For most people experiencing memory loss, this is one of the hardest things you will ever do. Nevertheless, let’s walk through it together. Hi, my name is Teri. I am a 3rd generation Alzheimer’s Survivor and Co-Caregiver of a Loved One with Alzheimer’s Disease.
The most common person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease today is a 52-year-old Female. Please read that again: A 52-year-old female!
Why?
There are two reasons why more people are diagnosed earlier. The first reason is that we take more responsibility for our bodies today. We are more in tune with what is going on in our bodies. If we feel something seems different than before, we are more willing to speak up and get it checked out. We no longer approach healthcare with a “shake it off” or denial approach. We are better advocates for our physical and mental health. When we know something is wrong, we are not too shy to leave the doctor without a plan to resolve it or a referral to a specialist.
The second reason is because the typical American lifestyle feeds disease.
Over two-thirds of people living in the US are overweight or obese.
Almost half of the people living in the US are obese or morbidly obese.
We no longer have one person in the family whose sole responsibility is to care for, manage, and educate the home and family. Moms were pushed out of the house 40-50 years ago. After working 40+ hours a week, they go home to another full-time job.
She does not have time to:
Plan, plant, maintain, and harvest a garden to provide better nutrition.
Raise chickens to provide fresh, nutritious protein.
Shop for fresh food every day.
Cook and provide 3 meals and three snacks a day.
Teach her kids how to cook an appropriate meal for themselves.
Instead, American families rely on over-processed, overly sweet, overly fat food to get by. Even what is now considered a homemade meal consists of a casserole or crockpot meal full of cream of something soup, noodles, brown meat, and possibly a mushy vegetable. Even that meal requires planning, shopping, preparation, coordination, and presentation.
I grew up eating this. I still think of my Mom’s Tuna Casserole, Chicken and rice, and my Grandma’s Meat Concern as comfort food and crave them on cold, rainy days. These are the types of meals they taught us to create when I was in Home Economics in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
As time passed, women became more pressed for time and could not plan, shop, prepare, coordinate, or present a meal daily; they relied on fast food. McDonalds, Wendy’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Jack in the Box, where a value meal has more fat, carbs, sodium, sugar, and calories than a large male should eat in a day. However, this is the meal children eat every day for dinner. This meal was consumed after a high-carb, sugary breakfast, sweet snacks, a school lunch, more sweet snacks after school, and a snack before bed. All of this leads to a sedentary lifestyle and eventually diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, and GI issues.
Side Note: I do not say any of this to judge anyone. If I got married and had kids, they would have been forced to live off of Campbell's cream of whatever casseroles, crockpot meals, quick and easy sugary breakfasts, school lunches, and fast food. They, too, might have lived a sedentary lifestyle and developed diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, and GI issues because I did not know any better.
Other lifestyle issues leading to Alzheimer’s Disease are environmental. We now know that many people with Alzheimer’s Disease grew up in areas with high levels of environmental pollutants in the air. That includes big cities, cities with many manufacturing plants, mountainous areas that experience fires, desert environments with lots of wind and dust, ranches with excess animal waste, and farming communities using chemicals on their crops.
Another factor influencing brain health is trauma. People who have experienced a brain injury or multiple concussions experience a higher risk for Alzheimer's Disease. These are primarily veterans of war and athletes.
Genetics play a role, too. However, not nearly as much as was initially thought.
If you grew up in the US living a typical lifestyle, YOU are at risk of developing memory loss. If you are experiencing memory loss, know that this is NOT normal. Memory loss as you age is NOT typical.
What do you do?
First, tell someone you trust. This is the part I think would be the very most challenging part. You must admit that you think something in your brain is not working right and have a problem. A problem that most people think does not have treatment options and that will soon lead them to die alone.
When, in fact, there are treatment solutions for every stage of Alzheimer’s Disease. Hopefully, you are still in the early stages, and if so, there is SO much that can be done to help you. Will you get 100% cognitive function back? No. But you are no longer a teen or in your early 20s when cognitive function is at its best. Do not let that hold you back.
Will you be able to regain losses developed after you began your cognitive decline as an adult? Possibly. Will you be able to stop cognitive decline and stay at the point where you are now? Yes, yes you can. To improve or even stop the decline, you will have to work hard and make many lifestyle changes. I CAN HELP!
If you are in the later stages of Alzheimer’s Disease, there are many medications and treatment solutions to keep you active and content. I CAN HELP!
The first step was to tell someone you trust. Second, you must find a great neurologist and schedule an appointment. I CAN HELP put you in touch with a neurologist who specializes in Alzheimer’s Disease.
Third, you should consider taking the medications you talk to your neurologist about.
Next, you will make changes in your lifestyle. I CAN HELP you with this. I know that not everyone will make all the changes I will encourage them to make. We will work together and change the things you are willing to change.
If you are the typical 50-something-year-old who is beginning to struggle with memory loss you, and cannot risk anyone finding out that you are experiencing a problem. I CAN HELP.
Many of my clients cannot afford for their employer to find out. Therefore, there cannot be a visit to the doctor, any traditional medical testing, neurologist, or any information to go to their insurance company. All of my clients and their information is 100% confidential. It is not my right to share any information about you.
If you are struggling with memory loss and don’t know what to do next. Let’s talk.
Teri
214-629-2509