As long as I was complaining in my last blog that I wrote just a couple days ago, here I go again. At the risk of offending a very dear friend, I must use an example that features her. She shall remain nameless.
I have talked so many times about how frustrating it is when people don't believe me when I tell them that I have Frontotemporal Degeneration. They say things like, "But you seem fine" or "Oh, I do that too, that isn't dementia!" It's not that I want anyone's sympathy that I have this disease. Actually, I guess when they say things like that, it is a compliment that I am functioning well enough, despite the disease, that they cannot pick up on it. Although, if anyone is around me for any more than a brief moment, they should be able to pick up on at least some of my symptoms. I am not alone in this sentiment. It is one I commonly hear from others with FTD.
As I have written before, I understand this denial because mostly everyone who hears "dementia" hears "Alzheimer's" instead. This is one of the reasons I work so hard to educate others and spread the word. It's part of the reason I write this blog. This reaction is so common, I can usually just brush it off. It is yet another kind of denial that frustrates and hurts me more lately.
In my last blog entry, I elaborated on how I can tell that I am getting a worsening or developing a new symptom. Since writing that just a few days ago, I have had other FTD'ers say that this is true for them as well. That makes me feel better, knowing that I am not imagining it. I do not understand how my loved ones can not see the decline. Even if it is gradual, it seems that those who spend much time with me would pick up the signs. Then again, perhaps, when it comes on gradually, it isn't as obvious.
That dear friend I mentioned calls me nearly every night. Sometimes, I just can't handle it. For some reason, I have hated talking on the phone for the last twelve or so years. Precursor of FTD? Perhaps, I don't know. She called me the other night and I was not very responsive and explained that I was sorry but I was really, really grumpy. I explained that I was sleeping 12-16 hours each night which is highly unusual as well as having more trouble with getting my legs to more properly. Still, on another day, I was still grumpy and she responded with something like "Ah, just smile. You know a frown is just a smile upside down." Now, that is a sweet thing to say and I appreciate her attempt to make me smile but it doesn't help. She is not alone in this, so I really, really hope she does not take offense with this. She just happened to provide me with a great example of the frustrations I get with many others as well.
When I am in that time period when I know something is coming on, my speech problems become much more evident. That alone should be enough to trigger "Uh-oh, what's going on?" If someone is observing a worsening symptom, it should be obvious that there is something FTD related going on. I insisted on explaining after she had kind of brushed it off. I explained what was happening and it was just so frustrating that I was struggling to deal with it right then. Later in the conversation, she did pause and say that, like so many others, she thinks that perhaps she is just in denial because deep down, she doesn't want to believe I really have the disease. Denial does not help me.
She isn't the only one to feel and act this way. It isn't just strangers and acquaintances that I encounter who dismiss my disease. It is friends, family and so many more who know me well. I totally understand. If the tables were reversed, I would most likely not want to believe that someone I love had a life-ending disease and would probably try to ignore or explain away the symptoms. I understand it, but it does nothing to help me. It simply adds to my everyday frustrations.
It is the same for those who read, usually on the internet, or hear on daytime TV or elsewhere of some new miracle cure. It can be a supplement to take, a diet to follow or scripture to read. Unfortunately, while there may be a small modicum of truth to the new discovery, it is usually just bunk designed to sell supplements, to sell a book, or sign up for therapy sessions. Beyond the fact that they are most likely just junk science, they are for Alzheimer's, people, not for FTD.
FTD and Alzheimer's Diseases both cause dementia. They are NOT the same disease. As an example, the medications that do seem to work to slow the progression of Alzheimer's Disease and its dementia symptoms are not helpful for FTD. In fact, it has been proven that these drugs can actually worsen FTD. If it is true with these drugs, does it not stand to reason that it just might be true of all the other supposed "cures" for Alzheimer's? My belief of this is so strong, that I am not about to spend my money or risk my health to try them. This is why I get so angry every time I hear someone with FTD say that their doctor put them on the Alzheimer's drugs just in case they might work. Why would you do that? Why, when there is also a stronger case for them worsening the FTD?
Please remember, when you are trying to make light of someone's symptoms or diagnosis to try to make them "feel better," most likely it will make them feel worse. Dismissing the disease because it makes you feel better or you hope it will help me be an ostrich, with my head buried in the sand, only comes across as though you are dismissing me. Try something like, "Oh, I do not like that news, is there anything I can do to help or to make you feel better about it?" Don't minimize what is happening, don't brush it off. I already feel miserable enough.
I have already shut several people out of my life because of this problem. Anyone with FTD does not need negativity surrounding them. I try to be more patient with those who I know are doing it out of love. It isn't easy. This disease isn't easy.
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