Im new. Im looking for people like. I have eoad.I have never used this before.

Laura

Good Morning, Laura. You are among friends. How can I help?

I would like to find others like me to chat with

Laura,

Below is the chat-room schedule. Just click on chat up there in the header and it will take you there.

Someone will be along shortly I'm sure, to welcome you as I did and if you like, y'all can open your own chat-room and speak there. You don't HAVE to adhere to the schedule below - you can go in anytime you like.

You mentioned you're EOAD, so if you'd like to post and participate on the message board, you cab choose either I HAVE ALZHEIMER'S , or the one which says 65, but really you can post wherever you like, since thge title of your thread and your name will always appear on thefar right-hsnd side.

Also, see my post titled "Hey I'm In Chat"? Just post like I did and note the time and how long you'll wait and then click chat and go to room one.

Laura, I too have EOAD and am taking Namenda and he Exelon patch. Lisa, Ttom and Alan_In_Colorado are in here a lot, and if they aren't here already they soon will be.

I usually minimize the window and check back every few minutes.

I hope I helped you with some of the basics, and again: Welcome To Our Nightmare!

Oh yeah,forgot to tell ya', I'm kinda the "court jester" here, so don't be surprised if I go for a laugh or two in any of my postings.

To get to know me, I invite you to my blog (URL is below. Just be aware: I'm very plain-spoken and if racy language offends you, I'll understand and just see you here!

If you DO go the blog, there is a little ad box on the left. If you click it Alzheimer's Research and the Humane Society each get a penny.

Welcome to the neighborhood, LAURA!!!!

Bill



CHAT ROOM ONE:

Tuesdays 3pm (EST): Come join other caregivers and persons affected by Alzheimer's disease for an afternoon chat.
Thursdays 1pm (EST): On your lunch break? Come join other caregivers and persons affected by Alzheimer's disease in the chat room.

Thank you for the info. Iwill keep checking back. Im on and off all day long.

Laura, how about you tell us a little bit about yourself - no personal identifying information, please.

I live in Co too.I have been diagnosed since Aug. still learning.But Im real tired now and I will come back tomorrow night to tell you the rest

Laura H,
Hello and Welcome to the AD Message Boards. I'm sorry to hear you have EOAD but I am glad you've found us.
I have EOAD too. So do many of us here.
I'm sorry you're so tired. Please, get some sleep and come back and talk with us.

Again, Welcome to OUR family. You are NOT alone. We are here for you.

Hi guys.I went to school to be a vet tech a few yrs. ago.I had the hardest time trying to memorize things. thats when I started to suspect something was wrong.I couldnt finish but got offered a job at a vets office that said they would train me and they hired me as an ass.after 2 mos. of cleaning which I was real good at & the training began.They woud show me how to do a simple test and then ask me to do it again 5 min later.I would have to tell them I couldnt remember what the first step was. Then I would ask what the second step was and so on....After one month of this I was depressed and felt stupid.So I started calling in sick. Finally I was "let go" which I have no problem with as I completely understand. Thats when I was refered to the nuero dr.After 6 mos. of tests I was diagnosed with EOAD. At the time I was glad for the dx, Feeling vendicated as I tried to telleveryone I prob had AD and they all said "Oh your to young, Its just because your doing too much, or too depressed or what ever" Now that time has gone by I have found that I am too young to qualify for silver key (an elder person support that drives people to Dr apt that cant drive)or other helpfil places Here in the Springs area where I live in Co.They couldnt start a support gruop for EAOD because the girl in charge of this had cancer and would be back in Jan.( of course I felt like a heel for being impatient.)Just last week we finaly had our first one and I almost missed it because no one bothered to tell me and I just happened to call that day and found out.At the support group I found at about going on line to "BLOG" whatever that was (LOL)and I have slowly began to figure this out.By the way there were only 3 of us with demensia that showed up at our first local meeting, and only one of them has EOAD.They told us they would mail each of us each others Phone #. That was last Thur. pm havent gotten them yet.I have so many ? for any one who has gone through this longer than I have. I have also learned how to use the chat room and am usually there every pm at 5 mountain time,if anyone would like to come and meet me in the demensia only room I would love to chat. Thanks Look forward to meeting you soon,

Laura

Laura, I'm sorry, but the chat room is too much for me to keep up with. But we can still talk things over in print.

