ptsd Ptsd Or Alzheimer's

[jessie0054]

OK, I have written several times in the last year about different member's of my family i am trying to help. Now it is my husband, He's doing some really out of charater things for him. Usually he is more in control, But lately i am seeing things in him that are starting to worry me.

First i'll tell you he is 30% service connected for PTSD. He ususally fuctions pretty well and these things have been coming on over the last 10-12 months and the lid blew off the pot so to speak today.

I collect coins as a hobby and in the last 4 months he has brought home a roll of the Washington quarters 4 times. I didn't have the heart to tell him i already have them so i just took them and put them away.

I keep his PM medications in the bathroom so he will not forget to take them as he go's through his bedtime routine. I have caught him twice in the last week taking them in the morning!!

A few times even though i have watched him take them he gets up 30 mins later " Oh i forgot to take my pills" So i have to remind him he's already taken them.

Twice in the last month or two he wakes me up out of a very peacefull sleep and ask me if i can't go take a sleeping pill so i can go to sleep. Duh!! I'm already sleeping!!

Somedays he will call me or our son half a dozen times a day and gets upset because we don't answer our cell phone saying ' I'm going to throw that SOB cell phone out the door because you won't answer it" Well i check it to see if i have missed any calls because sometime if i'm in another room and the TV is on i can't hear it ring and ususally no i haven't any missed calls from him.

Last Saturday he got up at 5:30 Am and got dressed and ready to head off to work. I woke up and ask him what he was doing, You don't work on Saturadys.!!

This morning he called me from work very upset, Said he had hid some money in the gargage and some of it was missing and accused me of taking it. [And no, I didn't know he was hidding money and no i didn't take his money!!]

He got even more upset when i ask why he was hidding money and could he maybe have put some of it in a different area and forgot where he hid it?? Boy that was the wrong thing to say!! I'm sure i haven't heard the end of it yet!!

Like i said he usually is in pretty good control and i'm hoping that in the next few hours before he gets off work that he may take sometime and think about the things he said. So maybe he will have cooled off before he gets home. I have never had a reason to fear him, But!!! He loves his money and if he really believes i took any from him i don't know what he might do.

So could be his PTSD getting worse or is he getting Alzhemer's disease??

Jessie

[Pete53]

Jessie:

Sounds like your husband needs a thorough checkup in order for a Professional to form a diagnosis and a treatment plan. In the meantime you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Pete

[Jay Johnson]

Hello Jay:

Thank You for your comments and wanting to help. [ i am not going to question you, as i just don't know]

There is no history of hereditary alzheimers in my husbands family. All his older siblings are still very sharp in mind and memory, Both his parents and grandparents died from Heart/Kidney conditions and several half siblings died of Cancer. One younger brother has AO related diabetes.

My husband does have high blood presure and heart problems and takes a hand full of medications daily for these along with the ptsd.

I'm not leaning in the direction of alzheimers, But then i'm not a Dr. So until next week we will just be in the dark, But i will keep an watchfull eye on things.

Thanks Jessie

The hereditary portion isn't really a big issue, the reason I included it is because the study(s) was worded that way because they only tested people, in the study, who had relatives with the disease. The problem with doing a study on alzheimers (and many progressive diseases) is that by the time you see symptoms you've already had the disease for quite some time, so they focused on those most likely to have the disease so they could detect it as early as possible.

Basically, I think it's safe to say that your husband falls well within the age range for alzheimers, but I too think it is not likely (though should be tested regardless).

The one thing you don't want to do is try to push the practitioners in any given direction too much....if you go in and say, "I think it's XXXX" they may only test for XXXX, so keep it broad (IE - he has been having memory issues) and let them run a full battery of tests.....if you're not satisfied with their response (IE - they don't test for alzheimers, PTSD related memory loss, MID, etc) then start getting specific and demanding more tests. This has been the most effective way in dealing with doctors in my experience at least......

BTW, anger and, other issues, *could* be stemming from the frustration he's feeling with the memory problems and may be separate of the PTSD. If he's hiding the true extent of his problems (which isn't uncommon) it could be causing a great deal of angst that has to be directed at someone at some point. I spent 1.5 years in a retirement facility and anger was a common side effect of early cognitive issues......until people accept the cognitive issues they can be very difficult to deal with. A good psych will get that out of him though......

[free_spirit_etc]

Jesse,

Yes. People CAN get Alzheimer's that young. That is kind of how they discovered it. People were EXPECTED to get "senile" in old age. But when they started noticing the symptoms in younger people - age didn't explain it.

They are doing much research in Alzheimer's - and getting better at diagnosing it - but as far as I know it is still very difficult to definately diagnose until after death (with a brain autopsy).

Yet doctors LEAP to that diagnosis -- or the catch-all "Alzheimer's Related Dementia" WAY too soon - and then the person goes into custodial care. There isn't a lot of promising treatment.

It's pretty well a downhill slide - And the SADDEST thing of all is it often is NOT Alzheiemer's - It is something that is treatable - or something that is not treatable per se - but NOT Alzheiemr's.

I was an CNA in a nursing home, and activity director in a nursing home for 13 years - and did home health care. I hate to tell you how many people were admitted to the nursing home with the Alzheimer's label.

Let's see - they were living alone - driving - handling all their own business - fall one day - broke a hip - and suddenly - they have an ALzheimer's Diagnosis.

