Inside the Dementia Epidemic:

A Daughter's Memoir

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Inside the Dementia
Epidemic: A Daughter's
Memoir

On Wall Street Journal best seller
list (May 1, 2015)

One of Alzheimers.net's 2014 Top Alzheimer's Books for Caregivers

Winner of the Memoir category of the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards

Winner of a Silver Medal in the Health/Medical category of the 2013 Readers' Favorite International Book Awards (and finalist in the Memoir category)

Finalist, 2013 Eric Hoffer Book Award for Excellence in Publishing

Winner of an Honorable Mention in the Life Stories category of the 20th Annual Writer’s Digest Book Awards

Finalist, 2013 Indie Excellence Book Awards

Finalist, 2013 Santa Fe Writer's Project Literary Awards Program, Non-fiction category

Inside the Dementia Epidemic: A Daughter's Memoir shares the lessons I learned over 8 years of caregiving at home and in a range of dementia care facilities. I describe not only what I learned about navigating the system, but how I learned to see Alzheimer's disease differently—not as a "long good-bye," as it's often called, but as a "long hello." Through caregiving, my challenging relationship with my mother was transformed, and I learned to enjoy and nurture her spirit through the last stages of dementia.

Appendixes share facts about dementia that I wish I had known years ago, such as how to get a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease; what medications are approved to lessen the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease; lesser-known risk factors for dementia; and possible antidotes. I include my favorite resources for caregivers, my source notes, and an index.

Inside the Dementia Epidemic: A Daughter's Memoir is available in paperback and hardcover, as an e-book for Apple devices, the Nook, and Kindle, and on Kobo.

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PHOTOS:

The photo at the very top of this page is of my mother, Judy, in 2010, smiling up at Suzanne, a massage therapist I hired who specializes in bodywork for elders. Suzanne massaged her hands, arms, upper back and legs, talked to her, and played music for her. [photo by Jason Kates van Staveren]

Right: My mother at her 75th birthday party in 2007, three years after she could no longer live alone. A few days after this picture was taken she fell, fractured her pelvis and needed more care than her assisted living facility could provide. I had to quickly research alternatives.

In 1996, Judy and her grandson, Andrew, age 1, on the shale beach outside the cottage on the lake in Upstate New York where she lived by herself for 25 years. It's his first visit, and she's showing him the "big lake water" and how to draw on the flat rocks with pencil-shaped pieces of shale. Her worrisome behavior starts around this time, but as her daughter I don't realize what is going on until much, much later.

Above: My mother, age 74, and I at the cottage in 2006 with her old miniature Schnauzer, Trinka. I can see the stress of those early caregiving years in my face and in my extra weight. Little did I know how much I would learn over the coming years.

Above: Judy, age 79, and me in early 2012 at the nursing home Judy moved into in 2010. Mom lived with advanced Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia until she passed away in late 2012, but until the end she often shared her lovely smile.

Join the fight to stop Alzheimer's by 2020:

For caregiver support and resources, visit the Caregiver Action Network. (Membership is free if you are a current family caregiver):

The Purple Angel--a symbol of hope and dementia awareness

Inside Dementia

   Welcome to my blog about dementia
   caregiving as a "long hello," not a
"long good-bye" —how we can become
"care partners" with our family members
   or friends who are living with dementia, and how we can care for ourselves. Living with Alzheimer's disease or another dementia is a long, hard road, full of grief, anger and despair, but life continues after a diagnosis, and so can moments of joy.

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—Martha Stettinius

Entries in pre-diabetes (1)

Friday

Sep192014

Keeping Your Blood Sugar Down Lowers Alzheimer's Risk

Friday, September 19, 2014 at 11:52AM

The last 10 years of my mother's life she seemed to live on ice cream, cookies and other high-carb foods. What did that do to her brain? What has the low-fat, high-carb American diet of the past 20 years done to all of our brains?One of the things I care most strongly about as a dementia caregiver advocate is encouraging caregivers to do what they can to reduce their own risk of dementia. I know it often feels as if we are too busy to even go to the doctor for ourselves, but it's important to be aware of what can increase our own risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or another common dementia such as vascular dementia from small strokes.

Did you know that 50% of Americans are either diabetic or pre-diabetic (that is, with blood sugar on the high end of normal), putting them at much higher risk for cancer, heart attacks, stroke and dementia? 50%!! According to the research I did for my book, someone like me who is pre-diabetic is 70% more likely than someone with normal blood sugar and insulin levels to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

But most of us who are pre-diabetic never get a diagnosis. I am convinced that the rising epidemic of diabetes and pre-diabetes is directly related to the dementia epidemic. (In fact, Alzheimer's disease has been called "Type III Diabetes.") Of course there are probably many other causes, and there is no proven way to prevent Alzheimer's disease or other dementias. But that does not mean that we are powerless.

Here is what I do to lower my blood sugar and risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia: I try to eat Paleo (protein, healthy fats and lots of veggies--very few carbs). I am active in a 12-step program for those who eat certain foods compulsively (I am a sugar addict). And I exercise regularly, including weight training twice a week, which has been shown in research studies to slow cognitive decline in people with mild cognitive impairment. I've lost 50 pounds but have another 50 to go.

One sign of being pre-diabetic (also called having "insulin resistance") is having extra weight around your middle. If you have a belly at all, ask your doctor for a blood sugar test. And if she seems unconcerned that your numbers are high--because you don't yet have full-blown diabetes--don't let her complacency fool you into thinking you're not at risk. You are. Especially if you have belly fat in middle age. Keep your blood sugar (and accompanying insulin levels) down and you can help protect your brain from unnecessary damage.

Here is a really good article about pre-diabetes: "Pre-Diabetes, Diabetes Rates Fuel National Health Crisis"