My husband has been diagnosed for 13 years now. He is 73. The first five years he did very well with lots of biking then walking after several bike crashes. Then two broken legs from two different falls, both in the home simply walking and turning.
Since then the dementia has steadily progressed. His neurologist has him on namenda. He has no other ideas about what to do .
It really breaks the families heart to see such a steep decline in a once smart and active person.
Written by
Maryjean
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"While many people with PD will experience some degree of mild cognitive change, it is estimated that at any given time, about one quarter to one third of people with PD are experiencing dementia. Dementia is a more severe decline in abilities that leads to trouble at home, at work or in social situations. The topic can be particularly distressing for people with PD and their care partners."
It killed me to see my mom, who was the most engaged, intelligent and witty person I knew, slide into that. She went from being active and lively to being fearful and unable to make sense of simple things.
we have a similar experience. after a recent bout of heart failure, 12 days in a rehab facility where they made you stay in bed (terrified of patient falls) so without exercise, then a bout with some sort of awful virus we both had (another bed ridden time...almost 10 days), i notice a significant downturn in cognitive ability. His memory is just awful, even from minute to minute. some of that is due, i think, to the heart meds but i have noticed before that, illnesses or a reduction in exercise brings on what must be dementia. I am now forcing him to exercise and being more careful about giving the supplements which he used to take regularly. i believe they helped him a lot but i got lazy about giving them after his stent last year (another time he diminished) because i wasn't sure they were compatible with the heart meds.
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