Please help!!! Possible Stroke, but dad also has Alzheimers.. - Alzheimer's Disease & Dementia Message Board

liz1104 · 03-12-2007, 08:01 AM

hello,
i am new here and i need help. my dad is 67 years old and is in the early stages of alzheimers. physically he is so healthy, probably healthier then most 30 year olds. he eats very well and exercises. he has been a part of the study at Cornell Hosptial for the past 8 months. the study is to test a current drug to help with the progression of Alzheimers. he has his good days and bad days, some days you would never know he has alzheimers and other days it is very noticeable.
well him and my step mom went to costa rica last week and while they were there my dads legs just gave out and he collapsed and felt very "foggy". he never lost consciousness. they went to the dr. there and they took his BP and it was fine. they got home on Tuesday and here it is Sunday and my dad just called to tell him that he thinks he had a mini stroke. I freaked out. my step mom told me that they went for a run and he looked at her and the same thing happened, his legs felt like they were going to buckle and then he just collapsed, he got the same "foggy" feeling in his head. he got very nervous, he did not go to the ER, they are going to see his Neurologist tomorrow morning.
I am terrified. I dont know what to do, any advice? I am so scared. my dad and i are so close, he needs to be ok.
I just looked up the signs of a stroke and his 2 episodes that he is describing are one of the symptoms of a possible stroke. I dont know if it is a stroke or alzheimers.
any help would be greatly appreciated..
please help me.!!!!! thank you so much,
liz

Martha H · 03-12-2007, 09:29 AM

I have never seen or heard of this as Alzheimer related, and it is quite possible he did have a stroke. If so he needs treatment now to prevent another bigger one later on. I hope the meds he gets in the study help him and prove to help others very soon - we need something! There is nothing out there now that helps, outside of delaying progress of the disease for a couple of months. I hope that your Dad will be one of the first to be cured!

However they must be told at the hospital or neurologists office what experimental drug he is on, as this could be a side effect.

good luck!

Martha

liz1104 · 03-12-2007, 10:19 AM

thank you martha -

my step mom spoke with the neurologist who is handling the alzheimers study and it is not from the alzheimers and he said it is not from the meds.

my dad is going to see his cardiologist today to have an EEG to see if it was a stroke and i will be going with them.

thank you again.
best wishes to you and yours.

kwebster · 03-12-2007, 06:11 PM

Hi! I am normally on the thyroid boards but my dad was just diagnosed with alzheimers. Anyway, my dad has had three episodes like you described since November. Went to neuroolgist did eegs, etc. said it was not neurological. Went to the cardiologist and they said it wasn't heart (did all the tests). The only thing we can think of is he gets dehydrated, feels woozy (as dad calls it), and gracefully slumps to the ground. He doesn't lose consciousness. Just spaces out for a moment. They call it Syncope. Hope that helps.
Kathy