You’ve just received one of the most frightening medical diagnoses imaginable: “You have dementia.”
How do you stay positive after hearing those dreaded words?
“Firstly, get into the habit of recognizing what you can do, not what you can’t do,” says Visalakshi Srinivasan, MD, who is a board-certified in geriatrics and internal medicine and goes by the name “Dr. Visa.” She is affiliated with Health First’s Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne.
“Taking positive steps will not only improve your physical health, but your mental health as well,” she explains. “There are three things you should do as quickly as possible: educate yourself about the disease, build strong support teams (both medical and personal), and get started on future planning now.
“There’s nothing like knowledge to empower you, but make sure you’re dealing with credible information. The amount that’s out there can be overwhelming.
“Connect with a specialist in dementia who will hold the hands of both the patient and caregiver.
He or she will help you put together a professional team that will share their knowledge and realistic information.
“It’s important for the patient to still have a sense of both control and hope and taking these steps will help ensure that this happens.”
The Alzheimer’s Association offers some additional tips for patients and caregivers:
1. Don’t let people automatically do things for you that you can do yourself. Feeling independent is important.
2. Don’t think of diagnosis of dementia as the end. Life with dementia will always be different but that doesn’t mean it will all be bad. Keeping a positive attitude is very important.
3. Remember you still have talents. Every person diagnosed had interests and talents that aren’t lost overnight. Practice and use them.
4. Take each day as it comes. It is very important to live in the present as much as possible and not dwell on the future. There will be bad days but tomorrow may be better.
5. Remember, you’re still a person with feelings. Don’t let the people around you take that away from you by ignoring you or saying hurtful things.
Dr. Visa says that after people are diagnosed, they often feel embarrassed in social settings. “Find the places where you feel comfortable,” she urges. “A senior center may be a perfect fit and help build you maintain your confidence.”
“The connection between hearing loss and dementia continues to be studied and confirmed,” says Dr. Visa.
UCLA Health explains it this way: As people get older it’s common for their hearing to decline and studies show that hearing loss, for some, is associated with the onset of dementia.
Researchers are beginning to identify who may be able to prevent or delay the onset of dementia by wearing hearing aids, and when they should start wearing them.
Age-related hearing loss happens when the tiny inner ear sensory cells called hair cells, as well as the nerve that innervates those hair cells, begin to degenerate, known as sensorineural hearing loss. It’s permanent because the tiny hair cells cannot regenerate.
Several studies have shown the connection between hearing loss and dementia, including one recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. It suggests that patients who have hearing loss and wear hearing aids have a reduced risk of dementia compared with those who have hearing loss without wearing aids.
“It’s long been recognized that reduced hearing results in people socializing less. And we know how important it is for people with dementia to socialize as much as they can,” says Dr. Visa.
She suggests you put your professional team together at your earliest opportunity. “The right team will be there for you and the people who make up your personal support team – your children and spouse if you are married, other relatives, friends and neighbors.”
Ideally, medical care team members will include a primary care doctor, neurologist, geriatrician, social worker, nurse or nurse practitioner, personal (or family) caregiver and case manager.
The Alzheimer’s Society says that it’s common for people with dementia to suffer from anxiety. It can make symptoms of dementia worse – particularly symptoms that affect a person’s attention, planning, organizing and decision-making.
Fortunately, certain breathing exercises, such as 4-7-8 breathing, and many meditative techniques have been shown to be highly effective at reducing anxiety.
Dr. Visa says one way to lower the risk of developing anxiety is to start early to have the patient develop outside interests and things they can participate in outside the home and without the presence of a caregiver, such as Alzheimer’s day care center activities.
“Unfortunately, there’s still no cure for dementia,” says Dr. Visa, “but there are medicines that help slow the development of symptoms. Your professional care team will help you and your caregivers stay up to date on new options.
“They will help you maintain the realistic outlook that is so important in helping you stay positive.”
In addition, intensive – and promising – research is ongoing across a broad front, with thousands of doctors and scientists seeking better therapies and preventative measures for dementia.
Dr. Visalakshi Srinivasan earned her medical degree at Kilpauk Medical College in Chennai, India, where she grew up. She completed post-graduate work in the United Kingdom and then moved to Ohio, where she completed her internship and residency at Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Visa teaches neuropsychology classes at Florida Institute of Technology. She is accepting new patients at Health First Aging Services, 3661 South Babcock St., Melbourne. The phone number there is 321-434-7611.
