Random Alzheimer's, Dementia & MCI - experiences, treatments and support

[CFC]

Anyone else trying to help a loved one, friend or relative with alzheimer's, dementia, or mild cognitive impairment (the early phase that comes before a full diagnosis)?

My Mum has MCI - she can't really remember anything much anymore, and has a fair few striking cognitive difficulties. Though is still mostly capable of functioning independently, albeit I pretty much have to live with her to care for her now.

I started noticing issues about 6-7 years ago, and immediately began buying her various (mostly metabolic-type) supplements that may help slow the progression of the disease and prolong her quality of life.

ATM I have her on a powder (divided into 2-3 doses/day) containing:

Creatine - 3g/day
Glutamine - 10g/day
Taurine - 10g/day
ALCAR - 3g/day
Phosphatidylserine - 300mg/day
Citrulline Malate - 10g/day
NAC - 6g/day
Glycine - 10g/day
Ashwaghanda - 600mg/day
Alpha-GPC - 1.2g/day
L-theanine - 250mg/day
Uridine - 500mg/day
Homotaurine (tramiprosate) - 100mg/day
Centrophenoxine - 600mg/day
Huperzine A - 300mg/day
L-Serine - 1g/day
Alpha-lipoic Acid - 300mg/day
EAAs - 10g/day
Tadalafil - 1.25mg/day

She also takes supplements of:

Omega 3 fish oils
Vit B12
Folic acid
Zinc carnosine
Melatonin (at night)
CBD oil
DHEA (hormonal support)


She doesn't always manage to take the full powder dose as she has a lot of GI issues, gastroparesis, GERD etc (and tramiprosate can cause a lot of nausea issues), nor all the supps, but we do at least have the ball rolling.

 

[thujone]

Sorry you're going through this My old man had dementia and it was hard. He seemed to get a bit more lucid/focused when he had a glass of wine. I chalk it up to the GABAergic action because lemon balm also seemed to help, whereas other calming herbs, like chamomile, were less effective.

We saw some success with Ginkgo supplements but all these "adaptogenic" plants seemed to come with noticeable side-effects and contraindications.

I trialed most of the stuff we had him try so that helped me work towards a good supplement stack for my own self as well. For the most part, I find that a good night's sleep helps brain function best. Aiming for a good night's sleep as often as possible could be something worth emphasizing.

 

[CFC]

I should update Mum's current stack soon. Her cognitive decline really does seem to have stabilized, at least for now, touch wood, though she does naturally have better and worse days. She's had almost 18 months of completely unbroken 7-8 hours sleep thanks to her pills, powders and better 'sleep hygiene' (the previous 20 years her sleep was poor and was slowly becoming almost non-existent). This includes no more night terrors, no waking at 4am, and no nighttime confusion. I do make sure she's sleeping on her side though, as she has a sleep apnea that responds well to keeping the air passages open, and side-sleeping is presumed to facilitate enhanced glymphatic (CSF) waste clearance. We also focus on keeping the air very clean of crud (HEPA-filtered), and CO2 levels as low as practical in a comparatively cold climate where you can't just leave doors and windows fully open all day and night. For those of you who have CO2 monitors, I'm sure most can understand the struggle to keep levels below 800ppm indoors most of the time lol.