tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8024461.post5822131339480766596..comments2023-07-02T10:27:44.090-04:00Comments on "Had a Dad" Alzheimer's Blog: 181 obesity ups AD risk by 80%, and some personal stuffGBP })i({http://www.blogger.com/profile/09275995534174189926noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8024461.post-90269002621546127112008-06-01T09:50:00.000-04:002008-06-01T09:50:00.000-04:00I'm really sorry to hear about your grandma and yo...I'm really sorry to hear about your grandma and your car. That bites. Is there any chance that grandma can go into assisted living or even a senior community? This is too much for your mom to deal with and I am completely understanding why people say do NOT make any big, life altering decisions within 6-12 months of a spouse's death. I know your dad was kind of gone for month before his death, but since he was physically present, there was no adjustment period for your mom. Hopefully you and I will remember this when we are in a similar position.<BR/><BR/>As to the AD info... I really, really think that so much of this is B.S. The truth is that NO-ONE actually knows what causes AD or even if it exists. People can have plaques and tangles and not be symptomatic... so is it just that they develop in only some people or in everyone? Do people who continue learning their whole life just have better, more reilable methods for working around it? Older people generally have problems with technology--the only reason that it was not noticed previously is that technology did not advance as rapidly as it has since the industrial revolution. Think about the advancements in computer technology in the past 10 or even 5 years! Back "in the day" the technology was from horses and mules to tractors and well, physical frailty probably was a bit of a deterrent for older folks to stop earning their living in such strenuous ways as much as anything... One mistake with the threshing machine cost you your arm or your life... Or you could encounter polio or scarlet fever that would either kill you or leave you with a weakened constitution and a shorter life. Not to mention no central heat, air etc... boils down to you are not going to live much past 50 cause life is HARD. Now, life is less physically strenuous, we are fatter (ALL of us:-)), weaker, slower and maybe outliving our brains useful life. Everything else in the body breaks down with age... why does the brain get such a bad rap?<BR/><BR/>My point is, memory just was not as big of a deal in those days. You lived in one place until your spouse died and maybe with family for a while after that. Ta-da, much less in the way of short term memory issues as you have been doing the same tasks in the same location for 20-30 years... You don't get lost for the same reason. And when you DO make a mistake, well, you die. Because as much as we all piss and moan about health care, the truth is that we have NEVER had it better, never lived longer, never had such easy lives. <BR/><BR/>At some point one has to pay the piper. I just hope when I start displaying the symptoms of AD, that I'll have the guts to go on my own terms. As you've pointed out, there is really no way around it. 50% + 80% = 120% and we all know that you can't have more than 100%.ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00402842030054392325noreply@blogger.com