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You can't find your glasses or remember the name of your neighbor. You're losing your mind - or your memory, you think. Then you panic, certain it's onset of a dreaded and incurable disease. Alzheimer's can strike anyone, even a former president like Ronald Regan, and happens most often in people over eighty (one in three). Alzheimer's is caused by a loss of nerve cells, and progressive mental decline - memory loss, disorientation, inability to communicate - and physical deterioration follow. It can be especially heartbreaking for families to watch loved ones slowly seem to lose their very selves.
Much more study and hope is needed. A correct diagnosis is crucial, because other curable diseases have similar symptoms. Caregivers especially need a support network to help them cope.
Prescription Drugs
It is very easy to forget that prescription medications are powerful chemicals with potential side effects. Be a smart consumer, and ask both your pharmacist and you doctor about what prescription is supposed to do, how a prescription can make you feel, how often you should take it, if you should eat or not eat with it, if it's ok to drink alcohol when on this drug, and how it can interact with any other drugs you're taking and if you should stop taking them.
These questions are absolutely crucial, because many drugs not only interact with food but with each other, and can cause very serious problems. You must always tell your doctor what other drugs you're taking, whether, for example, hormone-replacement or birth-control pills, over-the-counter cough syrup, or even large doses of vitamins and minerals.
Always finish a prescription, even if you feel better right away. Report any unexpected reactions like headaches, dizziness, nausea, and rashes to your doctor immediately. Never take more than the prescribed dose.