Lack of awareness she has memory loss

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Nathalie
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Lack of awareness she has memory loss

Post by Nathalie »

Hi, I’m new to this group. I live in the UK. My mum has severe memory loss. Her own mother had Alzheimer’s. I suspect my mum has one or two copies of the APOE4 gene, and is rapidly developing Alzheimer’s. However she has no awareness of her memory loss or her increasingly aggressive and erratic behaviour. I think she is in denial because facing the truth is too scary. Every day I try to persuade her to take supplements. Three years ago we took her to a fabulous nutritionist who follows a similar protocol to Dr Bredesen. I bought all the supplements that the nutritionist recommended, such as B12, folate, MCT oils, but my mother simply replies ‘why should I take them, I feel so well, I eat a good diet.’ This is so frustrating and of course sad. Is there a specific test I can do that will indicate to my mum that her brain is not well..for instance what do people feel about the homocysteine test? What can one do when the person in question is adamant nothing is wrong and won’t go and see her doctor ? Any thoughts would be so very much appreciated.
lucytownsend
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Re: Lack of awareness she has memory loss

Post by lucytownsend »

Nathalie wrote:Hi, I’m new to this group. I live in the UK. My mum has severe memory loss. Her own mother had Alzheimer’s. I suspect my mum has one or two copies of the APOE4 gene, and is rapidly developing Alzheimer’s. However she has no awareness of her memory loss or her increasingly aggressive and erratic behaviour. I think she is in denial because facing the truth is too scary. Every day I try to persuade her to take supplements. Three years ago we took her to a fabulous nutritionist who follows a similar protocol to Dr Bredesen. I bought all the supplements that the nutritionist recommended, such as B12, folate, MCT oils, but my mother simply replies ‘why should I take them, I feel so well, I eat a good diet.’ This is so frustrating and of course sad. Is there a specific test I can do that will indicate to my mum that her brain is not well..for instance what do people feel about the homocysteine test? What can one do when the person in question is adamant nothing is wrong and won’t go and see her doctor ? Any thoughts would be so very much appreciated.
Nathalie,

Welcome to the Forum, I'm so glad you found us. It must be incredibly difficult for you, particularly if you're the primary care giver for your mother. Be kind to yourself. Many of us here are at a genetically increased risk of Alzheimer's or caring for loved ones who are. I continue to be encouraged by both the support of this community and the up-to-date research it provides.

I want to reassure you that your concerns are valid and that your mom is probably NOT in "denial" the way we think of it as avoiding an issue or topic. It's actually a common stage in mild-moderate AD, especially when the frontal lobe of the brain is affected. The person either is completely unaware of problems, since their frontal lobe can't monitor "how am I doing?" or they have some vague sense, but interpret it as "someone is hiding my clothes; someone is stealing my money, someone is moving my things" because they don't remember recent events and are confused in familiar environments.

With regard to your question about a specific test for APOE4 gene 23andme you can find out through genetic testing if your mom carries the E4 variant in the APOE gene association with AD.

Two other resource's are the How To Guide it will help you get the most out of the ApoE4.info website. It is created to help members navigate the site. This area explains how to use the quotes button so that the other member receives an email notification of your reply, how to search for topics, how to subscribe to topics of interest and more.

My favorite is the Primer written by one of our member physicians, Stavia, who is ApoE4/4. It is great introduction to ApoE4, biochemistry, and possible prevention strategies in addition to exploring areas such as the science behind the ApoE4 gene and the lifestyle factors that impact its expression. It is a wealth of information - a great place to start and to come back to time and again!


We are so glad you found us,

Warmly,

Lucy
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Nathalie
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Re: Lack of awareness she has memory loss

Post by Nathalie »

Thanks Lucy for your warm welcome. I will look up Primer and the How to Guide. I have heard of 23andme, but unfortunately, my mum would prefer not to know if she has the gene. This is frustrating because if she has the gene, then Dr Bredesen's ReCODE protocol would certainly help reverse some of her symptoms. As I mentioned, she has memory loss, but is not aware of it. So any suggestion she sees a doctor is met with a 'but why, I'm not unwell, I feel great!' This is deeply frustrating! Glad I've found you guys too. Feeling grateful this site exists. I'm sure I will learn a lot from reading posts from other members.
circular
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Re: Lack of awareness she has memory loss

