Navigating Alzheimer’s Risk While Caring for Both Kids & a Parent—How Are You Coping?

sarahperryrn

Hi everyone,

I’m in my 40s, raising kids, and also caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s. My mom has APOE4 x2. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what this means for my own future—both emotionally and proactively.

I recently started looking into early detection tests, including:

• APOE4 genetic testing

• Blood biomarker tests (amyloid/tau levels)

• Metabolic and cardiovascular markers (blood sugar, inflammation, etc.)

At the same time, I’m juggling the stress of being in the sandwich generation—trying to be present for my kids while also watching my mom go through this. It makes me wonder:

• How do I protect my own brain health while caring for my family?

• What steps are others taking to reduce risk (lifestyle, medical tracking, etc.)?

• How do you handle the emotional weight of this?

I’d love to hear from others who are thinking about this—what have you done proactively? How are you coping with the unknowns?

What are their support groups does anyone utilize in addition to this one for children of Alzheimers?

Thanks for any insights!

squeez

Hello and thank sharing your situation. I'm sorry you are going through all of this. I am also In my forties and I was a caregiver for my mother for nearly 2 years. It was seemingly impossible.

With regard to maintaining mental health I was fortunate enough to have a friend who suggested a few things for me and pointed me to a few resources.

I incorporated cold showers into my daily routine. I would take my normal hot shower then at the end I would turn the hot water completely off and immediately put my head under the cold water, the easiest way for me to do this was no negotiation just turn the hot water knob off and commit. I started with 1 minute then the next day 2 minutes and so on. I personally found 7 minutes to be the sweet spot for me. It's very uncomfortable but once it was over it was very rewarding for me. I know cold plunge is a hot trend right now that some may feel it is nothing more than just that, a trend. If you look at the medical studies behind this you'll see it releases epinephrine and norepinephrine, simply put, it induces adrenaline. There are other studies that indicate it increases dopamine levels. I personally believe in this and I found myself feeling motivated and having a sense of reward and accomplishment thereafter.

I also incorporated a short calisthenics routine each morning. For me personally I approach these situations with no negotiation and just commit.

In regard to neuroscience I find Andrew Huberman's content to be quite relatable for me. Here is a link an article regarding cold water exposure.

https://us.getvitalplus.com/blogs/vitalice-blog/huberman-ice-bath-protocol#:~:text=Huberman%20highlights%3A%20%E2%80%9COne%20study%20showed,water%20(~40%C2%B0F).

Also, I use this breathing technique literally everyday. I found this to be invaluable during stressful situations.

https://youtu.be/kSZKIupBUuc?si=zhWzGjU9uydlJ00N

I hope these can help you.

MamaK

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/239346#Comment_239346

this is very relevant to my situation and I appreciate your approach and the way you explained it all and why you do it and what does to ultimately help you to help them! This is great advice! Thank you!

kblau

I feel you and I’m with you. 42 with a 4 year old.. mom is 72 and in MC. I practice yoga consistently for the past 10 years. My cousin recently told me about water fasting for Alz prevention. I don’t have the capacity right now to do anything but my job, daughter, and my mom. But if I did I would look into it.

kblau

also want to add…I’m in the medical field and I believe research will advance so much in the next 10 years we will be surprised. Floss/gum disease prevention, mushrooms. Mushrooms just might be the answer to neuroplasticity. I see this being the ah ha moment we all need

Anonymousjpl123

Chiming in: I’ve made a priority to exercise and try researching diets to prevent dementia. What they suggest (which im moving toward, slowly) is this:

• The MIND (Mediterranean–DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) diet is a hybrid of the Mediterranean and the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. Several studies have shown that treating and reducing high blood pressuremay help reduce the risk of dementia. Similar to the Mediterranean diet, the MIND diet features vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables; berries over other fruit; whole grains; beans; nuts; one or more weekly servings of fish; and olive oil. It also limits servings of red meat, sweets, cheese, butter/margarine, and fast/fried food.

I literally started eating more cheese, butter, and fast foods when I became moms caretaker but now am pretty committed to moving in this direction. Diet and exercise are not a guarantee, but they will help .

Merla

what I find so scary is that my mom had super healthy habits and prioritized her health more than literally anyone I know. And it paid off in every regard besides her cognitive health. She looks amazing and plays pickle ball very well but cognitively she isn't that different from a typical person with dementia 10 years older than her. So sad and scary. The one thing she did not do well was prioritize relationships and social connections but this could have been in part due to the disease.

My naturopath said the research on certain mushrooms supplements is promising. I do plan on exploring this when I have more time seeing as I don't want to saddle my poor kids with what I'm going through when they're in their 30s.

merojas

Thank you for sharing. I am new to this website and have just been reading posts others have shared. I am 44 and am caring for my dad. I am sorry I don't have anything helpful to share since I am just navigating being my dad's caregiver, but it's good to know I am not alone in caring for a parent and young kids (and also trying to stay connected to my spouse)