I have had 3(grandfather, uncle, and mother) people in my family diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Needless to say, our family has been through quite alot. My brothers and I have many conversations about how nervious we are, that we may be diagnosed in time. Is there anything out there that we can do find out information about whether or not we may get it before one of us is diagnosed?

Hi Jo, I wonder if we're from the same family? Seems like every way to die early has been in my family tree, including Alzheimer's and vascular dementia.

Jo, there's one message I especially want to communicate to you and your brothers: Don't be afraid of Alzheimer's.

Life goes on, just not the way we'd hoped. But I promise you, there is life after diagnosis. In a way, the flurry of doctors, the tests, catching up on research, is all pretty interesting right in the beginning.

This web site connects to the main Alzheimer's Association site, where they have some really clear stuff on, e.g., the warning signs.

And most of all, on this forum you have access to me & others who are early in this disease, and can tell you what it's like for us. It really helps if you ask fairly specific questions.

I have these thoughts in response to this thread:

First: Alan just said what is about this AD stuff. There truly is life after AD. It is your choice and one can be to make the best of it.

Second: In my anticipation on of the worst things that could happen to me was to get AD. Then I had it diagnosed! In retrospect it is not so bad. Why?

I sold my practice at age 55, not ready but intending to retire. 14 years later AD became part of my life.

I did well in the practice of law but never found satisfaction. My suitcase of reward was always empty. The 14 years that followed were all spent floundering. I could never quite get it together what I wanted to be when I grow up.

Part of that indecision was the trauma of the circumstance leading to the sale of that practice that I founded and was the primary key of it. Part of the floundering in the last part of the period was the growing influence of my inability to get it together as AD symptoms started to manifest themselves in my life.

When I was diagnosed I had a flash of prescience. At the time I wrote in my journal: "I now know what is waiting for me to do in order to make a difference. That is to make my AD count in some way for having had it."

My writing and advocacy of matters Alzheimer's is that. Three and one half years I have had grappling with it and about it. During this time, dedicating a good portion of my life to the cause, I have found more satisfaction, serenity and purpose than I have ever felt before in my life.

Although there are other choice I would have preferred for this twilight time of my life, I have no problem with the choice the gods made for me!

Hi, Jo, welcome to the forum.

Did your relatives develop AD at a young age, or were they older when it started up?

Is your grandfather your mother's father?

If they were older when the AD developed, then there isn't any test that will predict whether you or your brothers may eventually develop it. There is a gene that is a risk factor, but you can carry that gene and never develop AD, and you can develop AD and not carry that gene.

You are somewhat more likely to develop AD when your near relatives have developed it and/or when you carry the gene, but there are things you can do to help delay/prevent AD from developing: stick to a healthy diet (the Mediterranean diet has been shown to delay/prevent onset and also slow progression), exercise both body and mind regularly, don't smoke, avoid air pollution, see your doctor regularly and get any cardiovascular problems treated promptly (high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, etc), and do what you can to minimize stress.

If your relatives were young when the AD developed (e.g., in their 40's or 50's), and your grandfather is your mother's father, then the odds are higher that one or more of you will also develop it at an early age. With a pattern like that, it is more likely that your relatives have early-onset familial AD (eFAD), and if so, there is a 50:50 chance that your mother passed the dominant gene on to you and/or to your brothers. There are places that do genetic testing for the known eFAD genes. There is also a major study on the adult children of eFAD parents:

http://www.dian-info.org/

Dear Jo,

Hello and Welcome to the AD message Boards. I'm sorry about your family members that have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's but I am glad you've found us.

the best advice I can give you is to lead a healthy life style (like JAB said) and not fret about the future. Worrying is Alzheimer's best friend! Stress, anxiety, worry, unhealthy life styles are all friends of AD (so we have been told).

So, go enjoy your life! Try not to get too stressed and if you do then do something to de-stress!

Of course, you ALWAYS welcome here.