Anyone have experience with Meds prescribed for Dementia?

[folken]

Do not ignore family history of Alzheimer's/dementia.

There is evidence that there may be an important statistical link; and there is no accepted treatment or even clear evidence of cause.
Those plaques and tangles that the drug companies have been focused on are not even accepted as the cause or symptom any longer, as recent blind studies have show there is no 
link. At one time these tangles & proteins were accepted to be the cause but that has been shown to be untrue after recent studies.

I am afraid that the mind games, drugs, etc. have not been proven to have any measurable effect. You see articles about various possible preventions like social activities, mind games, weight and a a whole host of things to do that may prevent Alzheimer's/dementia but none of these meet any criteria for under double blind studies. These are mostly articles to click on.

This is why the disease is so scary. The scientists thought they had zeroed in on these tangles etc. as the cause, and drugs were tried/developed to target these but have been show to be ineffective.

I have read quite a bit about this as my mom's grandmother had it, her mom has it now and her aunt also has it. My mom just turned 60 and she is OK.

Look for habits. For example- my grandmother used to cook ALL the time and loved to cook- when she stopped being interested in cooking--- that was the warning signal in hindsight.

If you go to a home which cares for these patients and are there for any length of time your heart will burst for these people and their families. The caretakers deserve medals. It takes special people to deal daily with Alzheimer's/dementia patients...………………………….Folken

Oh- one last thing---- alcohol---- too much alcohol; I am talking about alcoholics have a huge chance of getting it.

[F.W.D]

Do not ignore family history of Alzheimer's/dementia.

There is evidence that there may be an important statistical link; and there is no accepted treatment or even clear evidence of cause.
Those plaques and tangles that the drug companies have been focused on are not even accepted as the cause or symptom any longer, as recent blind studies have show there is no 
link. At one time these tangles & proteins were accepted to be the cause but that has been shown to be untrue after recent studies.

I am afraid that the mind games, drugs, etc. have not been proven to have any measurable effect. You see articles about various possible preventions like social activities, mind games, weight and a a whole host of things to do that may prevent Alzheimer's/dementia but none of these meet any criteria for under double blind studies. These are mostly articles to click on.

This is why the disease is so scary. The scientists thought they had zeroed in on these tangles etc. as the cause, and drugs were tried/developed to target these but have been show to be ineffective.

I have read quite a bit about this as my mom's grandmother had it, her mom has it now and her aunt also has it. My mom just turned 60 and she is OK.

Look for habits. For example- my grandmother used to cook ALL the time and loved to cook- when she stopped being interested in cooking--- that was the warning signal in hindsight.

If you go to a home which cares for these patients and are there for any length of time your heart will burst for these people and their families. The caretakers deserve medals. It takes special people to deal daily with Alzheimer's/dementia patients...………………………….Folken

Oh- one last thing---- alcohol---- too much alcohol; I am talking about alcoholics have a huge chance of getting it.

Thanks for the info Folken.  There is a lot of research going on and a lot of theories. Yes alcoholism and drug abuse are culprits but the main concern seams to be concussions. Look at former pro football players and the high rate dementia. Most articles I've read on treatment is theimportance of early detection and exercising the brain. Reading, word and crossword puzzles. I've even heard of some older folks getting into challenging video games. Keep the mind active and it grows new cells. But not if you keep putting alcohol in it. Drinkers deteriorate fast, I've seen it in my family. My Doctor put me on Galantamine for a short while. I told him I didn't like it because it made me forget shit. A good novel is the best medicine for me.

[Danny]

My father took those meds and there was no improvement. If we had known he only had five years, we would taken away all meds in all catorgies except those to make him comfortable. Sometimes we want a pill to cure something and it just cause more harm than good. I pray for something more substantial as im getting up there in age and would not like to be stuck in a bed for years like my father. I really dont want to be totally helpess like my father. Its a little macabre but i think i would rather be sudden than drawn out like i had to witness what i saw in my fathers eyes. P.s. im still convinced the statins he took for years had something to do with his disintegration.

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My father did have a severe head injury that we suspect also contributed to his spriral down. Went from being able to walk and care for himself to being basically 100% bedbound in five years. I didnt expect such a rapid decline and never got a hard answer as to what was going on. So after ruling out everything they said he had dementia and parkinsons. Didnt want a feeding tube so he basically starved to death. Was heavily medicated with dur*g=$!c patches so i hope he was not in any pain because he could no longer swallow and basically starved to death.