LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Worried About Your Memory and What to Do?


Linda Fodrini-Johnson is the founder and executive director of Eldercare Services; she is a licensed Marriage, Family and Child Counselor, and a certified Care Manager. Eldercare Services is full-service care management and home care company that has been providing care management, home care, counseling, support groups and education to Bay Area families since 1989. For information, visit www.EldercareAnswers.com.

If you find yourself forgetting names, places, dates or appointments, you might think you have a dementia like Alzheimer's. You may seek answers from lots of different people or the Internet. You may also put it on the back burner and chalk it up to stress or overworking.

Professional care managers can help guide you to resources that will evaluate your situation. They will give you hope and direction that will allow you to be more proactive while reversing and reducing the symptoms that are worrying you.

All of us forget at times. We drive past the exit we wanted, we forget the name of a neighbor we have known for years, or we go to the market and buy everything but the milk we needed! Stress, dehydration, multi-tasking, being a caregiver or many other situations can all contribute to forgetfulness.

The positive point of getting an early diagnosis, such as Alzheimer's, is that you could then be a candidate for medications that can help preserve some of your function. It can also give you a chance to change lifestyles, eat healthy foods, stay engaged and exercise more. You can design the care you want and make legal and financial decisions to support your wishes.

10 Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer's:

1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life;

2. Challenges in planning or solving problems;

3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or leisure;

4. Confusion with time or place;

5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships;

6. New problems speaking or writing words;

7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps;

8. Decreased or poor judgment;

9. Withdrawal from work or social activities; and

10. Changes in mood and personality.

Source: Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org)

A professional care manager can be your conduit to good solid answers, proactive planning, resources that respect your values and fit your budget while considering your current and future needs.

Some memory loss can be attributed to other illnesses such as depression, vitamin deficiencies, thyroid problems and many other medical diagnoses. We advise going to your physician with your symptoms early on. Don't be fearful of the diagnosis; be proactive and take charge to have the highest quality of life possible.

We perform memory screenings in the Eldercare Services office at no charge. If this simple test shows any evidence of cognitive changes, we will give you a report for your physician and refer you to a local neuropsychologist, Alzheimer's center or hospital diagnostic center for further testing.

Call for an appointment - the test will not exceed 15 minutes. It is confidential and administered by one of our certified professional care managers who have backgrounds in health and human services fields such as counseling, psychology, nursing and social work.

Please join me for my next class, "Dementia Behaviors: Strategies & Solutions," from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 4 held at our office, 1808 Tice Valley Blvd., Walnut Creek. This class will give you the tools on how to have conversations about overall needs when denial is present, and we will discuss the different types of dementia.

Advance registration is requested, and the class is limited in size, so be sure to make your reservation early. Call (925) 937-2018 today and ask for Lindsay.