Part 4 of the Letter A

{I went to campus yesterday so I could score the Scantrons for an easy T-F test my speaking-listening students took last Friday, but the campus was closed.  So I went back home and kept typing up reports they wrote about their group work and evaluations of their final presentation, wanting to convince them that they are appreciated and valued even if their skills aren’t quite where they need to be.  But they’ll progress.  Now we’re back to my mother, whose Alzheimer’s would have progressed had she lived that long.}

Part 4 of the Letter A

As I explained at the appointment, I feel that medication might be helpful in managing some of the troublesome symptoms you are dealing with.  I will communicate this to Dr. Johnson, who should be the one for you to follow-up with regarding this medication.

{Dr. Johnson was the ghost figure during the time we were trying to help Mom.  He was the MD who prescribed what the psychologists thought necessary or desirable or possible.  As for the medication, sometimes I wonder whether the medicine Mom took aggravated the situation instead of helping—but that was the anti-depressant, anti-anxiety medicine.  We know that Mom had so much anxiety about things like the perfidy of her bowels that she didn’t want to leave the house or sometimes the bathroom.  I had wanted her to be like Alice from next door to my house, so blissed out even while repeating, repeating, repeating.  But here I assume that Dr. Johnson is talking about some other kind of drug.  The answer to Alzheimer’s:  Hugs and drugs.  But on with the letter.}

In addition, we discussed Cholinesterase inhibitors and meantime, medications approved by the FDA for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.  They have only been tested in persons with Alzheimer’s disease of mild to moderate severity and who are in otherwise good health.  {That would be Mom.}  Since there is no way to predict whether or not one of these medications will help our mother, the only way to determine what effects it will have is to try one of the drugs.  We will indicate your interest in the medications to Dr. Johnson. Through discussion with him you can weigh possible benefits, risks and costs in order to decide whether or not to try one of them.  Included in your blue folder is some additional information about the drugs.

{Did I ever have a blue folder?  Did Kathy, Mom’s primary care-giver, get one?}

As I indicated earlier, it is important that you care for yourself while caring for your mother.  At the appointment we discussed attendance at a support group.  Knowing you are not alone and benefiting from the practical experience of other caregivers is important.  {Kathy did go to a support group.}