Help for adult child who fears getting ALZ
DH is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease. My children are supportive but is easily overwhelmed by his fears of also getting the disease. Does anyone know of any resources that would be helpful?
We do know about seeking professional counseling help. I'm looking for anything to read (online or other) or support groups especially for adult children who are not the active caregiver. He's in southwestern Ohio; we're in southwestern PA.
Comments
-
I would stress with your children that all the research is indicating a healthy life style of eating nutritious foods, getting good sleep, exercising, engaging in social, physical and educational activities as an active and engaged life-style is the greatest avenue to avoiding Alzheimer’s. I’d advise they speak with their medical doctor and a professional genetic counselor before making any decision to genetic test to discover dementia risk.
My husband has lost three siblings and his father to Alzheimer’s. He was interested in genealogy and participated in 23 & Me, not expecting to learn about his propensity for Alzheimer’s. When first marketing DNA testing, the company was not allowed to address medical/disease relating to a person’s genetic data. It was several years later that the company contacted him deliberately pointing to his two copies of APOE4 gene, putting him at 10x increased risk for developing Alzheimer’s. At this point, he couldn’t reason or recall submitting his saliva to the company as was in probably Stage 5.
My adult children emphatically do not want to know their risk for inheriting the disease. Lately, I’ve been thinking that I might feel better if I had a saliva test and knew whether or not I had the gene to pass on to them, because if I don’t, I think they have less the chance of developing it (but I don’t really know this, and from what I understand, even some individuals with two copies have escaped Alzheimer’s clutches). My biggest fear is that one, or the other, or both could inherit their father’s disease. It doesn’t keep me up at night, but it will be forever in the back of mind.
Perhaps, they would find the info on this site reassuring-
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/types-dementia/who-gets-alzheimers-disease
PS - I’ve just edited my reply to admit that while writing this post, I totally burned my oatmeal forgetting I’d put it on the burner. The irony! The horror!!
0 -
I don't remember where I read it, but it said that familial Alzheimer's disease is only a small percentage (maybe 5%) of all cases. Here is a link to a youtube video I found that might be helpful. I have not watched it, but it seems to fit what you are looking for. How to talk to kids about familial Alzheimer's disease0
-
Thank you both for your suggestions!0
Commonly Used Abbreviations
DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
Read more
Categories
- All Categories
- 483 Living With Alzheimer's or Dementia
- 242 I Am Living With Alzheimer's or Other Dementia
- 241 I Am Living With Younger Onset Alzheimer's
- 14.4K Supporting Someone Living with Dementia
- 5.3K I Am a Caregiver (General Topics)
- 7K Caring For a Spouse or Partner
- 2K Caring for a Parent
- 162 Caring Long Distance
- 110 Supporting Those Who Have Lost Someone
- 11 Discusiones en Español
- 2 Vivir con Alzheimer u Otra Demencia
- 1 Vivo con Alzheimer u Otra Demencia
- 1 Vivo con Alzheimer de Inicio Más Joven
- 9 Prestación de Cuidado
- 2 Soy Cuidador (Temas Generales)
- 6 Cuidar de un Padre
- 22 ALZConnected Resources
- View Discussions For People Living with Dementia
- View Discussions for Caregivers
- Discusiones en Español
- Browse All Discussions
- Dementia Resources
- 6 Account Assistance
- 16 Help