health warning
 

Off topic (health and wellness) -- mods feel free to move but since many here are in their late forties and have elderly family members it seems like a good warning. My retired father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. I was skeptical. Family members were devastated. The primary care doctor was not a neurologist. I took him to a neurological institute that was conducting a clinical trial for a new Alzheimer's treatment. After a battery of examinations it was ruled not to be Alzheimer's but a vascular condition, most likely from high cholesterol that was not addressed sooner that led to a night time stroke. The stroke affected the brain in such a way that symptoms appeared similar to early onset of Alzheimer's. But you don't see the same sort of deterioration like with Alzheimer's (ie. in one ear out the other). But I couldn't help to wonder how many millions of families are given this Alzheimer's death sentence needlessly.

So another reason to get your cholesterol under control if being proactive is your thing. and seek out the best neurologist in your area, I always consult the U.S. News and World Report rankings by specialty. And definitely consult a neurologist before under going any surgical procedure as there can be devastating speech and other physical side effects once the anaesthesia wears off if the patient has any known or unknown conditions like mild dementia or Alzheimer's. Which is what happened to my father following benign prostrate surgery. No warning was made about this possibility before surgery despite going to one of the top urology groups in the state. And the doctors at the hospital offered virtually no specific explanation or remedy and seemed reluctant to acknowledge the trauma in a formal way (hospital neurologist did not come by until nearly the fifth day for what was supposed to be a three night hospital stay. He seems to be moving in the right direction towards recovery but it just makes me think what a long tail of consequences can come from or become aggravated by cholesterol mismanagement.

Good info! Hope your father recovers quickly!

All else falls into perspective at times like these. My thoughts and prayers go to you and your family.

thanks for the info and the warning

Yes, they are doctors not gods and may have passed their training courses by the narrowest of margins and perhaps don't keep up with the latest knowledge.

I refer to them as Witch doctors because with many you stand as much chance of successful outcomes as you do with the Voodoo educated variety.

I have seen 2 messed up surgeries with close folks in the last year.

One is dead after a routine surgery and the other lost full use of a thumb due to a crappy tendon repair.

I hope your fathers condition improves and I can relate that you must be furious for the lack of care and attention to detail by your former physician.

Unfortunately with the Obama Medical plan your Physicians will be further overwhelmed by the patient load and you can expect even less care and diligence than ever in the future

Rant complete!

Solution: Start a DIY thread for ailments and surgeries and we can help ourselves :p

Funny true story: While shopping for a new doctor many years ago, I did ask one prospects receptionist what the Doc's grade point average was. She smirked and pointed to his diploma on the wall.

^The interesting thing is that many of his current problems are IMO certainly due in part to his private insurance that blocked visits to specialists at every turn for years. Either the doctors or group were incentivized to keep refilling the same prostrate medications year after year for his benign enlargement without ever ordering a full examination by an actual urologist. Meanwhile the window of opportunity to have minimally invasive procedures quickly slammed shut. Once he hit 65 and had Medicare the new doctors were like "WTF?? You should have been here ages ago! Now we have to subject you to the same risky procedure that prostrate cancer patients have to endure" Basically Medicare is cleaning up what private insurance encouraged its physicians to actively neglect. So pick your poison. For profit neglect and stalling or the socialist stuff.
But no matter who you go with as far as doctors check their peer rankings and get the absolute highest rated surgeon/specialist you can get even if you have to pay extra. In my father's case I have to wonder if that would have been possible under his previous private HMO. In speaking to one of the registered nurses at a top Florida hospital she admitted to me that despite working for a well funded hospital she did not have hospital coverage.

While we are talking about men's health issues;

If you haven't been keeping up with health news, it's been discovered that the PSA exam is a bunch of nonsense. It's accuracy rating is ridiculously low, to the point of being useless. It should also be noted that Some prostate cancers are so slow-growing that removal is unnecessary. Prostate surgery can result in incontinence and other damage, so get a second opinion. Don't let anyone talk you into surgery based on the PSA results.

Perfect; I'm sorry to hear about your dad's troubles. :( It's a reminder that we all have to be skeptical about every treatment, or lack thereof.

The info you've given everyone about Alzheimer's versus vascular disease is truly valuable.

Please provide a link to the USNews & World report rankings.

Perfect lap thanks for posting. Wish the best and speedy recovery for your pops.

Porsche Chick, I've been reading the same news. One has to remember that the medical business is a for profit business!

Best wishes for your father's recovery PL.

As to quality medical care? Bad things happen in hospitals so avoid them like the plague IMO. Surgery as an absolute last resort. (wifey is a Radiologic Technologist) The medical industry is built around treatment for trauma, treatment for symptoms, and medication. They don't do prevention or cure very well. As a society we have fallen off a cliff in the prevention and cure department.

What should we do? Eat right (whole foods with lots of greens instead of fast food/packaged food/processed food), lots of exercise (walk 3 miles/day or equivalent), avoid soft drinks/energy drinks (diabetes in a can), avoid prescription drugs whenever possible (too many negative side effects), sleep 8 hrs/day, enjoy life. If we do these things we move towards good health and prevention of disease. Then Obamacare, prescription drugs and hospitals become far less important.

Oops double post. No delete button??

Couldn't agree more with your advice! Of course the enjoy life part is why we have Boxsters:D My 54 year old neighbor went to the hospital for a minor issue. A month later he was dead from a staph infection. Just not a place I want to go.

Sound advice..try to avoid SUGAR in as many foods as possible. But soft drinks are probably the biggest problem causing diabetes and obesity in the US, UK and now many other countries.
India and China are in for a massive health problem in a few years after they have succumb to that sweet juice.

The advice given by Perfectlap and Porsche Chick is very sound advice. Where prostate disease is concerned, I was found to have prostate cancer without ever having an abnormal PSA result. PSA is better that no test at all, but it is essential to have the finger test as well (as unpleasant as that may be to most of us!). Also, don't be talked into prostate surgery without getting lots of opinions, the after-effects are not much fun, and may be avoidable since it appears to be unnecessary in many cases, according to current opinion.

I have known two guys who died of prostate cancer, and currently a close friend has just been given just a few years to live with it - all because of inadequate testing. I was fortunate in being a health professional with experience in these areas, and knew when things were not right with me.

High cholesterol has a well-known association with 'vascular dementia', and also excessive sugar consumption is the cause of many of our modern lifestyle-related diseases.

And best wishes for your father, Perfectlap.