Post by circular »

Nathalie wrote:My mum has severe memory loss … However she has no awareness of her memory loss or her increasingly aggressive and erratic behaviour. I think she is in denial because facing the truth is too scary.
Hi Nathalie, You might find this article about anosognosia helpful. There are also links to additional resources about it at the end of the article. It explains in a bit more detail lucytownsend's comment about the possibility that your mother isn't in denial at all. Rather, her brain is affected by the disease in areas that prevent her from recognizing her deficits. This is such a difficult issue to face.

I found that my AD parent's friends also benefitted from reading this so they could better understand the difficult dynamics going on. In turn, it helped me to know that these friends understood this issue, so I wouldn't worry about their opinions about how things were handled and why not everything possible was being done. I even had their full support making some unconvential decisions which helped, and those decisions played out well, as challenging as they were for me as the caretaker.
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
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Re: Lack of awareness she has memory loss

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Nathalie wrote:Hi, I’m new to this group. I live in the UK. My mum has severe memory loss. Her own mother had Alzheimer’s. I suspect my mum has one or two copies of the APOE4 gene, and is rapidly developing Alzheimer’s. However she has no awareness of her memory loss or her increasingly aggressive and erratic behaviour. I think she is in denial because facing the truth is too scary. Every day I try to persuade her to take supplements. Three years ago we took her to a fabulous nutritionist who follows a similar protocol to Dr Bredesen. I bought all the supplements that the nutritionist recommended, such as B12, folate, MCT oils, but my mother simply replies ‘why should I take them, I feel so well, I eat a good diet.’ This is so frustrating and of course sad. Is there a specific test I can do that will indicate to my mum that her brain is not well..for instance what do people feel about the homocysteine test? What can one do when the person in question is adamant nothing is wrong and won’t go and see her doctor ? Any thoughts would be so very much appreciated.
Nathalie, we went through this with my father during his Alzheimer's.

If you don't already have a diagnosis of your mother's memory loss, I'd talk with her doctor (just you, without her) and then possibly with a neuropsychologist. Your mother won't see the point ("I'm fine!") but it's your rare chance to check for issues with medication side effects, temporary vascular dementia symptoms, nutritional deficiencies (B12, vitamin D) or other things (besides dementia or Alzheimer's) which might be easily treatable. Call it a checkup or whatever she'll accept as an annual exam routine.

If you've already done this then... the easiest word for an Alzheimer's patient is "No." They're great at a typical coffee-house conversation but generally not capable of following a medical discussion, let alone giving informed consent. You could ask your doctor to make up a prescription for these supplements, or even make up your own prescription form to cast a doctor as the authority figure. ("The doctor says you have to do this.") You could even simply put those supplements by the dinner plate (or mix them into the food). If you're asked, they're condiments or vitamins.

You'll likely be unsuccessful at ever getting her to realize that she's losing her memory and cognition. When Bob DeMarco ran AlzheimersReadingRoom.com, his advice (learned from caring for his mother) is "Never argue with an Alzheimer's patient. You'll just upset them and make them more difficult to get along with." His website is defunct but it's been preserved at the Internet Archive. Here's an example of the articles you can find there:
https://web.archive.org/web/20190102172142/https://www.alzheimersreadingroom.com/2014/09/answer-questions-alzheimers-dementia.html
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thehuntbox
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Re: Lack of awareness she has memory loss

Post by thehuntbox »

Hi Nathalie,
Your situation seems very similar to my own. My mom has little awareness of memory loss. It's very strange; after a lifetime of proactive health consciousness, it's as if she doesn't care. Even if a glimmer of awareness arises, from my prompting, when I ask her if this bothers her, or whether she sees any ramifications of it, there is nothing.

About tests and things to address it: yes the homocysteine test is helpful to evaluate possible metabolic and inflammation issues. As is the hemoglobin A1C test. Do you have any idea what your mom's status is regarding blood sugar level? That is one very important parameter.
As you probably know, the Bredesen protocol advocates at least a partial ketogenic diet (which I have yet to successfully implement with my mom).
Best.
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