You say you have questions for other people with EOAD? I'd love to see your questions, and see what I can come up with. I'm sure a bunch of other folks would, too.

Maybe one question at a time.

I would like to invite anyone with EOAD to please email me so I can ask orivate Questions.my email is lahansx4@aol.com
Alan, I have a hard time keeping up too

Say it ain't so, Laura!!! Tell me you aren't trying to remove our conversation off this forum???

Please, think about this. These conversations will be read and re-read by dozens, maybe hundreds, of others, if we keep the conversation right here. And every person with AD has their own unique experience, so brilliant insights can come from out of the blue.

Please don't be offended or hurt! I have a strong commitment to keeping this forum strong.

Im so sorry if you thought I ment I was ending this conversation. I just ment that everyone is welcome to email me.
I am not good at being able to put the right words together to say what I mean. Is anyone else experiencing this?
Laura

Laura, if only you could see what my writing looks like, un-edited. So many typos, misspellings, and sometimes angry and I just have to delete and take more medicine till I calm down. You don't see that . . . usually . . . because I go over & over my posts, till they look presentable.

Laura, you write and express yourself quite well, so far so good. Maybe you've had events like I have, where I think I'm asking a perfectly good question, but the responses indicate that I must not be as clear as I think I am?

Alan, Im sorry to hear that you have so much trouble writing.If you could send me one email doesnt have to say anything but hi,i will send you my phone # if that would be easier for you. I live in colorado too.
And yes, I do find when I ask a question I get the wrong answer!!!!!

Dear Laura,
I agree with Alan in that we can ALL talk here and get a lot of support from others like ourselves.

You are doing a great job with your writing. Please, ask your questions and we'll all try to help you get some answers. More heads are better than One!!

Ok guys here goes I need someone to talk to about what they are experiencing. Am I the youngest here with ad at age 45? How fast is everyones symptoms progressing? What meds are best? How do you cope with fearing for yourself and your fam. Do you feel like you are being a huge burden on your fam. How do you find a good nuerologist? Can everyone understand you? What can you do to comunicate better without people misunderstanding you? These are just a few questions that I have. More to come, thanks everyone

Hi All,
I am a browsing groupie and just wanted to touch basis and thank everyone for all the posts. Thank God for you. I am learning so much and find so much comfort in all I read, just knowing I am not alone and so many of you experience what I do.....Alan, I think you write a lot like I do. (My spelling is so bad spell check doesn't work for me). Laura and Sharon I might have thought I wrote some of your posts. Iris, Mary, Lisa and who have I forgotten? I never know what to say, I know what I feel tho....any way I think I do, just have a hard time putting anything into words. I seem to function at a higher level than many in several areas, but when it comes to communication? I feel so very challenged and incompetent. I seem to have a hard time carrying on a conversation...keeping one going? At any rate I am grateful to all of you who do post. Without you I would not have this place to come to. So thanks guys.

lb1981, welcome aboard. we are so glad you came to visit.thanks for your comments,

Dear Laura,
You are not the youngest here. You may be the youngest who is posting here now but some here were diagnosed in their 30's.

Hi, my name is Lisa, I have EOAd, dx @ 53 now 54 going on 55!

I know you are frightened, scared, angry, confused and bewildered right now. You are not alone. Alzheimer's disease does affect the entire family. Are you married with children?

I know what you mean about people sometimes not understanding you. It still happens to me. I ask a question but get a different answer?!

EOAD progresses differently in everyone. As for your meds, I hope you have been seen by a good neurologist who specializes in EOAD and dementia. That will give you the best outcome.

As for me, I use an Exelon patch, namenda twice a day, cerefolin once a day, seroquel @ bedtime, clonazepam for muscle spasms (myoclonus) and some other supplements.

EOAD can sometimes feel like a roller coaster ride with ups and downs, twists and turns, good days and bad days.

Have you joined an EOAD support group yet? You really sure. It helps to talk with people (in person) like yourself. I love my support groups. We meet twice a month.

Please, take care of yourself. Call your local AD Assn for pamphlets and books and support.

If you ever need immediate assistance/help/talk, please call the AD Helpline @ 800-272-3900. There are professionals there 24/7 to assist you.

