Kangen Water- help for Alzheimer's?

My mother is sold on "kangen water".  She started using it last August (2010) after a friend of hers recommended it.  My father at the time was more or less bed-ridden.  He wasn't able to talk or walk.  By the time I returned to the States in November he was up walking and talking.  She gives the credit to Kangen Water.  The website linked is hers.

I knew nothing about Kangen Water at the time.  It using an electrolysis process to create water with a basic pH.  Pure water should be a pH of 7 (neutral) but most drinking water in the US (and world) has a slightly acidic ph.  By drinking water of pH 8.5 to 9.5, she has de-acidified her body chemistry.  I can't argue with the results.  She says her own health problems have diminished or disappeared, and I have to say my father's condition was better than when I left to teach English in South Korea in September of 2009.  He was talking and I could understand what he was saying.  That wasn't true before when I might occasional pick out a word but the word usually had no relation to anything happening.  Now it did.

I can't promise you that you will get similar results.  I don't know.  But the effects demonstrated so far on my father is pretty amazing.

How's your father doing? Is he any better

This is a question you hear a lot when you have a father with Alzheimer's. People who haven't experienced Alzheimer's do not understand, do not comprehend, the answer. There is no better. Alzheimer's patients progress in one direction - down. I was once in the "did not understand" category. It is regrettably something you have to experience to truly comprehend.

An analogy would be the Grand Canyon in Arizona or the Amazon River in Brasil. You can hear descriptions of it, maybe even see photos but you don't truly comprehend either until you experience them first hand. That is like Alzheimer's except the Grand Canyon and Amazon are pleasant discoveries; Alzheimer's is anything but pleasant.

My father these days is something like a 73 year-old 2 year old. He is taller than a 2 year old and stronger but like a 2 year old he can be into everything. Being stronger and taller it is much more difficult to Alzheimer - proof a house than it is to child proof one. One drastic difference between a 2 year old and an Alzheimer's victim is that the 2 year old is learning while the Alzheimer's victim isn't - he forgets almost immediately so no lesson is learned.

He is now at the stage where he sleeps more frequently - something of a respite for my mother since she is able to get more rest. But I'm afraid it is a precursor of harder times ahead, times when he will be more or less totally bedridden. Things are tough now; they will get tougher.

There is no better with Alzheimer's.

New treatment for Alzheimer's?

It's been awhile since the news was released about a promising new treatment for Alzheimer's. The University of Arkansas for Medical Science is preparing to conduct a clinical trial for an existing medication for arthritis, etanercept, that appears to have benefits for Alzheimer's victims.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/103729.php

My mother is hoping to get my father involved either in the clinical trial or otherwise.

Playing Majhong causes Epilepsy

Majhong

It's one of those games I have heard of a lot, been intrigued by the name and had intentions to check out sometime when I had time, but never have -- at least not yet.

As I understand it this is a very popular game in China. From its description, it could help avert Alzheimer's since it requires a lot of cognitive skills. But it seems it may also induce some kind of epileptic seizures.

When I first decided to post this news story here, I was thinking there would be no link to Alzheimer's at all in what I wrote. I was just going to post an interesting news story connecting the popular tile game to epilepsy. But as I typed I realized there was a connection.

Studies have indicated that people who maintain a lifestyle that involves active use of the brain are much less likely to develop Alzheimer's. So people who read a lot, do crossword puzzles or jigsaw puzzles, etc -- actiities that involve actively using the brain -- are much less likely to develop Alzheimer's. That means that I am not a good candidate to be an Alzheimer's victim even though my father suffers from it because I read a lot!

If you have a family member or friend with early stage Alzheimer's and you can get them to pursue activities that involve cognitive skills perhaps it will help slow the progress. I am no doctor and I am not aware of any studies to support this for those already with Alzheimer's. It is just a thought and may not be a practical one.

I do know that when we took my father on a trip to the western US last year, the first few days he was more or less in the same condition as we left. But later in the trip (it lasted 10 days) he was more mentally alert than normal. It seemed the constant barrage of new information stimulated his brain. He was better for a short time after we returned home than he was before we made the trip. That is simply my observation.

So to avoid Alzheimer's (to reduce the risk), try activities that stimulate the mind. Doctors talk about doing aerobic exercise to reduce your risk of heart disease, do mental exercise to reduce risk of Alzheimer's. Read books, do Sudoku puzzles, do anything except sit at home and watch TV. Stimulate that mind.

And check out Majhong if you care but be aware that overdoing it could inadvertently trigger epilepsy.

