Iam just curious if it is possible to get alzheimers at 30 years old. Iam only 26 but i am a recovering drug addict. I have many memory problems and ive read the 7 stages of alzheimers and i feel as though iam at the 4th stage. I also have trouble walking sometimes and feel dizzy and confused a lot. I try to read and make sure i keep doing a lot of mental activities so i don't turn into a vegetable at 30. Iam so scared because iam young and i have the same problems as 60-80 year olds. Is it possible i will be living in a nursing home at 35 or 40 years old since i have memory problems already. Iam so worried and scared, any advice

Dear Trivial Rush.

It seems to me that your memory losses may have more to do with drug abuse than with Alzheimers.

I am not in the medical field, but a cousin of mine who was pretty heavily into drugs in the 70s certainly damaged some brain cells, because all her childhood memories were wiped out. She also had other problems at first, after finally getting off drugs. But the good news is that she recovered entirely. Her childhod memories are still missing, but she went back to college, became a teacher, had a child, is creative and musical, and leads a normal and interesting life. Your first concern must be staying off drugs. Give your mind a chance to heal. It may take a while, a year or more.

you will probably never get Alzheimers, but this experience and your fear of it will make you a better person and more caring towards such patients when you are fully recovered and able to become a caregiver in some way .. as a volunteer in a nursing home perhaps. good luck. God bless you and give you strength to never never go back onto substances that can make an old man out of you, even temporarily...

Love
Martha
(over twice your age, and wishing you well!)

thank you Martha for those kind words i went back to college and iam graduting in 3 weeks i have no idea what iam going to do afterwards maybe try and work or nursing school. I still have a lot of anxiety issues from the drugs and i get paranoid for no reason sometimes. But i am hoping that it will all go away with time. I worked at an assisted living facility last year and it was so depressing to see all those people suffering from alzheimers i wanted to help them and i could not stand to watch them in their confusion and caotic behavior. My grandmother had alzheimers and i used to change her diapers.

Nursing sounds like a good idea for you! The symptoms you mention will go away. Have you ever learned any relaxation techiques such as meditation or yoga? That could help.

Good luck!

Martha

As a matter of fact ive been taking a yoga class this semester in school and i feel it has helped me in some way iam sure. I used to be a dance teacher so i know ways of strecthing the body to get myself relaxed and less tense. However i still get stiff sometimes and i get migraines a lot. I hope it will go away with time. But i don't think my memory is going to get better iam hopeing it just stays the way it is and doesn't get worse, thats what iam affraid of.

That was a great post Martha. There are some illnesses and medical problems that can cause memory loss, until the things that are causing the illness are corrected. I'm a 26 year old male. I started having symptoms of major fatigue/exhaustion 24/7, short-term memory loss, and severe concentration in November of 2003. I still have the symptoms and I've been trying to find out what is wrong. Some months back, I started reading more about alternative medicine and found out things that I never knew before. Hopefully, I'll be able to get my energy and short-term memory loss back. And hopefully you'll get your memory back also, Trivial Rush.

Trival Rush

I guess I think drug problems cause many different sides effects. Memory loss is on the top. Stay clean and you'll be thinking clearer soon. Exercise, healthy diet, and productive thinking will help. Remember, many people become addictive to drugs because they don't believe in themselves. They are trapped in negative thoughts. You are important so believe in yourself and you can be a positive in other people's lives. Drugs only confuse thinking.

Let us know how your doing.
We are praying for you.

Good luck
Cindy

Trivial Rush,

Hi. Are you seeing any kind of doctor for this? It doesn't sound like you are but you should. My bf was addiction to prescription drugs for several years and he has the same problems you are talking about. He forget things easily, gets headaches a lot, has trouble concentrating, etc. He's been diagnosed as bipolar which I think was mostly caused by his drug abuse because everyone who knew him before his addiction says he didn't act the way he does now.

This has caused LOTS of problems for him. He has trouble keeping jobs because he can't concentrate and makes lots of mistakes. Sometimes I get fussy because he won't/can't listen to what I'm saying (most people says that's just the man in him but this is a lot worse than the average man).

Anyway, you need to see a dr who will probably put you on some kind of meds. But at the same time, it takes more than just the meds. But, you already seem like you are on the right track in being aware of it and trying to make things work better. For us, it's taken him being on meds and counseling and we still have a long way to go but things are getting better.....

-morninglory-

hi there i was wondering what kind of meds is your boyfriend on? Iam going through a lot right now my boyfriend left me and iam so depressed. Is he taking any meds that help his memory or just antipsychotics i was diagnosed as bipolar but my therapist thinks iam just depressed and have cognitive problems from the drugs which is totally true. Iam very sad because the love of my life left me and i feel like a total failure. I tried the meds for 2 days but it just made me feel ten times worse i as extremely tired and i felt like a zombie

I don't think that there is anyway that you could have Stage 4 Alzheimers and be graduating from college. It is much more likely to be a result of stress and depression. You are undergoing 2 major steps in you life with the loss of your significant other and college graduation..maybe looking for a career?

Best wishes that everything will work out..

There is such a thng as alcohol induced dementia. You still seem on the young side as this typically effects people with more late stage alcoholism. If you are so young and having serious cognitive impairment, you might want to consider getting checked out by a neurologist ASAP. Hope everything is OK!!!!

I did go to a neurologist and i had a MRI and a pet scan done, but they both came out nornal. However, i've been reading all these posts about people having normal MRIs and still ahving serious problems. I also went to a neuropsychologist and had neuro psychological testing done the results were that i have a normal IQ but i do have memory problems. I just hope things don't get worse for me thats all and i hope i get over my ex quickly otherwise i might drive myself insane obssessively thinking about him.