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New to living with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
I have recently been diagnosed with MCI and I'll be attending Mayo Clinic group on this. Each day just seems to bring me challenges. I have days when I get depressed because I feel like I'm being a burden to others. I will be attending MCI seminar at Mayo Clinic in January. I need help and support in this area.
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Hi @dougjanehaltom Janie, You asked "Does this mean that I will just have mild Cognitive impairment or will this go into Alzheimers?"
That's a question most people ask when diagnosed with MCI. The Directors of the HABIT program answer that question and other commonly asked question in this blog post:
- Common Questions After Being Diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/living-with-mild-cognitive-impairment-mci/newsfeed-post/what-is-mild-cognitive-impairment-mci-questions-you-may-have-after-being-diagnosed-with-mc/
"MCI is often considered the beginning signs of a progressive disorder, such as early stage Alzheimer’s disease. 30%-50% of patients with MCI progress to a diagnosis of dementia, often with an underlying cause of Alzheimer’s disease in 5 years. However, MCI does not always progress to dementia. Some patients experience improvement and some stay stable over time. It is unfortunately difficult to predict at this time for an individual patient if decline will occur, or how rapidly decline will progress."
New research shows that lifestyle can help slow progression. See here:
- Combination of Healthy Lifestyle Traits may Substantially reduce Alzheimer's https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/living-with-mild-cognitive-impairment-mci/newsfeed-post/combination-of-healthy-lifestyle-traits-may-substantially-reduce-alzheimers/
You might appreciate following the MCI blog and reading through past posts here: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/living-with-mild-cognitive-impairment-mci/
Janie, what are some of your favorite activities?
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4 ReactionsOh my gosh, my golly, I found you. Happy everything. Most important....how are you feeling? What is new in your household? Are you in a new house? For real? Daughter? Husband? How did you handle the Holidays? What do you hear from Australia? O.K. I will take a break and pour another cup of tea......so I can think about our lives, our loves.....like puppies? And then, of course, there is our
issue.
I'll share my crazy and embarrassing memory issue. You talk about misplacing credit cards. I am on my 3rd American Express card because I lose them. Not really lost just misplaced. I finally found one between two insurance cards. I tend to use American Express as much as possible because we will need miles to go to visit grandchildren as soon as it is safe to do so.
We stayed here in Minnesota bemoaning the loneliness of trying to have a joyous family event. And then we discovered Zoom. There are 12 of us in this blended family and now we all know each other. My daughter and granddaughters zoom every other Sunday. We call it a Bed Party. We have a subject to think about and then we just laugh and catch up. When they used to come up on the mountain, we always had bed parties.
Have you been comfortable with the burden of your daughter and husband falling pretty much in your lap? Actually, Jay and I think we have become much closer. The beginning was a little treacherous but now we sort of enjoy our time together. Sometimes we don't even see each other all day. I am usually downstairs and he stays upstairs.
We have been a little concerned about the Austin, Texas family with an 18-month-old and a 3-year-old. They actually cooked over the fireplace. By yesterday they had "steady" power but no water. Our son-in-law filled 90 buckets with snow from the roof. Then they have to boil the water. It was quite disheartening to see the folks trying to cope with that situation.
This year on Connect, we invited folks to think about their "Quality of Life" and select something that would improve that detail and demonstrate self-compassion. I gave myself an extra MFR session and a commitment to work on my hip and thumb. Here is a copy if you didn't catch it before the Holidays.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/quality-of-life-a-gift-that-just-keeps-on-giving/
Grab a moment when you can and let me know what is happening.
May you have happiness and the causes of happiness.
Chris
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2 ReactionsGood morning @dorty, I just re-read your story and couldn't help wondering how you are handling the prerequisites for a comfortable life. It has been some time since we connected. We are working on Quality of Life issues that will improve the chances for happiness. Do you have anything that you need but just don't permit yourself to aquire. Now is the time.
Here is the post as it was sent. It is not too late.......in fact we all would be better humans if we took better care of ourselves.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/quality-of-life-a-gift-that-just-keeps-on-giving/
May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris
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2 ReactionsYes! I just complained that everything I do takes more time and includes frustration and anxiety over the tasks. I can’t get a lot done! I probably don’t have a lot of productive hours in a given day so I leave too many things not quite done, put on a list which I may or may not remember to return to. I simply cannot multitask anymore. I also don’t easily meet schedules or commitments. I miss appointments, arrive late. Others with MCI and the same difficulties are fortunate to have a husband or wife or bonded friend or personal assistant to actually say what to do when and to get them out and to commitments on time. Living alone with MCI is a almost more of a challenge than I can handle.
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1 ReactionToday I think every last one of us past 50 has some sort of MCI…it is not a death sentence. Rather it is a blessing in that we should slow down and prioritize what is really important in our lives…gratefully, Marianne
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1 ReactionI agree, but it is hard to accept that I cannot do as much as I used to, resulting in my world getting smaller. I cannot read news sites that I am (was) subscribed to, f'rinstance, if I read an article and say to myself. "Is this information this anything I can take an action and affect?" If no, I cancel. A smaller world, but this rationale is something I can more easily accept.
Right, we come into this world alone and leave it also alone. The trick is to enjoy every last bit of the middle, whatever it may be…
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2 ReactionsWas diagnosed with MCI about a month ago. Am 61 and, while some of it makes better sense now (the increased anxiety, forgetting/losing things, inability to multi-task, slow to get big projects done). Honestly, I'm scared as hell. Wife has been great (her Dad died of Alzheimer's). My Mom (85) just confirmed with Dementia. I'm going through periods of anger, frustration, depression, sadness, fear, etc. I know that there's not a magic answer, however....
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3 ReactionsWelcome to Connect @bono. I sure do need you. You have just the right words to describe my major MCI symptoms, especially the inability to multi-task and/or get big projects done. Do you use any form of messaging to yourself? I have tried sending myself messages, leaving notes on the mirror, or setting alarms to give me plenty of time to make it to my therapy appointments. My Dad went from NCI to dementia to Alzheimer's over a 10-year period.
I used to drive up to give my Mom a break. My Dad would be singing in the bathtub while he played with his bath toys. Someone had to be there or he would do things like turn off all the pilot lights on the stove.
What medications are you using? Which one or ones are the most helpful? I have had the most success with Buspirone for anxiety.
May you be safe, protected and free from inner and outer harm.
Chris
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2 ReactionsI think I posted suggestions on this string months ago. My main one is that you don't have any cognition to lose, so don't waste any. On clutter in the house or at work (if you're still working), on alcohol, on over-stimulation, on stress. The last is hard, but focus on sensory processing, not merely conceptual processing. Give your right brain a workout, esp if your left brain is balky. Go rest and relax, not fight or flee (parasympathetic, not sympathetic nervous system)--tho ultimately you need both to work together, just with the parasympathetic in the lead.
You know by now that MCI describes cognition that fits somewhere, anywhere, between dementia and that which is appropriate for your (advanced) age. When I first got the label 2 or 3 yrs ago--I forget when!--I thought it was another neuro euphemism, like "borderline" without specifying that I was on the border between average and inferior, not average and superior. But I now realize that the failure to specify degrees of cognitive impairment from mild to moderate to severe is due to the inability to measure cognition more precisely. So there's often room for some patient optimism when it comes to MCI, which, as I hope you know, does not invariably progress to dementia.
And as implied in the preceding paragraph, try to keep a sense of humor thru the process. It helps me re-energize after an incident of inattentiveness or failed memory.
Peace.
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