Just Let Them Do it

Several months after my great Alzheimer's caregiver experiment, I received one of the biggest shocks of my Alzheimer's caregiver life. A shock that sent me into a tailspin like I had never experienced previously in my life -- it sent me to the edge of total despair.

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Just Let Them Do It

+Bob DeMarco
+Alzheimer's Reading Room

Dementia, Alzheimer, Memory Loss, Health

Dementia affects memory, thinking, language, judgment, behavior, and a person’s ability to perform normal daily activities.

Dementia is a word that describes symptoms of the gradual deterioration of mental functioning that cannot be explained by normal aging.

Bob DeMarco, Alzheimer's Reading Room

At its core the Alzheimer's Reading Room is about helping members of the Alzheimer's Community understand, cope, and communicate with persons living with Alzheimer's and related dementia.

Bob DeMarco is the Founder of the Alzheimer's Reading Room (ARR), and an Alzheimer's caregiver. His mother Dorothy lived with Alzheimer's disease.

Prior to moving to Delray Beach, Florida to take care of his mother, Bob was CEO of a software development and marketing company, and an executive on Wall Street for 15 years.

Bob's also taught at the University of Georgia and Philadelphia University.

Bob DeMarco is a recognized expert in the Alzheimer's community, an expert on Sharecare, and listed as one of the top ten Alzheimer's influencers on the Internet.

Bob has lectured, appeared in person, and been interviewed on television and radio across the U.S. Bob is an expert speaker on Alzheimer's caregiving.

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About the Alzheimer's Reading Room

The goal of the Alzheimer's Reading Room is to Educate and Empower Alzheimer's caregivers their families, and the entire Alzheimer's community.

In the Alzheimer's Reading Room (ARR), we offer "real life" solutions to problems that Alzheimer's caregivers face each day.

The website contains a knowledge base of more than 3,800 articles. These articles can be found via a keyword search using the search box on the right hand side of every webpage. We add new information to the knowledge base every day.


Read More about the Alzheimer's Reading Room

Is Coconut Oil a Treatment for Alzheimer's?

The article discusses the issue and offers possible explanations of the positive affect of coconut oil on Alzheimer's patients.

Rudy Tanzi

It is almost like a cult, people extolling coconut oil as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

They send emails and enter comments constantly on theAlzheimer's Reading Room. Is coconut oil an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease?

In the article below Rudy Tanzi discusses the issue and offers possible explanations of the positive affect of coconut oil on Alzheimer's patients.

There is currently no peer-reviewed clinical research available regarding the efficacy of coconut oil in treating or preventing Alzheimer’s.

Thanks to the Cure Alzheimer's Fund for this information.

Continued on the Next Page

Why Do Alzheimer's Caregivers Torture Themselves?

For several years, I tortured myself psychologically and emotionally. To this day I look back and ask myself, why?

By Bob DeMarco 
Alzheimer's Reading Room

Saint Genesius

Alzheimer's is a sinister disease. It robs the patient of the ability to remember, to think, and effects mood and behavior often in a negative way.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) eventually robs the patient of the ability to do things we take for granted -- like buttoning a button.

Alzheimer's often robs patients of the ability to say "yes", so instead they say what comes easiest -- No.

These new and often bizarre changes brought on by Alzheimer's can feel like torture to an Alzheimer's caregiver. This explains in part why a large fraction of caregivers, up to 40 percent, suffer from depression.

The other day I answered a question by saying, "its the job of Alzheimer's to torture you". Later on as I thought about those words, I was surprised that I used the word "torture". Surprised until I remembered that I once thought, "Alzheimer's is trying to kill me". Alzheimer's kills the brain of the person living with Alzheimer's. It will also try and kill the spirit of the Alzheimer's caregiver.

Continue reading, Why Do Alzheimer's Caregivers Torture Themselves?

Why Do the Deeply Forgetful Say No So Often

Did it every occur to you that you are the problem?

By Bob DeMarco 
Alzheimer's Reading Room

Most dementia caregivers accept the word "No" from the deeply forgetful. Then they turn around and vent about it to anyone that will listen.

S/he says no all the time, they say.

It is very common for a person that is deeply forgetful to say "no" when you ask them to do something. I don't know why, but it seems like this is a secret to many in the dementia community.

Frankly, I knew for a long time when Dotty said "no" she didn't mean it. Nevertheless, it still drove me crazy, and often made me feel frustrated or angry.


Continue reading in the Alzheimer's Reading Room,
Why Do the Deeply Forgetful Say No So Often

What is Alzheimer's Disease ?

By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

URL:  http://www.alzheimersreadingroom.com/2010/01/what-is-al...

A comprehensive overview. Includes definition, symptoms, causes, risk factors, lifestyle issues, test and diagnosis, treatments and drugs.

Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room

The Alzheimer's Action Plan

300 Tips for Making Life Easier

White House Conference on the Challenge of Alzheimer's Disease in the United States

The information contained in the video is valuable and important. This presentation leaves no doubt that Alzheimer's disease is a threat to our citizens, and a threat to the financial well being of our nation.

