How to Treat the Symptoms of Dementia
Dementia is the result of a broad range of brain-related damage that can occur for a variety of reasons. Because of dementia's broad scope, it can be hard to treat the symptoms; however, it's not impossible to begin some form of treatment once the onset of dementia has been realized.
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Instructions
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Immediately start a drug regiment. Consult your doctor and ask about Alzheimer's drugs, which include donepezil (Aricept), galantamine (Reminyl) and rivastigmine (Exelon). These drugs can help with memory loss, although their full effectiveness is still unknown. Also be aware that these drugs will not reverse the course of dementia completely but rather can bring the user back to his cognitive sense as of 9 months previous from the time of taking the medication.
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Undergo a psychiatric test to determine if the onset of depression is occurring. Your doctor may prescribe antidepressants to help alleviate the symptoms of depression.
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Undergo reminiscence therapy. This type of therapy oftentimes occurs in groups and involves individuals discussing past events, sharing memories from the past and basically remembering their lives. Some patients have claimed great success with this type of therapy.
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Ask your doctor about possible medical treatments based on your predetermined type of dementia. For instance, Glenn Brynes, M.D., Ph.D., at the Northern County Psychiatric Associates, suggested that "if the cause of dementia were severe hypothyroidism, the treatment would be thyroid hormone replacement." The type of treatment will, of course, be dependent on your form of dementia.
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Tips & Warnings
The more quickly you realize and acknowledge the symptoms of dementia, the more effective your treatment is likely to be. Do a mixture of treatments to keep your brain active and as healthy as possible.
Consult with your doctor before taking any medications.
