Can anyone logically explain to me the difference between dementia and alzheimer's??? I keep reading and reading anything on the net about both and i still dont understand the difference!! What is the difference????

Sophie take her to her Primary Doctor first (talk to him privately first, this helps alot so she doesnt get aggitated)TEll him whats going on and if he can prescribe something like Remeron (my new favorite pill! ) to calm her a little...on this she'll be pretty sleepy the first two weeks and then even out after getting some much needed (I believe) sleep. Then start suggesting things to her. On the ADC dont tell her where your taking her just bring her in and go and speak to someone (if asked say you had to visit someone)Ive never had the pleasure of these places but Im sure one of the other "Babysitters" can grab her attention with something or talk to her with some lite conversation... just a thought

Bunnys grl,
Thanks for the response! After her stroke her MRI showed an infarct in the cerebellum and left basal ganglia. She is refusing to see the neurologist for follow up so I'm working on it. I don't want her to be miserable and irritable (and it's affecting my life too!) She's also refusing a tour of the adult day care.

Sophie welcome to a great place! Yes it is perfectly "normal" for a person with Dementia to be perfectly fine. Moments of clarity then mad/sad for no apparent reason at all...Paranoia is something to look out for too...My MIL sneaked around here to listen to people talking, phone conversations ect. If you see this happening take conversations out of earshot...I take all phonecalls outside now so she doesnt get too aggitated and take it out on me. But have you had her evaluated yet? Was a scan done after her stroke to see what region of the brain was affected? This all helps her doctor out to get her on correct meds to help the situation you are going through. Talk to him about her mood swings, keep a journal on her behavior, food intake, hydration, sleep patterns. How many hours a night does she sleep? Is she going through Sundowners? Unsure of this? Does she get more animated at night? Aggitated, angry, does she yell out for no apparent reason? Talk to herself? Keep notes on all of these things as you see them and take to the next Doctors appointment.

My Mom seems to have dementia symptoms at times with her anger outbursts and memory loss. But other days she is totally fine with conversation and activities. Is this normal? Any other parent act like this? It worries me since she's had 2 strokes.

Dementia is essentially a collection of symptoms--it is not a disease in itself. As stated, it could involve problems with personality, judgment, language--all the things that make it impossible for someone to lead an independent, normal life. It could come from dozens of causes, stroke, a blow to the head, alcohol, several diseases, etc. It's a symptom in the way fever is a symptom. A fever could be from a sore throat, ruptured appendix, infected toe, etc, so you have to find the cause of the fever/dementia and treat that.

Alzheimer's is a specific disease that causes brain cells to die off and as they do, the patient loses the ability to control things and dementia occurs. That's why yelling, hitting, explaining, reasoning, etc, never helps. It just causes more confusion. It is far more than just 'forgetting'. Several meds help some people to slow down the process, the earlier they are given, the better things may be.

So everyone with Alzheimer's will have dementia, but not everyone with dementia will have Alzheimer's.

As noted, this topic is critically important and comes up all the time. I hope my further explanation does not add to anyone's confusion. When you start on this journey, it's all brand new to most of us, and so hard to sort out and understand.

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Dementia is a sustained decline of cognitive function (or thinking ability) that interfers with social or occupational functions.

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It is worth reminding the general public that "dementia" is so much more than progressive loss of short-term memory. Notably, "dementia" also impacts judgment, impulse control, personality and multiple body functions. Unfortunately, this is true no matter the disease based source of the "dementia."

Don & Joan Marie, thanks for your definitions - they are right on the money. So many folks don't understand the nature of dementia, nor that when discussing brain destroying diseases like AD, vascular dementia, etc., there is not a dime's worth of difference in how things end up - all are degenerative processes that end up destroying one's brain cells. Some conditions allow for plateaus and even mild improvement; other disease processes are more like a straight drain... In all cases the dementia is SOOOOO much more than forgetfulness or short-term memory impairment, not to mention the other damage to the CNS by the disease which affects nearly all the body's systems!!

I think this thread is a bigtime keeper as it asks and answers a very common (but often misunderstood) question that is very important for caregivers to understand and grasp. THANKS!!

Thank you, Don, and you are absolutely correct. It is worth reminding the general public that "dementia" is so much more than progressive loss of short-term memory. Notably, "dementia" also impacts judgment, impulse control, personality and multiple body functions. Unfortunately, this is true no matter the disease based source of the "dementia." Again, thank you for your clarification.

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Originally posted by path2others:
Dementia is a sustained decline of cognitive function (or thinking ability) that interfers with social or occupational functions. This is what I found at the Cleveland Clinic web site. It also says that there must be more than just memory loss. Dementia is used for any disease or process when the person has those signs when they are examined.
Alzheimer's disease is a disease which is the most common cause of dementia. While the diagnosis is made by findings from an autopsy they are working on new tests and scans.
Did that help? Let me know if you are still confused and I will try again when it isn't so late for me Don

My understanding:

Dementia is the umbrella term for general memory loss. It can result from ALZ, a stroke, any other neurological disorder, an illness, etc.

ALZ is the leading cause of dementia in the U.S., if not the world -- or will be in the next few years.

How are you doing, sweetie? I had trouble getting back here when everything switched to Groupee, so I've got a lot of catching up to to

Dementia can remain what it is, confusion, delusion, and also rage. It doesn't necessarily have stages and typically remains what it is although the severity of the symptoms can progress. ALZ has stages of decline and will eventually cause a victims ultimate demise.

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Originally posted by angel0704:
Can anyone logically explain to me the difference between dementia and alzheimer's??? I keep reading and reading anything on the net about both and i still dont understand the difference!! What is the difference????

Dementia is an umbrella word for all the diff.dementias.........

Dementia is a sustained decline of cognitive function (or thinking ability) that interfers with social or occupational functions. This is what I found at the Cleveland Clinic web site. It also says that there must be more than just memory loss. Dementia is used for any disease or process when the person has those signs when they are examined.
Alzheimer's disease is a disease which is the most common cause of dementia. While the diagnosis is made by findings from an autopsy they are working on new tests and scans.
Did that help? Let me know if you are still confused and I will try again when it isn't so late for me Don