Today marks the beginning of Dementia Awareness Week that is being organised by the Alzheimer’s Society in the U.K.
A free supplement appeared with last Sunday’s Telegraph newspaper that gave all kinds of information about Dementia. On page 5 was a list of nine symptoms of Dementia and it was suggested that the reader should seek help if he or she:
Struggles to remember recent events, although you can easily recall things that happened in the past
Finds it hard to follow conversations or programmes on TV
Forgets the names of friends or everyday objects
Cannot recall things he or she has heard, seen or read
Finds it difficult to make decisions
Notices that they repeats themselves or loses the thread of what they are saying
Has problems thinking and reasoning
Feels anxious, depressed or angry about their forgetfulness
Finds that other people comment on their forgetfulness.
People suffering from Pernicious Anaemia but were not diagnosed early will identify with most, if not all, of the above. It is obviously very easy for doctors to listen to a patient who has B12 Deficiency recite all or most of the above and to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. It megs the question as to how many patients are being treated for Dementia when they are suffering from lack of Vitamin B12. I suspect that this is the case with many patients who might have been wrongly diagnosis as suffering from Alzheimer’s.
Anyway – good luck to the Alzheimer’s Society with their Awareness Week.
Just before being diagnosed with pernicious anemia and for some time after receiving the shots I had difficulty understanding pronouns. You may say “I” and I might hear “you.” You may say “me” and I might hear “them.” This symptom completely disappeared after several months of B-12 shots. I also had problems telling left from right. I had to give turning the faucet the correct direction serious thought and at times my left hand would mimic what my right hand was doing. I haven’t met a doctor who takes pernicous anemia seriously or who pays any attention to me when I tell them about these symptoms. Many medical personnel seem to be hard of hearing or lacking the critical thinking skills involved in listening. I know what that is like now that I have pernicous anemia.
My wife and her sister and their mother all suffered with pernicious anemia and all had Alzheimer’s, I think there is a definite link.