Reading, Engaging, and Communicating with an Alzheimer's Patient (Podcast))

By Bob DeMarco

Take the extra step. Walk the extra yard. Engage. Keep on living. Don’t be afraid to try things. Do things that you have always done together. Don’t let anyone discourage you or get in your way.

Alzheimer's Disease Changing Patterns of Behavior

Did you ever think to yourself, I wonder if I could replace the "bad" patterns of behavior that are driving me crazy with "new' positive patterns of behavior?....I did....

By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

I wonder if Alzheimer's caregivers think about patterns of behavior when it comes to caring for someone suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Many Alzheimer's patients evidence patterns of behavior that drive Alzheimer's caregivers "nuts" or worse.

Did you ever think to yourself, I wonder if I could replace the "bad" patterns with "new and good" patterns of behavior?

I did.

Alzheimer's Caregiver Just Let Them Do it

clipped from www.alzheimersreadingroom.com

Several months after my great Alzheimer's caregiver idea...I received one of the biggest shocks of my Alzheimer's caregiver life...A shock that sent me into a tailspin like I had never experienced previously in my life -- it sent me to the edge of total despair....

Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room

Eisai and Pfizer Announce FDA Approval for New Higher-Dose Aricept Tablet for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe

Specific to moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease.

clipped from www.alzheimersreadingroom.com Eisai Inc. and Pfizer Inc [NYSE: PFE] announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new once-daily, higher-dose Aricept (donepezil HCl) 23 mg tablet for the treatment of moderate-to-severe Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Aricept 23 mg tablet offers another dosing option for patients with moderate-to-severe AD, for whom few treatments are available. Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room

Learning Never Ends

This is a great lesson for all of us today, as we face our own hard times. Joe never remembered our names, but he knew that we appreciated the life lessons that he shared with us....

clipped from www.alzheimersreadingroom.com We work with people living with Alzheimer’s in all sorts of settings, and in every one of these settings we find people who are still curious, still able to learn. Original content Tom and Karen Brenner, the Alzheimer's Reading Room

Vitamin D Deficiency Increases Risk of Cognitive Impairment

It is now becoming known that for those over 60 years of age Vitamin deficiency is a major health problem.

clipped from www.alzheimersreadingroom.com David Llewellyn, PhD, of the University of Exeter Peninsula Medical School (UK), and colleagues examined information from 3,325 adults aged 65 years and older from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), a study that was carefully designed to accurately represent the U.S. non-institutionalized population. Vitamin D levels were measured from blood samples and compared with performance on a measure of general cognitive function that incorporated tests of memory, orientation in time and space, and ability to maintain attention. Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room

Four Researchers Given Lifetime Achievement Awards By the Alzheimer's Association

clipped from www.alzheimersreadingroom.com The Alzheimer's Association recognized four scientists for their extraordinary achievements in advancing Alzheimer research at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2010 (AAICAD 2010) in Honolulu, Hawaii. Honorees for their professional and scientific contributions to Alzheimer research are: Takeshi Iwatsubo, MD, Department of Neuropathology, Graduate School of Medicine at the University of Tokyo. Karen H. Ashe, MD, PhD, Department of Neurology and Neuroscience Director at the University of Minnesota. Marsel Mesulam, MD, Dunbar Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry and Director of the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center at Northwestern University. Marilyn Albert, PhD, Director of the Division of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room

Alzheimer's Caregiver Lament -- This is Not the Person I Knew (Audio)

By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

In order to communicate effectively with a person suffering from Alzheimer's disease you need to come to an understanding that they are now living in a new world -- I often refer to this as Alzheimer's world....

Conquering Urinary Incontinence -- The First Bladder Infection of the Year

Last year my mother had five bladder infections. This is a common occurrence amongst people suffering from Alzheimer's disease and dementia....

By Bob DeMarco

Beginning in 2008, I came upon a solution that not only allowed me to detect my mother's frequent bladder infections, it also allowed us to cut down her urinary incontinence to near zero.

In 2008, I made a simple observation, my mother seemed to be warmer when I held her hand. I also noticed that she seemed to be perspiring a bit.

Alzheimer’s Patients Have Muted Emotions

Perspective on Alzheimer's behavior.

clipped from www.alzheimersreadingroom.com “One important implication of this work is that when an Alzheimer’s patient appears emotionally blunted, the clinician or caregiver should not assume the patient is depressed and automatically treat with antidepressants, as other organic factors could be at work,” said Todd Feinberg, M.D., a professor of clinical neurology and psychiatry at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, who did not participate in the research. Watching a loved one struggle with Alzheimer’s disease can be a painful process, but for the patient, the experience may be a muted one. Alzheimer’s patients can appear withdrawn and apathetic, symptoms often attributed to their memory problems or difficulty finding the words to communicate.

Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room

Alzheimer's and the Dreaded Bowel Movement

I already wrote about how I beat urinary incontinence and bladder infections. That solution is not perfect. Poop. No enema, no pills, no laxatives. How I won the Poop-E war.....

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 and having a problem with bowel movements.

I knew the solution to the dreaded bowel movement problem 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.

To read the complete article go here --
Alzheimer's and the Dreaded Bowel Movement