MS cognitive symptoms frighten me more than the physical ones

[Prot]

Can't copy and paste for some reason.

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[agate]

Copying and pasting from a Website seems to be almost impossible most of the time. It's probably a copyright issue. Usually you can cite the URL as a link though--unless it's one of those periodicals that set up a paywall and make content available to (paid) subscribers only.

Those comments about MS cognitive problems reflect what is probably most people's way of thinking. I know that the cognitive/mental problems of MS worry me far more than even the worst physical disabilities.

If you're totally paralyzed (the worst-case scenario physically) but you can still understand where you have a physical problem and let someone know so that you can be helped, you're far better off than if you're doing fairly well physically but don't realize that you're not thinking clearly or that your judgment is seriously impaired. You might not be able to let anyone know where you're hurting in that situation--and so the problem might easily get worse.

Someone I knew with MS and was pretty much paralyzed from the neck down still had his mental capacities intact. He had lost his speech (paralyzed vocal cords maybe?) and couldn't utter a sound. But he had a little screen with a keyboard where he could tap out what he wanted to say, and he said it clearly on that screen.

[Prot]

A major concern of those us with schizophrenia- in our 60s, is the increased risk of dementia. That is further heightened if,like me, you also have an autism diagnosis.

[agate]

Dementia is scary. I've had neighbors who have had it. But there seem to be some facilities offering specialized care for persons with dementia--something called "memory care," for instance. I'm not sure how it works but it sounds as if efforts are being made to address the needs of people with that disorder.

[Prot]

My wife, there was an age gap, had vascular dementia. She'd had a moderate stroke about a dozen years before that. Scans revealed that had been followed by several,'under the radar'(my description), mini strokes. Prior to the vascular dementia she had always been the dominant decision maker, I took over that role as best I could. It's now 20 years since she died, and I still miss her.

[agate]

So sorry for your very sad loss, Tim. It's sad to watch a long-time companion like a spouse start to fail and then to lose the person.

[Prot]

Thank you,Agate.Before the dementia she was the commonsensical, highly practical one. Street smart rather than book learnt. Like my late mother she was a great cook. She liked Lionel Richie,especially the song 'Truly'.

[agate]

Great cooks are increasingly rare, or at least that's probably the way it's going--what with the easy availability of fast food.

Maybe all we can do when we miss the people in our life who are gone is look back on the good times and be glad we had that person in our life for as long as we did.

[Prot]

At my last place( 11th floor flat in low income area of Southend) I had about 15 takeaway leaflets, and there were lots of options available online via Just eat. I went totally overboard on having takeaway. Here, in a small town in Wiltshire, there is far less to tempt me. I have far less takeaways. I'd describe my diet as 'comparatively less unhealthy' rather than a nutritionally well balanced one. I don't have as much fruit and veg as I should.

[agate]

I think I'll try a takeaway some time. I haven't ever done that except a few times when there were visitors and that is what we did but the last time that happened was many years ago--maybe 10 or more years. It just never occurs to me as a possibility but it might be interesting to have some food I didn't prepare for a change.

On the other hand, what if I order it and it turns out to be something poorly cooked or just something I dislike? What a waste of money, considering the price of restaurant food. Somehow I can't bring myself to take the chance.

I'm a tightwad, truth to tell.

[Prot]

Minimum spend on Chinese takeaway,including delivery, where I live is $16.19(£12.00) Pizza minimum= nearly £18.00. Not sure about Indian . Chinese is the best VFM.

[agate]

I'm really glad I had to cook at an early age and just kept on cooking. My idea of a very dreary life is a situation where I couldn't fix my own food. My former husband wound up in assisted living, and his partner immediately arranged to have the stove removed from the premises because it was considered to be too dangerous. That kind of situation is one I'd find very upsetting.

[Prot]

It's been very quiet here recently. I hope you're all doing as well as possible. I've been in quite a lot of pain recently. Firstly my neck. It seems that I might be developing arthritis there. Secondly the pain I get after being on my feet for too long(not long at all for most people)has been giving me level 6 pain. Nearly 4 years on from the partial hip replacement, I'm still getting the same pain where I'd fractured my femur. Yet delayed treatment was supposedly only going to delay recovery by a fortnight or so!

I've just done an online grocery order. It's big, but will mean small grocery shopping for a few weeks after that. I like to look in the 'New in' section. I'm eager to get the genealogist's report on the work he has done for me, along with help from his assistants. Hopefully his report will be better than the decidedly lacklustre efforts of previous genealogists my father and I used.

[agate]

Sorry your pain has continued to be bad. I don't suppose the doctor who did the hip replacement would have any answers for you on that? I mean, preferably, answers not involving more surgery?

You do online grocery orders too? Here there is Instacart but you probably have a different arrangement. I'm curious about what "New in" is. I use Instacart when my regular grocery-delivery service is limited or not available.

And you have a genealogist working on your family history? When do you find out the results?

[Virginia]

Sorry about the pain Tim. Sometimes it just never seems to let up for long. I have a neighbor who had knee replacement and then started hurting in her neck. She questioned if it might be her walker. Since she hasn't used the walker much I tend to think it is arthritis in her neck. But her doctor might be able to tell her.