Early onset alzheimers/dementia--warning, long post!

[Guest guest]

6 years ago, my partner had most of her thyroid removed due to a

tumor. She was not put on a thyroid hormone replacement. Things

were going fine. About a year ago, she started losing hair, had

cracking cuticles, dry skin, headaches, nausea and began to have

memory issues. To the point that she'd be driving to a place she'd

been to a hundred times and forget how to get there. This happened

on several occasions. She'd stumble over words has if having trouble

getting them out then would forget words completely. She finally

went for MRI and MRA which showed absolutely nothing unremarkable in

her brain. In fact, the doctor told her she had the arteries of a

newborn. There as no tumor whatsover which is what we were first

fearing. She was put on synthroid which increased her headaches,

insomnia, nausea. She lost 30lbs in about a month because she wasn't

eating. Took herself off the synthroid and those symptoms

disappeared although she now says the headaches are back. She says

she's still forgetting things and has to write everything down. I

don't see the forgetting as much but probably because I'm at work all

day. She's supposed to return to the endocrinologist or neurologist

next month. I forget which one. She believes she has early onset

dementia or alzheimers. She's 43 and in good health otherwise.

 

Is there anything I can suggest to help with the memory or does

anybody out there have any experience with this?

[Guest guest]

I just mentioned in a previous post that I was ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

(CFS) for 11 years. MUCH of what you describe your partner experiencing is

consistent with CFS: headaches, nausea, memory and cognition difficulties,

speech difficulties. I even experienced thinning hair, cracking cuticles and

dry skin. In addition, there was bone-deep exhaustion, transitory muscle and

joint pain, dizziness, sore throats, swollen glands, low-grade fevers, massive

swings in my sleep cycle (from insomnia to hypersomnia). But not every person

with CFS experiences every one of these symptoms. And not everyone experiencing

these symptoms has CFS. It's just something for you to investigate.

 

I will tell you that when I was first ill, my test results came back normal,

normal, normal. My doctor would say stuff like, you're so healthy it's

disgusting (attempting to make a joke). My response was, then why do I feel so

sick?

 

As bad as the exhaustion was, I think the memory and cognition problems were the

worst. Until I found out that they are very common for people with CFS, I

thought I was losing my mind. I would be in a store, and suddenly not know

where I was. It wasn't that I didn't know which store I was in. I didn't know

which CITY I was in...or even which STATE! I eventually stopped driving for

awhile because of the memory problems. It would start with me just suddenly not

knowing where I was or where I was going. It got so bad that I would sometimes

pull out onto a highway, and I wouldn't be able to remember if I had looked for

traffic. It was terrifying. We finally decided that I just wasn't safe to

drive.

 

But it's a close tie with the speech problems. It's so frustrating to know what

you want to say, but to be unable to form the words. Or to get the words half

out, then have no idea what you were trying to say. Or even worse, to get the

words out only to find out that the wrong words came out. Thanksfully, my

family handled this with a good sense of humor. The day I handed a book to my

daughter and told her to put it in the " oven " (I was thinking " bookcase " ) is a

day we laugh about frequently. It was frustrating, but a sense of humor helped.

 

I'm SO glad those days are over!

 

Terri

 

-

Ginger <vleonard

herbal remedies

Herbal Remedies - Early onset alzheimers/dementia--warning, long post!

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 11:59:05 -0000

 

>

> 6 years ago, my partner had most of her thyroid removed due to a

> tumor. She was not put on a thyroid hormone replacement. Things

> were going fine. About a year ago, she started losing hair, had

> cracking cuticles, dry skin, headaches, nausea and began to have

> memory issues. To the point that she'd be driving to a place she'd

> been to a hundred times and forget how to get there. This happened

> on several occasions. She'd stumble over words has if having trouble

> getting them out then would forget words completely. She finally

> went for MRI and MRA which showed absolutely nothing unremarkable in

> her brain. In fact, the doctor told her she had the arteries of a

> newborn. There as no tumor whatsover which is what we were first

> fearing. She was put on synthroid which increased her headaches,

> insomnia, nausea. She lost 30lbs in about a month because she wasn't

> eating. Took herself off the synthroid and those symptoms

> disappeared although she now says the headaches are back. She says

> she's still forgetting things and has to write everything down. I

> don't see the forgetting as much but probably because I'm at work all

> day. She's supposed to return to the endocrinologist or neurologist

> next month. I forget which one. She believes she has early onset

> dementia or alzheimers. She's 43 and in good health otherwise.

>

> Is there anything I can suggest to help with the memory or does

> anybody out there have any experience with this?

 

 

 

" A ship is safe in a harbor - but that's not what ships were made to do "

 

 

--

_

Play 100s of games for FREE! http://games.mail.com/

[Guest guest]

I'd recommend trying ginkgo biloba slowly. It's good

blended with gotu kola and rosemary. Sometimes people

with seizures may have a reaction, though, and with

her current problems I'd proceed cautiously at first

to make sure she doesn't have a reaction. If it does

help then I'd have her take it for three weeks at a

time, twice daily, and then take a week break. Gingko

should not be taken constantly, it needs breaks.

 

As for the alzheimers no clue. Horrible word to spell

BTW. I have memory problems myself. I don't know the

cause but I strongly suspect its the result of

psychiatric meds I was on years back. I know they

impaired concentration at the time, and as a result

now I seem to forget things easily. Not to the point

of dementia, but I think my memory is underactive for

my age - only 25.

 

I hope you get it worked out and figured out very

soon!

 

Erin

 

" When you have wisdom that another person knows that he needs, you give it

freely. But, when the other person doesn't yet know that he needs your wisdom,

you keep it to yourself. Food only looks good to a hungry man. "

 

 

 

 

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