Patients with dementia survive for four years, study finds

[NC_Nurse]

PARIS (AFP) - Individuals with dementia live on average for around four more years after they are diagnosed with the disease, according to a study published in Saturday's British Medical Journal.

The paper, by University of Cambridge researchers, is based on 438 British people aged over 65 who took part in a major population study.

Women with dementia survived for another 4.6 years on average, whereas men lived for another 4.1 years.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080112/hl_afp/healthdiseasedementia_080112001627

My mom was diagnosed about 4 years ago....:(

[LeftCoast]

1. I deal with patients with dementia quite often

Sorry to hear about your mother. It's a very sad condition. I hope they learn more about how to prevent it.

[NC_Nurse]

2. Thank you. It is very sad.

I miss her wit and intelligence. She doesn't really participate in family discussions anymore. I think
she is confused a lot of the time and doesn't want to let on. :cry:

It really sucks.

[LeftCoast]

3. Many people forget how hard it is on the care-givers

Be sure and take some time for yourself if you can.

:hug:

[NC_Nurse]

4. It's my dad I'm really worried about.

We go down to Atlanta (where they live) one weekend a month to give him a break. We are putting our
house on the market this spring and moving down there to help out. I'm afraid it might be too late...

I may try to go sooner and leave my husband behind temporarily...but I'd rather not. He's my main support and I'm my dad's main support.

Thanks for your kind words.


:hug:

[Didereaux]

5. Certainly not to demean the subject but looks like Reagan beat the odds quite a bit.

[NC_Nurse]

6. I think he had Alzheimer's, which is a different type from

regular senile dementia or vascular dementia...it doesn't really say which type they studied in the article.

Many Alzheimer's patients go slowly downhill for 10 years or more. I'm sure Ronnie had excellent care too. That always helps.

[Didereaux]

7. I stand corrected, thank you

[Thirtieschild]

8. We had two neighbors, one with dementia and the other with Alzheimer's

The difference? Their eyes. The one with dementia was confused but she was still there. The one with Alzheimer's was gone. Her eyes were blank.

[williesgirl]

9. Wow, how sad and correct. That's how long my Mom lived after diagnosis of dementia. rec'd

[NC_Nurse]

10. My condolences for your loss.

I'm sorry you had to go through this too. :-(

[Ilsa]

11. Wow. No wonder Free Republic registration is dwindling. nt

[NC_Nurse]

14. Not funny.

[Ilsa]

25. Sorry. I had just been on a message board with alot

of folks claiming Obama was a radical muslim because they read it in an email.

[NC_Nurse]

26. No problem.

:hi:

[Midlodemocrat]

16. Swing and a miss.

:eyes:

[Midlodemocrat]

12. My dad's dementia started about 1994 and he passed in 2004.

Remember, that's on average.

And, he didn't pass from dementia. He passed from sepsis due to diabetes.

[NC_Nurse]

13. I hope my mom hangs in there. I want to at least

be down there to give her the best care possible until she passes. My poor dad is just not
able to handle it very well all by himself. He does a great job, but he's clearly getting overwhelmed.

[Midlodemocrat]

15. Is home health care or respite care an option?

Prior to my mom's death in 2002, my dad was on Medicaid, having gone through all their savings for health care. He qualified for 3-4 hours a day of companion care as well as 2-3 hours a day of ADL assistance.

Maybe check into that? It was a godsend.

Good luck to you. Having lived far away when this was all going on, I can empathize with your situation. It sucks.

[NC_Nurse]

19. I'm going to do it myself since I'm a nurse. We just have to sell our house.

My dad won't get any help. My mom does best when he's around. The only other person she consistently knows is me.
My brother is autistic, so he can't really help much.
We drive down to Atlanta one weekend a month and I practically kick my dad out to go visit his buddies. I think it helps.
I also talk to him almost every day. I think mostly he's just lonely for conversation with someone who understands what he's talking about.
The only drawback is that he's about as Repub as you can get so I have to bite my tongue a lot. :-)

[Midlodemocrat]

21. My mom said the hardest part of my dad's failing was the loss

of companionship. Getting out of the house everyday was huge for her. She did a lot of volunteering at our Church, so it meant that at least a portion of her life could continue as normal.

Good luck with this. I'm sorry you're going through it. It truly does suck. :hug:

[NC_Nurse]

23. Thank you sweetie.

:hug:

[EFerrari]

17. My grandmother also lived for ten years after her Dx. n/t

[Jane Austin]

18. My mother lived another ten years

and was comfortable and reasonably happy for all but the last week or so.

We were very lucky.

Edit: I posted too quickly. My mother's Dx was Alzheimer's, not senile dementia.

[NC_Nurse]

20. That's good to hear!

Thanks. :-)

[Midlodemocrat]

22. One more thing. Are you absolutely certain about the dx?

Is there a possibility that it could NPH? I ask because my dad passed right before the latest drug to treat NPH came onto the market and his neurologist was pretty sure that that's what he had, but didn't want to operate to put a shunt in.

[NC_Nurse]

24. She's had an a couple of MRI's and they show vascular

dementia - evidence of past TIA's. She also has a history of heavy drinking, so they think
she also has some Corsikov's (sp?). which has to do with alcoholic brain damage. :-(
She was always a hellion, but we love her. Alcohol was unfortunately her crutch in dealing with the stress
of an autistic/mentally challenged son in an unsupportive world.