A Little Background

Because there are some studies that imply there may be a hereditary component to the disease, and my mother’s father also had, and died from the disease, my thought is since I am in pretty good shape, have no glaring cognizant deficiencies (debatable I know) it might be beneficial to document the things that happen that give me pause, and wonder “is that cuz I got the ALZ?”  I am actively participating in clinical studies where my cognizant ability and memory are tested every few months to measure any decline in my cognizant abilities, and so far, so good, my results seem to be normal for someone my age, gender, general health and I have been in the program a little more than a year. The downside is I may not see any symptoms for several more years, my mom was about 74-75 before we really started noticing she was having issues, and a year or so after that before she was formally diagnosed. Her symptoms were mild for the first couple of years but then over the course of about 7 or 8 months it is like she fell off a cliff, and while she seemed to be happy, seemed like she was ‘still there” but just couldn’t speak coherently, and after a while she just wasn’t there anymore.

I’m really looking forward to this initiative, and I am looking forward to becoming an expert on this subject and learn of the things that at risk folks like me can do that my limit or reduce the effects or minimize the impact I may see in the future. So far I have done what looks to be positive thing, staying in shape, eating fairly well, keeping blood pressure in check, challenging myself mentally and so forth and as I go through the process I will document those things.