June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness month and this year is Rippl’s first. Our mission is to provide high quality, wraparound dementia care for seniors, their families and caregivers. We are committed to breaking the dementia stigma so everyone can get the care they need. Knowledge is power – the Rippl clinical team is starting an educational series – Dementia Hits Home – to raise awareness and make sure people have the facts. This is the first installment so we are starting with some dementia basics.
Dementia
When it comes to awareness, before dementia hits home our first exposure is often when we learn a famous person has dementia. Just this year it was announced that both former first lady Rosalynn Carter and actor Bruce Willis have forms of dementia. We applaud their families for telling these stories publicly to help to spread awareness and acting as fellow warriors in the battle to eliminate the stigma associated with dementia.
There are millions of people living with dementia across the United States today, more specifically, there are over 6 million people with Alzheimer’s Disease, the most common form of dementia, and more than 120,000 people in the state of WA, where Rippl Care delivers services. The prevalence of dementia is increasing and it is likely that one of your family members or friends will develop a type of dementia. My family and I have experienced dementia firsthand through my wonderful Aunt Ruth. It truly hits home for almost everyone but talking about it has historically been difficult or even taboo, Rippl Care aims to change that.
Dementia itself is not actually a disease. Dementia is a term used to represent a group of conditions (i.e Alzheimer’s Disease, Vascular Dementia) just like heart disease represents a group of heart related conditions. People with dementia experience abnormal brain changes that result in alterations in a person’s ability to function normally in their everyday life. A person with dementia may experience cognitive abnormalities such as memory loss, word finding difficulties, disorganized thinking, personality changes and trouble solving problems.
Memory loss is what is most often associated with dementia and I think we can all think of a time when we have misplaced our keys or walked into a room and forgot why we went in there and thought to ourselves I must have dementia. You may be wondering how to distinguish what is normal from what is not normal.
To set the stage, memory changes are a normal part of aging. Can you run as fast as you did today as you did at the age of 20? Probably not, but running slower than you once did does not impact your activities of daily living (i.e. brushing your teeth, maintaining your finances, ability to work). Normal memory changes can include a decreased ability to learn, or difficulty coming up with someone’s name. It is important to reiterate that the changes seen with dementia begin to impact your daily life. Here are some possible signs of dementia:
- Getting lost when driving a familiar route, such as going to the grocery store you have shopped at for years
- Trouble paying bills or managing your finances
- Family members filling in words for you automatically because you forget words frequently
- Trouble meal planning for the week or preparing meals
- Depressed mood
- Lack of interest in normal activities
It is crucial to reach out to your primary care provider if you or a loved one have any signs of cognitive changes (like the ones listed above) or other concerns for further evaluation. There can be many causes of these signs and symptoms that range from depression to Alzheimer’s disease to thyroid disease. During your evaluation your provider will ask a lot of important questions, complete screening questionnaires and may request that you have blood work drawn for further evaluation. There are special cognitive tests that can be completed to help determine if you may have ‘cognitive impairment’ (another term used similarly to dementia). If your provider does not find any other causes for your symptoms and believes that you may have a type of cognitive impairment or dementia, this is where Rippl Care can enter and support you and your family in the next steps of your journey.
The arrival at a diagnosis can be overwhelming – it is the beginning of a new chapter but it’s important to remember there is still a lot of life to live. Our aim at Rippl Care is to ease the transition of patients, families and caregivers as they navigate the world of dementia. There is no cure for any type of dementia and they are progressive diseases, meaning they get worse with time. There are medications that can be used for symptoms and some promising new medications to treat Alzheimer’s Disease. Rippl Care offers counseling for patients and their families. We have an amazing team that includes a special role, care coordinators, that go above and beyond to find resources to support you in whatever you may need from finding in-home services to exercise classes. Our team is there to support, provide education and help plan your journey so that you may live your best quality of life.
Check back in for our next installment where we will dive deeper into Alzheimer’s Disease, the most common type of dementia.
Marybeth Wheeler is an ARNP and Rippl Changemaker
