MADcreative
Posted October 10, 2007 09:48 AM Hide Post
I am 52, may have early onset of AD, looking for natural remedies before going on any meds, am seeing a neurologist and using conerta for concentration, which seems to be helping.

Wondering, is there any use in brain teaser things such as crossword puzzles etc. or does the brain just decline at its own pace?

Any hints on how to remember better? Currently I just bring a pad of paper and write things down, but I am hoping for some way to make myself remember better.

Looking for answers...


MADcreative

Posts: 1 | Registered: October 10, 2007

Keep your mind as active as you can.I'm on my computer many hours a day.I play games,chat with others,In general enjoy all I can while I can..............

As i am close to your age and was diagnosed about 4 years thought might share a couple a things seem to work.
i was on both of the main alz pills for two years and could not tell the difference. I spent most every day of those first years researching( which if you do also be prepared to laugh a lot -- or cry. i bet i dicovered made notes and forgot most of what i now know at least 3 times)
In fact the vitimans i take I only found six months ago. They are make in New Zealand and quite unique. After i took my first pill and put them in the drawer i noticed a another half empty bottle of same stuff in drawer)
Anyway here what i believe has helped
1 moved out of large city to rural area (polution and noise)
2. take about 7 specific vitiman mineral and herb suppliments every day( that i remember heh)
3 Walk and hour in morning and an hour every night
5 read nonfiction books everyday. i never remember them ) but the process i believe is great for my brain.
8 Play a computer game named WOw. most of players are in twenties and i cant keep up but i believe just tryin is good and when i get frustrated or lost i just turn off puter and go get an apple)
3 Eat right be brutal about this eat mostly fresh did i say fresh yea fresh veges and tons of nuts and fruit and lots of cold water fish
we need all the stinkin blood flow to our brains wa kin get. go cold turkey on the burgers and fries ( yes i cheat) but not much
no white flour or white rice either bubba)
Well friend i hope something is helpful ) and if not maybe just laughin at me will make ya day) Be well friend

My mother who is only 53 and diagnosed with early onset just saw a wonderful specialist. A neurologist specializing in cognative abilities and Alz. Aside from rx medication he recommended two specific supplements that have been proven to slow the progression of alzheimers in genetically altered animals. The supplements are Omega 3(fish oil), and Curcumin also called Turmeric. He said that he takes those two supplements daily because we will all get alz symptoms at some point in life and if a couple of supplements can ward that off or prolong those symptoms and have absolutly NO side effects he was going to take them.
Hope that was helpful.

MADcreative:
I am 52 and my onset occurred when I was 48. Like many who have previously responded to your plea; I had significant memory (short term) when I left the workplace to seek a cure for my problem. Only later did I recieve my AD diagnosis. I would offer the folliwng suggestions which have improved my cognative capabilities. I still forget many things (short term), however, I have improved somewhat in this area from my "starting point" two years ago.
1. I read Dr. Gary Smalls's books (he has 3 on the market) which deal with diet, detailed information on the disease and activities you can do to enhance your cognative function or slow the progression. We have to remember, what works for one person may not work for another.
2. My son purchased a Nintendo "Brain Age" game for we at a local Wal-Mart store. Three are now three seperate "chips" for the game and each "chip" has six to eight programs to stimulate cognative function. I have all three and they provide a (1) mini-mental exam game, (2) Sudoku (math puzzle), (3) multiple math games (simple addition and subtraction) as well as (4) a game focusing on telling time with a little bit of a twist (the clock is rotated, reversed, etc. These exercise are on one chip and as I said; there are three of them. I find the clock to be the most difficult followed by the memory exercises. However, you can improve your score through daily training and there is a graph which shows your progress over time. Each chip provides an actual "brain age check" which gives you an actual age based on your score. When I began the exercises, I scored in my eighties and now I am consistently in my mid-50's.

It is important to know that we can improve our memories by reading "aloud" and discussing what we are reading "real time" with our caregiver. My wife and I read each day. On some days; we read only a few pages on other days we read a chapter. Throughout the process we take turns reading aloud and discuss each page as we read it. It's a slow read but is helpful in forcing a person with AD to listen attentively (not that hard when you are doing a page at a time) and forcing a person with AD to read and remember; which is still difficult for me.

hey, this could help you: when you need to remember something, attach it to a song and sing it to yourself, either make up a tune or sing it in a tune that you like, make like, one sentence out of what it is you need to remember and sing it over and over again like a bad pop song stuck in your brain, and that may well do it. good luck, Fishfool @ thereeftank.com