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... ing illnesses" (32). The second stage of Alzheimer's leaves the victims basically helpless. Their behavior can become extremely unpredictable in some people.
This stage can last from two to ten years. The victims have continued and progressive memory loss which can make it impossible for them to remember past and even current events (Fish 68). The victims may become severely disoriented and confused. He or she may lose the ability to recognize loved ones and even their own reflection. The victims might wander away and get lost.
The victims become unable to express themselves and to complete sentences. They go through mood swings and personality changes which are usually short lived. The victim may wander around at night or repeat movements over and over. They suffer from behavior problems and can have hallucinations. Sometimes they hide things and then wreck things when they are trying to find the thing they hid in the first place. Their motor activity becomes impaired and they may have a tough time buttoning their shirt or tying their shoelace.
They may experience muscle twitching (69). They may also tend to lose their sense of balance (70). Scientists have tried a variety of drugs to cure Alzheimer's disease, but they have not been successful yet. There have been hundreds of drugs tested on Alzheimer's patients, but none have been totally successful. Most of them were found either ineffective or caused some serious side effects (Mace 381). Lecithin was one type of drug that was tried but it was found to be ineffective.
However, a drug by the name of taurine has shown to help a few people with Alzheimer's disease, but then more in-depth studies showed that these benefits could not be confirmed (382). Various medications may be prescribed to help with any behavior problems that the patient might have. Medications such as antidepressants or antipsychotic are sometimes given in small doses to patients in order to control their behavior problems (Larson 518). It is rather disappointing that scientists have not found a cure for this disease yet, but they believe that there is still hope that one day they will find a cure. This disease can be extremely hard to live with if one does not have any close friends or relatives. Here is a story of a man named Andrew who had to go through this disease with no one to help him.
Andrew's wife died when he was 65. He retired from his job and moved to a trailer park (Frank 68). He did not have any children, and he didn't have any relatives that lived close by. He also had no friends.
No one knew him that well, so when he started to show some early signs of Alzheimer's disease no one even noticed. Some of his cousins were surprised that they didn't hear from him over the holidays, but soon forgot about it because they were so busy with their own lives. His neighbors started to notice that he didn't dress neatly anymore, and that he didn't take care of his yard anymore. His neighbors all thought that someone else should check on Andrew to see if he needed any help. After about two years he started to wander around outside. One morning he was found sleeping under a tree a few blocks from his house.
He was very confused and could not tell anyone where he lived. The family that found him called the police, realizing that Andrew was ill. They took him to the emergency room at the nearby hospital. Finally a nurse got him to tell her his name. No relatives or close friends could be found, so he was admitted to the hospital (69).
He was diagnosed with having Alzheimer's disease, but the hospital could not find anyone to take care of him. A social worker also tried, but had no luck. He was sent to the state mental hospital because he had some financial problems and could not afford to stay at a nursing home. He had no choice in deciding this. Andrew soon realized where he was and wanted to get out. He could not afford it, so he had to stay where he was (70).
Soon a guardian was found for him, and took care of him until he died five years later (71). It is extremely difficult to have Alzheimer's. It can be even more devastating if the victim is not financially secure. This can make it hard to find a place to stay. In Andrew's case, he also had no friends or relatives to help him through it. The victims of this disease are often felt sorry for, but people usually don't think of the people that take care of the Alzheimer's victim.
It can be very rough on the caretaker in many different ways. There is a chance that the person taking care of the victim may feel angry or frustrated. He may be angry that he has to deal with this problem, angry that other family members fail to do their share. He might be angry at the Alzheimer's victim for his unusual behavior (Mace and Rabins 259). The caregiver may feel embarrassed about the way that the Alzheimer's victim acts around others that do not understand exactly what is wrong with the victim (263). The caretaker may feel guilty about the way that he is acting around the victim or for using harsh words at the victim when he loses his temper (264).
The caregiver might be hopeful that there will be some cure for Alzheimer's sometime soon in the future, but yet discouraged that there is not a cure right now and the possibility that there may not be a cure for a long time (272). Taking care of a loved one with Alzheimer's can be extremely tiring and even frustrating. It can totally change the way that a person lives his life. A group called the "Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association (ADRDA) ", made up of mostly families of Alzheimer's victims, helps people to get through the difficulties of being a guardian or caretaker. This group has meetings at which members can express their personal feelings and experiences with Alzheimer's victims. They can also share what they do to deal with the problems that they have encountered (Frank 72).
It also does research to help find the causes of Alzheimer's and a cure for this disease (Fish 52). This group has recently changed its name to "Alzheimer's Association" (51). Alzheimer's is a terrible disease that destroys the lives of many people and will probably destroy many more as life expectancy increases. The victims know that the disease will slowly eat away at the life that they have left inside of them.
They also know that there is no known cure at this time to help them overcome this terrible disease, so they can live their life like a normal person. offer from Alzheimer's disease.
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