sound horrible and I hate to imagine it will happen to a lot of us one day. There's so much junk being fed to us daily, it may be the food, water, or even the air we breath causing it. The biggest thing is to keep on like you are and hope that when it takes you there's just a little bit of bliss included. So sorry to hear it came so soon and hope there will be some silver lining somewhere.

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

When something really bad happens, it's human nature to search for someone or something to blame. Otherwise we feel insecure; if we're not sure why the bad thing happened, the same thing might happen to us!

While there's a gigantic pile of data that smoking (ANYTHING, for you Ganja fans...) increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, emphysema and lung cancer. Who knew that setting something on FIRE and breathing the product might be bad for you? But that kind of evidence simply doesn't exist for a causative link between antidepressants and dementia.

Consider the fact that people with early dementia are aware that they are losing their memory, thinking skills, their very Minds. This starts a long time - maybe decades - before all the marbles are gone. Sensing that loss, they often become depressed and seek medical or psychiatric help. Obviously, doctors confronted with Depression will think first of Anti-Depressants. Their main shortcoming, and lack of time is almost always a factor, is to fail to consider the possibility that the patient is suffering not just from simple depression, but that the depression is a symptom of developing dementia. Even psychiatrists miss this one occasionally.

So the dementia is Associated frequently with people who are taking anti-depressants like Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Wellbutrin among others. (I'm not talking about Valium, Xanax, etc. here; Benzodiazepines DO suck). But the cause-and-effect relationship is backward; the Dementia caused the anti-depressants to be prescribed, not the other way around. Many drugs DO contribute to functional mental decline - those Benzos and narcotics like Hydrocodone in particular. 16,000 Narcotic-related deaths in America so far this year alone. It's a bit too early, but don't be surprised to learn of such a link between early dementia and THC in a few years. No matter how much I smoked, I never got any smarter.

My hope here is to prevent these relatively safe Antidepressant drugs, that do help millions of people, from becoming seen as the "cause" of some very sad stories. They don't deserve the rap.

[motormike]

There's a reason why they refer to it as "practicing" medicine.

[Mystic]

I hate to hear that man, it's a very emotional and challenging thing to have a parent with dementia. My dad passed away 2 years ago from cor pulmonale. 3 months prior he developed dementia and quickly went downhill. Never took meds or even went to the doctor before age 60. We think itcwas lack of oxygen that caused his dementia. I'm not going into to much detail but he forgot how to turn the tv on and off and he couldn't read or write and when he did he wrote the same word over and over. We had to put him in rehab for a month while we cleared the house of all sharp objects and clutter cause he liked knives and guns. Taking care of a loved one in the home is a full time job and thank goodness a friend of mine was willing to takeca shift so we could all get some rest. My dad would say some very hurtful things at times but it was only because he felt so helpless and at times knew his mind was fading. I wish u the best of luck my friend.

[LMH]

In the end nothing is good for you, and genetics are still the key role in what you may or may not become.

[Hondaman1]

hang in their man.