I was in chat room 1 for a few minutes then I got booted out. I couldn't get back in. I'll try tomorrow. Wednesday 4/22

Iris L.

Dear lb1981,
Hello and welcome.
Thank you for joining in. We need ALL the input, info and advice we can get. Everyone is welcome to speak here.
How can we help you?

Please, read away. Talk only when you're comfortable doing so. But don't worry about your writing, you're doing fine. We can understand what you are trying to tell us. Take your time. Take some deep breaths.

We are Here.

Hello, LB1981, and welcome to postiing on the message board. I, like you, browsed for a few months before I took the plunge and signed up. I've learned a lot and gotten much support from some wonderful people.

When I post, sometimes I have to write out what I want to say in Wordpad, edit it, then ask myself, "Is this what I want to say?" I sometimes close my eyes, then click post now. I know my fellow posters will understand what I'm trying to say. If they don't, they don't hesitate to ask or otherwise respond. We're all here to support each other in this horrible disease. We don't always agree but we agree to speak our minds, what's left of them. (a joke).

I used to feel inhibited when I first posted because I wasn't sure how I would be understood. Other posters got me to believe that it's my right, no, my duty to continue to communicate as a cognitively-impaired person as long as I can. If we don't, how will other people learn about early stage/early onset AD and other dementias? Like Alan said on another thread, a neurologist told him he could not have AD because he wasn't drooling. These are the professionals we have to reach, along with our family members and friends, and the government officials who are responsible for research, allocation of resources, and disability payaments.

That's a lot for a welcome. Welcome again, and keep coming back! By the way, are you a diagnosed patient? Let us know your story.

Iris L.

LB 1981

It also took me awhile to post anything on the board. I guess like everyone else I didn't know what to say at first, but after reading the post I realized they were people just like me trying to go on. Have you been told you have EOAD? Life does go on, but not like it was before. I was told I had EOAD April 2008 I was 57. My entire life changed, lost my career, could not drive anymore, after while my spelling got so bad, my handwriting changed and my math skills are bad. That has been hard on me because I was an Insurance Adjuster for 16 years and had good math skills. I am trying to adjust. Keep reading the post and join us when you feel comfortable.

Sharon

Math skills?

I'm there too. I find that in order to leave a tip with a 00 dollar amount, I now have to actually do the math (the addition, the carry-over, etc.)

Just cannot see it "in my head anymore".

The same with spelling. The letters aren't lining up right. They're all THERE, yes, but they're jumbled up.

B~

PS: Welcome to the "family" LB1981!

Hello Luara,
My name is Tom. I vounteer with this board anlong with Alan, Lisa and a few others that have not replied yetg.
I was diagnosed with EOAD in 2008 at the age of 58. We have people that are active on the message board that were diagnosed as early as age 43.
I agree with all that Alan has said about staying with this board. Keeping this all on the record, for everybody to see and reply to works well. Personally I have a hard time focusing on written material longer than a sentence or two. Takes me forever to read and respond.

He's better on the phone!

You ROCK, Tommy!

B~

ok guys . Let me start over. I will stay on the board, I just thohgt you might want to chat with me by email too. Maybe even Instnt message me one on one where we can take our time. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Laura - I'm a few weeks short of 54. This dementia stuff started messing up my life as I was well into my 50th year. Angry denial until neuropsych testing at 52, brought on by career crash, and inability to learn a new job.

My symptoms are moving relatively slowly, especially since getting into my system Seroquel, Namenda, and medical marijuana (I'm a licensed user in my state, all legal).

I am a huge burden on my darling wife, who since last August has been dealing with her aggressive breast cancer. She does a pretty good job of adapting, certainly under the circumstances she deserves a gold medal for hanging in there and doing everything possible. Luckily, she has supportive family. Most of my family is dead, and you can compost the rest. I have replaced them with some good friends.

There are times when I think I'm expressing myself just fine, but nobody understands me. This can happen during casual conversation, or at a doctor's appointment. I really, really hate it when that happens, and I'm frightened that it'll get worse. I haven't found anything helpful, but I'll keep trying.

You find a good neurologist by asking around. You can't assume that a neurologist likes brain disorders! Check with the Alzheimer's Association, they should be able to give you a good referral. If nothing else, check out the doctors that are on the Alz. Assoc. Board of Directors, or whatever they call it.

Great questions!