My cousin was in a farming accident. He fell off his tractor with his grandson mowing... fell UNDER the mower - and it cut off his leg.

They had to amputate the ret of his leg.

My cousin is one of those positive type people that just said "Oh well - it least it wasn't my good leg. That leg has been bothering me for quite some time anyway."

A couple of days after his surgery - they had his wife come in - was telling her he had ALzheiemer's and they wanted to send him to a geri-atric unit.

HELLO??? Did it EVER occur to them that POSSIBLY the heavy duty pain meds you require when someone cuts your leg off MIGHT interfere with your cognitive processing.

I rememeber one guy in the nursing home who had "Alzheimer's." Was a former preacher that cussed like crazy. But then - he got sick and was put on oxygen. All of a sudden - he was alert. Totally. In time - they took him off the oxygen - and he went back to having "Alzheimer's"

The oddest thing was that about 6 months later when he was sick and had to be put on oxygen again - he was not only alert - but he thought the last time he was alert was the day before. He had no memory of all the time that had passed. But he remembered everything that had happened six months earlier (or the day before to him).

I talked to one of the nurses - asking okay -- why does this guy just have Alzheimer's when he is not on oxygen.

Because MANY aging related problems rob the brain of oxygen. (Low 02 levels can cause confusion)

Well - if they KNOW that - why not put people on oxygen - if it gets rid of the dementia?

Because it is expensive...

ACK!!!!

Again -- I would NOT let the doctors start tagging this as Alzheimer's too soon. Alzheimer's means "We don't have to keep looking.."

And yeah -- Odd that a lot of the older vets with "Alzheimer's" would have flashbacks. One guy would leap behind a chair - kneel on the floor and keep yelling at us to GET DOWN!

PTSD may very well be a cause for what is going on with your husband. If not - it can still be an aggravating factor.

Stress takes it's toll on the mind. Any kind of stress does that. Long term, chronic stress can change the structure of the brain. It is basically like being stuck in overdrive - the fight or flight response is a good thing when it saves your butt - but when you keep the sympathtic nervous system engaged all the time - it just isn't desinged to work that way.

And if your husband, himself, is now starting to worry about it - that is stress on top of stress.

I wish you well - and I hope you can find a way to get your husband back - and don't let the doctor's explain it away.

Free

Hi Free:

Yes, Your so right!! I want my husband back!! I have never ever in all the years i've known him [ about 40 total] felt i needed to fear him in anyway. And i admit that his anger the other day did scare me enough to feel i need our son here.

I sat yesterday and went through all the changes i've noticed in say the last year or or 2 or maybe longer?? and i guess maybe i should have added 2+2 togather and paid a little closer attention, But i to have been involved in many other problems.

I do plan to be right there beside him with the Dr's and insist that to do whatever testing that needs to be done to find the right answer and diagnosis ant treat it.

My husband ask me last night if i thought he has Alzheimers?? I told him i didn't know only the testing will prove it one way or another.

He's going to turn 60 next month. Do people really get Alzheimer's that young?? I'm not a Dr. But i'm thinking because this issue of retirement has trigered this whole thing. And now he is feeling really insurcure about decisions he usually makes on his own and calls me to now run it by me before doing it. [it's a goog thing i have plenty of rollover minutes]

All said and done, I just want them to find out what the problem it, Fix it and give me back my husband.

Jessie

[free_spirit_etc]

Jesse - As far as benefits are concerned - if you do a BVA search with the terms PTSD and dementia - there are LOTS of increased ratings from this. Some are termed as "PTSD with dementia," some discuss how the effects of the demetia can't be separated from the effects of PTSD - so the benefit of the doubt has to go to the SC condition causing the problems.

Again, I hope you find help - and something to treat your husband. But you are also going to have to be his advocate in this and make sure they don't sell you out on the possible connection with dementia (if it IS dementia) - whether the demetia was CAUSED by the PTSD - or just merges with it -- make sure the doctors know the interplay of the TWO things.

The BVA has granted increased ratings for the combination in quite a few cases.

Free

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Listening to Jessie (the vets wife), I'm hearing (as likely as not) his PTSD is kicking into gear: forgetfulness, anger, mistrust, rage, disturbed sleep, etc.

Get some medical exams and file for an SC increase.

You'll be fighting the VA a long time ovefr the quantity and quality of medical testing. Use other insurance if ypu have it.

My 2 cents, HUGS! ~Wings

[jessie0054]

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x

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Listening to Jessie (the vets wife), I'm hearing (as likely as not) his PTSD is kicking into gear: forgetfulness, anger, mistrust, rage, disturbed sleep, etc.

Get some medical exams and file for an SC increase.

You'll be fighting the VA a long time ovefr the quantity and quality of medical testing. Use other insurance if ypu have it.

My 2 cents, HUGS! ~Wings

Thanks Wings:

Lucky for us our next door neighbor is a Dr and a very good friend and we do have insurance other than the VA so if the Q&Q of the testing at the VA isn't getting anywhere i can ask him to do his own testing, He will get to the end of the problem. I have been sorta held back from saying anything to him because he is our neighbor and sometime you just don't want your neighbors to know everything about what is going on in your house, You know what i mean?

Jessie

[jessie0054]

Jessie:

Sounds like your husband needs a thorough checkup in order for a Professional to form a diagnosis and a treatment plan. In the meantime you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Pete

Thanks Pete53

You always know the right things to say.

Jessie