Fire!

One of the problems my father has now is going to sleep. This is especially true on the nights my mother works (she works some nights). As soon as she leaves for work, he begins to say it is time for bed. For some reason once she is no longer here, it is bed time. Normally I try to keep him up until about 10 pm hoping that he will sleep thru the night once he finally goes to sleep. That is the crux. He won't stay in bed and go to sleep.

Although he will continually try to go to bed for hours, once you tell him - "OK, go to bed" he will begin to worry about everything, and he won't go to sleep. Every few minutes he will be out of bed and asking:

Who is going to wake me up in the morning?

When am I leaving here?

Who is going to come get me?

What am I going to do for breakfast?

I don't have any money, how am I going to pay to stay here? or to eat here? (He doesn't think this is his home).

Where is my wife?

She is coming here? Will I get to see her? Will I be able to talk to her?

What if the people who live here show up?

Am I allowed to sleep in this bed (his own)? I don't have any money to pay for it.

What about all of those people (points to television). Are they staying here also?

I hate to bother you but there is a fire in here.

This last one bothered me a great deal the first time he came and told me. I went to investigate and the fire was the light on in the bathroom so he could see if he needed to go in the middle of the night. Now I know anything that has a light that shines in the dark - computer tower, night lights, VCR light, clock, power strip, anything at all, may be the source of the "Fire" in his mind.

You must still take it seriously. You never know when there may actually be a fire. And unlike the Story about the boy who cried wolf, you can not ever assume it is NOT a fire. So check it out and try to reassure them all is ok. You may even have to turn off (or power down) appliances as inconvenient as that may be so their little led lights don't shine.

So be prepared for questions, be prepared for long nights with little sleep, be prepared for that insecurity to arise. They don't remember so it is frightening to them. Not knowing. Never knowing. always in the dark

Habanero and Alzheimer's

Habanero chiles and Alzheimer's do not mix well.

My father who is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's apparently decided to eat one of my habanero peppers yesterday. It is a reminder for those who are caring for someone with Alzheimer's just how much like small children they can be.

In the early stages of Alzheimer's one does not need to be on constant alert. The only problem at this stage is that the Alzheimer's victim will forget things that just happened -- short term memory is impaired.

As the Alzheimer's progresses it will manifest itself in not only the short term memory impairment being more pronounced but long term memory also will begin to fail. In addition cognitive functions are impaired. The ability to make decisions disappears. It slips into the shadows. Making a choice can become impossible. What do you want to eat? may become a question they can not answer. For one thing, they may not remember what the food they want to eat is named. For another they may not remember what it tastes like. Or they may simply may not be able to make even such a simple decision. You want to wear this or that? is a question that can overwhelm them.

But along with this cognitive impairment is the fact they will do things they shouldn't. Like grab an habanero and try to eat it. We raise a small garden in the summer, and I raise some habanero chiles. Yesterday we were outside mowing grass, weed-eating, picking up limbs, trimming hedges and such and my father returned to the house. When my mother came inside she found him at the kitchen sink spitting and eyes watering. He had taken one of my habanero peppers, sliced off a piece and taken a bite.

Just as parents "child proof" their homes when they have young children (especially toddlers), when you have a family member with Alzheimer's you once again have to look at your home with new eyes. What can they get into that will harm them? And place it away so they can not hurt themselves. We have done that for the most part. Just didn't think of the habaneros.

A Wild Week

You never know with an Alzheimer's victim, what to expect one minute to the next much less over a longer time period.

Last week on Tuesday, my father was taken to the doctor because he had been complaining about pain in his leg. Sure enough, the doctor said he had a "bad back" and prescribed Tramadol to help with the pain.

By Thursday night, the Tramadol was apparently having an effect on him. Just not the one you would want. He was wired. I could never get him settled to sleep that night. Friday and Friday night were even worse. Not only was he wired but he was also hallucinating and talking more nonsensical than normal.

Was it the medication or just another stage, another advance in the Alzheimer's disease? Or some of both? We took him off the Tramadol and he seems to slowly be getting back to the way he was. At least he is sleeping more again and not climbing the walls all day and night.

I should note that his reaction to the Tramadol, if it was the Tramadol, is not normal. Is it normal for victims of Alzheimer's? I don't know but there is no mention of it in the literature I found on-line.

If any of you out there reading this blog have an Alzheimer's site or blog and want to link it here, let me know. This is largely just an effort to inform others about Alzheimer's. So I'll be happy to add your site as a link