alzheimer's...it happens to the best of us

I can definitely relate because my grandma had an undiagnosed form of dementia that was extremely similar to Alzheimer's disease. She would often forget who my mother (her daughter) was but always remembered me. I know that was really disappointing for my mom and it was always hard to remember that grandma couldn't control her memory. I think that it's really interesting that there are some things we can do to try to prevent Alzheimer's because it seems so common! I hope that by the time I am old enough to get Alzheimer's disease, there will be a cure.

This is interesting to me because since my grandmother has this disease my mother and I have talked about ways to prevent it. She has told me keeping active and keeping my BRAIN active is one way to prevent it, I don't know the validity behind this idea but it makes sense to me. Especially now that our generation has so many ways to keep our brains active and thinking, versus back in my grandmother's day when she had very little to exercise her brain with. And in regards to the picture from the Notebook, I've seen that movie several times and never really thought about it, but now I wonder what stage of Alzheimer's the woman had. My grandma has been through every stage and I don't remember her ever being as normal as the woman in the movie. She does, however; exhibit a lot of the angry outbursts that the woman in the movie exhibits. I feel like in the movie they tone down some of the aspects of the disease because they are too upsetting for some.

I think that you have some really good information in this post. All of my grandfathers had or have memory loss. However, only two of them were from Alzheimer's and it is definitely something that is hard to see happen to someone that you love. I think that it is amazing that the therapy and medicine can help, but I think what makes it so hard for people to go through all of that because it doesn't keep it from happening. I think that because it is so hard emotionally on people to go through those steps for something that is going to happen regardless. Unfortunately, I think that until we can find something that will stop the symptoms or greatly reduce the symptoms Alzheimer's is going to be an ongoing issue in this country.

I do not have any personal experience with the disease, but I feel for those who do. One of my best friend's father has dementia (sort of similar to Alzheimer's) and I know that it has been very hard on his family. His father, who was their primary source of income, had to retire early. Fortunately, for the most part, he is still in good health and resembles his previous self. But, there are times when he becomes forgetful and almost changes personalities--something extremely difficult to deal with.

I can only imagine how hard it would be for someone your care about to look at you and not even recognize who you are. I hope that researchers find a cure for Alzheimer's in the near future so that no one has to experience this unfortunate disease.

I agree that having a loved one who has Alzheimer's would be a little frustrating having to deal with. Yet, I can't imagine how frustrating it would be to actually be the one who has it. To have your memories basically robbed from you, would be very difficult to accept. Especially due to the fact that there is nothing you can do about it. No fighting back, no winning the battle, simply dealing with it is all you can do. That’s what I would find to be the most difficult. Hopefully someday in the near future scientists will figure out what is causing it as well as find a cure.

Alzheimers is a really sad aspect of growing old. It depresses me to know that Alzheimer's affects the lives of so many people. Thankfully, none of my grandparents have suffered from this disease. Unfortunately, my good friends grandparents suffer from it. When we went to visit his grandpa in the nursing home, he was pretty delusional. He didn't even know his own grand sons name.

Alzheimer's is a very difficult disease for a family member to help with as you feel almost as if there is nothing you can do to help. I have an uncle as well as a grandparent with Alzheimer's and it is very difficult to help when they don't know who you are. My family members also have begun having issues of forgetting about societal norms and therefore if we dont keep a very close eye on them all hours of the day they have been known to do things such as go for a walk in the neighborhood without any clothes on. I only hope that one day we can find a cure to Alzheimer's as everyday there is more and more learned about the brain.

In my opinion Alzheimer's is a devastating disease that can completely change a person. To see it happen to a loved one can be one of the most saddening things. I truly hope that we can find a cure for this horrible disease. I often times find my Grandma, who I have been very close with for the entirety of my life, often asking my the same question more than once. I surely hope it is not an early sign of Alzheimer's and more so just a short-term memory that isn't as sharp as it used to. I enjoyed your picture, I found the Notebook to be a very good movie...probably one of the few dudes that think so!

I also had a grandma that had this disease, and in my opinion it is one of the worst diseases a person can get. Going to the hospital hoping my grandma would remember me was really hard, and it was especially hard on my dad who was her son. I can't even imagine what the person goes through though, it must be the most horrible thing your life slowly slipping away. It seems to becoming more prevalent in today's society, wish is also horrible. Good topic though, the word needs to get out there.

In my opinion geriatric onset diseases and mental deterioration are a very scary concept. Especially since we have yet to pinpoint the cause for certainty. Dementia is also a scary thought because the person is sometimes unable to take care of themselves anymore and what is worse than that, they do not know what is going on with them sometimes.