Accomplished Patient Opts for Suicide in the Face of AD
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Thirties Child
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- Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2013 1:09 pm
Re: Accomplished Patient Opts for Suicide in the Face of AD
Shikar - 76, 3/4, some short-term memory loss, now taking Aricept - and I have talked about this. He definitely wants to go before he loses everything, and I agree. It's pretty much going to be up to me to help him with the WHEN decision. In spite of the memory loss and some - minimal - confusion, I think he's at least five years away from decision time. When it happens I want to be with him. I haven't decided what or when to tell our children. They know he's taking Aricept and they know he's in a major depression, but I don't think they have any idea what is coming.
Re: Accomplished Patient Opts for Suicide in the Face of AD
(((Thirties Child)))
Re: Accomplished Patient Opts for Suicide in the Face of AD
Feeling humble. I'm glad we are creating a space where it's safe for people to talk about this.
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
Re: Accomplished Patient Opts for Suicide in the Face of AD
SusanJ - I'm sorry you went through AD with your dad, and are faced with it again with your husband's sister.
Thirties Child - I'm so sorry you are faced with this, too. Stay strong and know there are many supportive people here (and other sites, too). I am glad you are sharing your story with us.
Caregiving is incredibly draining. The hardest thing I have ever done is leave my career to help my dad care for my mother. That experience, and my genetic test results, were life altering.
Thirties Child - I'm so sorry you are faced with this, too. Stay strong and know there are many supportive people here (and other sites, too). I am glad you are sharing your story with us.
Caregiving is incredibly draining. The hardest thing I have ever done is leave my career to help my dad care for my mother. That experience, and my genetic test results, were life altering.
4/4
Re: Accomplished Patient Opts for Suicide in the Face of AD
JulieGee - My thoughts about seizures started when I was researching factors affecting neurogenesis and stumbled across a website that mentioned neurogenesis after a stroke. So I Googled about seizures and neurogenesis. I found the following but haven't read more than the overview yet.
http://www.scharfmanlab.com/ScharfmanLa ... EpiRev.pdf
"One of the most robust types of stimuli that increases neurogenesis appears to
be seizures. Interestingly, seizures also are remarkable in their ability to change expression
of various growth factors, many of which have been causally related to neurogenesis in the
normal brain."
The rest of the paper requires more attention than I have right now, especially when my efforts need to be focused on my job search!
http://www.scharfmanlab.com/ScharfmanLa ... EpiRev.pdf
"One of the most robust types of stimuli that increases neurogenesis appears to
be seizures. Interestingly, seizures also are remarkable in their ability to change expression
of various growth factors, many of which have been causally related to neurogenesis in the
normal brain."
The rest of the paper requires more attention than I have right now, especially when my efforts need to be focused on my job search!
4/4
Re: Accomplished Patient Opts for Suicide in the Face of AD
Thirties Child,
My heart goes out to you. I would much rather be the AD sufferer than the committed spouse. My husband and I have a pact to help each other terminate suffering when the time comes. I worry that I'll hesitate if he needs my help. Like my mother, I find that my desire to live and to be hopeful increases with age.
My heart goes out to you. I would much rather be the AD sufferer than the committed spouse. My husband and I have a pact to help each other terminate suffering when the time comes. I worry that I'll hesitate if he needs my help. Like my mother, I find that my desire to live and to be hopeful increases with age.
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Starfish77
- Senior Contributor
- Posts: 404
- Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2013 4:36 pm
- Location: San Francisco,CA
Re: Accomplished Patient Opts for Suicide in the Face of AD
Thirties Child,
That you and your husband could talk about such important things openly speaks volumes about what a significant
relationship you two share. That you are willing to accept the responsibility to help if the need arises shows real love.
We are honored to have you with us and may we have the courage to communicate with our loved ones as you have done.
We are so fortunate to have this forum as a safe space where we can talk about the things that really matter where
everyone's viewpoint is respected.
That you and your husband could talk about such important things openly speaks volumes about what a significant
relationship you two share. That you are willing to accept the responsibility to help if the need arises shows real love.
We are honored to have you with us and may we have the courage to communicate with our loved ones as you have done.
We are so fortunate to have this forum as a safe space where we can talk about the things that really matter where
everyone's viewpoint is respected.
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Fc1345linville
- Contributor
- Posts: 151
- Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2015 1:49 pm
- Location: Washington DC area
Re: Accomplished Patient Opts for Suicide in the Face of AD
This tread may have been gathering dust the past three years, but I am certain that the subject remains one of primary interest to many members and readers. If you are unaware of The Final Exit Network, http://www.finalexitnetwork.org/index.html, the site has a lot of information on what is available to those who want a death with dignity. When you open the link, note on the right side of the Home page the many articles on this and related subjects, all fairly recent. Enabling legislation is still only in a handful of "blue" states, and none of them seem to deal with dementia. I think they all require a licensed Physician to certify that the person has no more than six months to live.
I personally am trying to do all I legally can to ensure that my life will end if I am diagnosed as having AD, and I get to a point where I do not recognize, or cannot communicate, with my wife, children and grand children. My wife and I recently had our lawyer overhaul and strengthen our Durable General, and Medical, Power of Attorney documents. Perhaps most importantly we also created very detailed Advance Medical Directives, specifically tailored to the wishes of each of us, and covering any medical condition we might encounter, not just dementia.
I hope this is useful to some.
Fc
I personally am trying to do all I legally can to ensure that my life will end if I am diagnosed as having AD, and I get to a point where I do not recognize, or cannot communicate, with my wife, children and grand children. My wife and I recently had our lawyer overhaul and strengthen our Durable General, and Medical, Power of Attorney documents. Perhaps most importantly we also created very detailed Advance Medical Directives, specifically tailored to the wishes of each of us, and covering any medical condition we might encounter, not just dementia.
I hope this is useful to some.
Fc
Re: Accomplished Patient Opts for Suicide in the Face of AD
Wow, great link to that organization! They have a link to an article about the need to modify advance directives for dementia scenarios http://blogs.harvard.edu/billofhealth/2 ... irectives/
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
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progranulindefect
- Contributor
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- Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2016 8:26 pm
Re: Accomplished Patient Opts for Suicide in the Face of AD
this explains how sandra took her own life. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/maga ... ml?mcubz=3
because i believe a decrease in serotonin is a key to my particular memory problems, i zeroed in on two facts in the article: sandra had been taking prozac for years for depression. my understanding is that SSRI's do not increase serotonin, they just recycle what you already have. i hope to work on increasing my levels of serotonin. also sandra had a habit of drinking tea throughout the day. i have read that caffeine depletes serotonin over the long run. because of this i am cutting out all sources of caffeine. i am also doing other things to increase serotonin which i am too lazy to go into now.
because i believe a decrease in serotonin is a key to my particular memory problems, i zeroed in on two facts in the article: sandra had been taking prozac for years for depression. my understanding is that SSRI's do not increase serotonin, they just recycle what you already have. i hope to work on increasing my levels of serotonin. also sandra had a habit of drinking tea throughout the day. i have read that caffeine depletes serotonin over the long run. because of this i am cutting out all sources of caffeine. i am also doing other things to increase serotonin which i am too lazy to go into now.
