I was printing off some information on FTD for my chiropractor to read just now, and thought I would share this link:
http://www.nia.nih.gov/sites/default/files/frontotemporal_disorders_information_for_patients_families_and_caregivers_0.pdf
Looks like you will have to cut and paste to check it out. It is a booklet produced by National Institute on Aging and the National Institutes of Health. It does a pretty decent job of explaining FTD. Many people have never heard of FTD, but are perhaps familiar with the terms "Pick's Disease"or "Huntingdon's Disease." These are both types of Fronto Temporal Lobe Dementia (FTD or FTLD).
I have spoken to many people who told me they were certain there was something "wrong" with their brain. One was actually told by a doctor that she was being silly and that she was much too young for Alzheimer's Disease. This was a neurologist who should certainly know better. First of all, there is such a thing as Early Onset Alzheimer's. Secondly, FTD's are often found in younger people. Bottom line, anyone convinced that there is something wrong with their brain, it should not be dismissed by any medical professional.
That brings me to one of my biggest pet peeves. Several friends or acquaintances have been shocked when I could recite a favorite simple recipe or remember something from the past that they had forgotten. Their immediate response is "See, there's nothing wrong with your brain if you can remember that!" I try to explain that I can recite a recipe, I just can't follow it unless someone is with me and helps me measure ingredients and helps me keep track of the steps. Or, since my impulse control is severely limited, I might reach in the oven to remove something, forgetting that I need to use a pot holder. It's not that I don't know what a pot holder is, it's that I know what I want to do and do it without considering consequences. Another example I frequently use is when I go outside to get our mail from the mailbox, which happens to be on the other side of our little street. I just go, I forget I need to stop at the end of the driveway and make sure there is not a vehicle coming. Learned that lesson from a close call with a large truck hauling stone. I try to remember that it must be terribly difficult to understand the difference if one has no knowledge of FTD, only of Alzheimer's. I constantly have to remind myself of that and not show my frustration or anger.
This lack of impulse control goes hand-in-hand with the loss of a filter between brain and mouth... but that's a story for another day...
1 comment:
I get it, I wish I didn't. While trying to explain to folks what FTD is, inevitably "cognative reasoning deficit" comes up as a marker or symptom of FTD... And each time they protest saying. "You are using cognative reasoning to support your belief you have FTD. I have not been diagnosed with FTD. I discovered it's existence by Googling my symptoms. I have been to half a dozen talking heads. I have been on 6 different antidepressants 3 different classes. Each one took time and only served to exacerbate the problem. I have tried their breathing exercises, meditations, etc. I have been diagnosed with Clinical Depression, Major Depressive Disorder, Manic Depressive Disorder, and PTSD. I spent 3 weeks doing outpatient at a Psyche Hopspital. That was a joke and a scam in my opinion. In this day of Covid it's hard to get to a Psyche Doc, much less one that has working knowledge of FTD... Friends and family keep telling me to get the right help and follow through. If only I would choose to have "right thinking" and follow the Doctors orders I could be my old self again... I do miss me terribly... Phoenix
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