Living with memory loss

A Brief Introduction

Thereare many diagnosis associated with memory loss. These may include: MCI (mild cognitive impairment), Alzheimer's, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, to name a few. Whatever the case may be, the effects of the particular impairment are surely shocking. This is true (at least at an emotional level) immediately upon diagnosis even when the case was such that the person had been noticing the changes for some time.

Such a diagnosis bears shocking news most likely due to the fact that planning for the future becomes increasingly disorienting when one is unaware of one's past. Consequentially, the diagnosis is also a demand for the person to reorient him/herself to the world, as ties appear to be torn.

How complicated may coping get?

Quitecomplicated, to be frank. There are six obstacles to coming to terms with such a diagnosis.

The ways in which the symptoms appear, and, furthermore the rate of their progression is highly individual and accordingly variable. What this means is that it isn't always possible for a medical professional to predict things even the slightest bit accurately. Furthermore, it may be hard for the doctor even to tell the patient and his or her family what is happening at that very moment.

Some causes of memory loss may be, bluntly put, quite terrible. These need to be thoroughly analyzed and evaluated in order for proper treatment to be provided. These are to be addressed before a clear clinical picture of the patient's state may be provided.

Nextly, the symptoms of such disorders may be described as sand in the wind. This means that they fluctuate a lot, and may be affected by a number of other factors. These factors may include: sleep, nutrition and hydration, medication, emotional stress, and so forth.

A great number of people feels a lingering social stigma when it comes to admitting this type of disorder. It is, namely, risky to disclose such a personal detail to friends or employers.

The time line may vary drastically, but it is also almost always very long. Because of this, many people who are diagnosed as such feel as if it is a overwhelming endeavor to bear the cross of a fragmented memory for even up to twenty years. This is not only true for the particular patient at hand, but also for his or her entire family.

Lastly, the patient or a related family member may have already shared time with someone who has suffered from dementia. The relevant experiences (as in what went right and what went wrong) are a strong factor when it comes to coping with the most recent events.

Conclusively, it is very important to stress that there are more treatments of various types of memory loss today, than what they may remember there were before.