An Elusive Diagnosis – Alzheimer’s (AD)

You don’t get to choose how you’re going to die.
Or when. You can only decide how you’re going to live. Now.
~ Joan Baez

You think your loved one may have memory issues above and beyond casual forgetfulness? You’re beginning to hear and read about all kinds of dementia, mostly about something named Alzheimer’s? Can Alzheimer’s be diagnosed? Who is qualified to diagnose it? And certainly if it cannot be cured, what’s the point in subjecting loved ones to a fear-inducing diagnosis?

I’m only me, but I can tell you from my humble standpoint – I want to know everything. And that means sharing my fears and asking my children and grandchildren to investigate AD with me. We’ve done that together, hand in hand. Sometimes I think I am wrong to ask them to help shoulder the burden. I wasn’t given that chance when my dad was diagnosed; therefore, I didn’t know how to deal with the angst and anger he displayed – yelling as he raised his fist up to my face. I was horrified…for him and for me. I do not want that for my family. My decision to include everyone may not be the way you’d handle it for your family. It’s a personal choice we all need to work through.

Experts admit that definitively diagnosing AD can be tricky. It is a process of elimination through different tests. Do I believe I have it? No, not completely. Well, sometimes. Yes. Am I in denial? Probably, based on testing.

So I’m approaching my diagnosis with a ‘tricky’ strategy – gathering the mega information available about a subject that is not fully understood, changing my diet to include more plant based foods, gluten-free and heaven knows cutting out sweets. That one is the hardest of all…and I am not fully successful. Shhh.

I am fighting for my cognitive well-being as best I know how. That’s today and that is what I know for sure, today. We are only promised now.

How is your day going?