The progression

My hope in sharing the details of my mother's case is that it may help anyone who wants to have more information about the choices they have in the management of their health, or the health of a family member.

My mom has been a widow since she was 30. I had always felt protective of her because of that, which she didn't particularly like. In her world, being very private about her personal matters was a sign of strength. There was no discussion of feelings. Those were something you just figured out and dealt with on your own. No amount of my yearning to be helpful could open her up on deeply important subjects.

She had been raised with the precept that to think about herself was considered selfish. Whenever anyone would ask her if she could help (and that was all the time, since she worked at a privately funded high school), she never said no. Meanwhile, anything she needed to get done for herself fell by the wayside. Her health was last on the list.

It was more than disconcerting to know that she would neglect herself and there was nothing I could do about it, but there were things that brought her happiness that balanced her for a time. She liked taking care of her parents and visiting with her grandchildren, quilting, and spending time with friends. I had no choice but to hope that the universe would be kind to her for all her selflessness.

After her parents passed away, and her grandchildren had grown busy, that is when I noticed the shift in her demeanor. She was not quite as much "there" when I saw her anymore. It was like that feeling when you can't find your keys but you know they're around and you'll probably find them if you stop stressing, only they never did show up again. Within the next 6 months was her first fall.

When my brother and I became involved in my mom's appts. after her injuries, I was given a glimpse of the history of her medical care. Back in 2006, when she turned 60, she had suddenly became very ill with wildly uncontrolled diabetes that caused her to be hospitalized.

Pharmaceuticals were used to stabilize her blood sugar and there were years of appts. with an ophthalmologist to prevent deterioration of her sight. We knew when the hospitalization occurred, but were left out of the loop after. Life went on, and the method her doctor used to attempt to control the progression of her diabetes was to increase her meds, while my mom collected associated conditions that required still more meds.

I didn't know at the time that Diabetes is a risk factor for Dementia. It doesn't surprise me, but at the same time I never would have thought it would happen to my mom.

There was some attempt at dietary changes and walking, but she had faith in the meds she was taking, which led to complacency and a return to old habits.

Diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and osteoporosis wore away at her organs and tissues while externally she carried on as usual, until her body could no longer compensate for the amount of damage.

Once she let me do acupuncture on her, because her bones and tendons had become weakened and she had injured her foot. Even though I was able to get her walking without pain, she wasn't willing to apply acupuncture to her systemic problems.

Continual increases in the meds is not the solution it purports to be in the long run when the side effects associated with those are considered, and in my opinion other forms of therapy should be pursued once the situation is stabilized. Other therapies can be experimented with after stabilization with the cooperation of the endocrinologist.

The medication she has taken for Diabetes Type 2 is metformin, which has an insane list of side effects. It's action is to increase the cell's sensitivity to insulin and increase the uptake of glucose. You know what else increases cell sensitivity to insulin? Exercise, proper nutrition, good sleep, and reduced stress.

If she could have known where she was headed, I wonder if she might have been willing to be consistent with exercise and nutrition, and try non-pharmaceutical therapies like acupuncture, or herbal formulas, breathing practices, counseling, tai chi, sauna, massage, yoga.

There is so much available to experiment with when someone is willing.

#dementia