new to Alzheimers - really Alz or diabetic dementia or???

Hi all,

I've been on medhelp for quite some time on the wonderful MS support group.  

But recently we've gotten the shocking news that my mother may have Alzheimers and I am not nearly well educated on this, but feel its progressing so quickly, it may be related more to her diabetes being out of control.  She has lost 40 pounds in the last 6-8 months.  I was with her last week trying to get an emergency geriatric psych eval, but no luck.  Took her to the doctor she has seen for years and even tho the weight loss is akncolwedged, they were more concerned about more tests, then revisiting her meds.   I feel that her taking meds for diabetes, high blood pressure and congential heart failure for someone who was 40 lbs heavier is a huge mistake.  

She was not monitoring her sugars, nor taking her meds regularly, but once she came back up here with family, we started her on the med regimen as directed / orginally prescribed and started seeing her condition get drastically worse.  She had two episodes of sugars crashing, once to 21 and she was rushed to the hospital (where she remains) and then the following morning at the hospital, it was a 7 (yep that is a single digit).   They have removed her from all meds to let everything clear her system, but her dementia has gone from just forgetting a conversation 5 minutes ago to now seeing kids in the 'backyard' and them trying to break into the sliding screen door.  My brother is out on the front porch (outside her hospital door) talking to neighbors and sounds like kids are fighting int he street (hallway).  Even more terrifying to me, she thought it was 1975 and swore my dead brother had just left from visiting and she spoke to my father earlier (dad died in 1976).   She is also seeing cats everywhere (we recently had to surrender many of her cats, she was turning into the crazy cat lady with a shocking number of 16 in the house).   That was the trigger that made her flee WV with the cats in a van and drive to Baltimore.  We had the cats surrendered to a safe shelter, tho she thinks they got out of her van, doctors say to let her beleive they escaped, no need to confront her with a truth that will only agitate her worse.

So, any thoughts....  does such a quick decline sound like anyone's experience with Alzheimer?   I know diabetes has its own mess of dementia and even bouncing around with meds can cause her to have paranoia behavior or see things.   But the doctors are leaning towards alzheimers and I just don't know enough to accept or fight that logic.  I always thought of Alzheimers as being a long slow painful process...  She is perfectly functional at moments, having conversations with me about events of the last week, then in the middle of it, she will start whispering that the boys are outside fussing with the windows again.  

Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated.  I know no one here can say it's definitely this or that...  just looking for input on what experiences people here have had...   and as always on medhelp, looking to vent and know we're not alone dealing with this situation!!!

Thank you for reading!!

Jen

[Nikodicreta]

Hi Jen. Welcome to the Alzheimer's Disease Community.

You onto something very valid with your suspicions.
Indeed, new research now discovered the brain produces insulin.
Insulin will drop when consistently too much sugar is overloading and overworking the system.
The amount actually of insulin drops dramatically as Alzheimer's advances
according to studies. There's neuronal apoptosis, due to  decrease of insulin growth factors, along with the insulin decrease, which leads to eventually serious memory impairment.
Because diabetes and "brain diabetes" leading to Alzheimer's, are similar but separate conditions, they don't necessarily influence each other, but share probably some co-factors. Some people therefore may have diabetes but not the Alzheimer's, or vice versa, however, the risks of developing the other, are much greater, compared to the general population.

I suspect that yeast overgrowth along with "brain hypoglycemia" can wreak havoc and exasperate Alzheimer's symptoms.
One of the reasons, and this is based on my own personal conclusions,
is why ketone based protocols are the most successful approaches so far, in dealing with Alzheimer's (prevention and treatment).
In the most fundamental and basic form, this consists of adequate consumption of virgin coconut oil (VCO), as VCO can cross the blood -brain barrier and supply much needed energy to the brain when glucose uptake is restricted for various reasons.
Also,VCO, being a significant antifungal agent- much more effective than prescription antifungal drugs- inhibits the neurotoxic effects of  yeast overgrowth conditions (plus alleviate or eliminate any other symptoms
caused by yeast overgrowth conditions)
Dementia and Alzheimer's may co-exist and with many overlapping symptoms and frequently exasperated by the same medications that are commonly prescribed for their so-called "treatment". Other meds taken for other conditions  can contribute to creating a potential "Molotov-like cocktail"! lol!


Medications do have their place, nonetheless, the safety factor is grossly overrated, when prescribing considerations are employed, resulting in
less than desired efficacy for arresting or treating the condition itself.
In an overburdened medical system, facilities with limited resources,
and time constraints - health care providers and family members alike-
unfortunately the direction of Alzheimer's patient management and care,
is downward- to state it politely!  

I have been through all this with my mom who passed on in May of this year.
She had suffered also -besides her physical pain and limitations- traumatic brain injury, following a horrific accident caused by a drunken car driver a few years ago.
TBI, PTSD, heart issues, Alzheimer's and paraplegic. What a combination!
  I found a "common space" where we communicated effectively, during my last trip (in greece) before she passed on. It was mainly non-verbal, and it reminded me of the silent spiritual communication that takes place in Ashrams, after the spiritual seekers have retreated in complete silence there for weeks.
And it was very cathartic for both of us, as we could let go completely, of all the debris and all the nonsense that was surrounding us.
I wish I could explain this better, but was not an intellectual process, but
rather a spiritual one.

We see in these conditions mostly the physical aspects, the symptoms, the "problems", of our loved ones, influencing us to forget and ignore their souls and their spirits along with or own souls and spirits.
And this is where we can all seek and find comforting awareness.

Thank you for posting and  for reading mine as well!!
Blessings.
Niko