It’s not widely talked about, MCI is
often over looked because people like me can live relatively normal lives.
This is me, I was diagnosed with MCI at
only 22 years old and I have had to relearn how to live my life despite it.
I first started displaying symptoms when
I was 18 years old, and my GP actually said to me it was all in my head and prescribed
antidepressants. The symptoms I started
with were relatively small individually you’d not recognise a connection but
when listed together it became obvious that there was an underlying issue.
·
I started to forget things more regularly than a
normal person
·
I was missing appointments and engaging with friends.
·
I would forget what I was saying half way through
saying it, this was made worse by not being able to recall words I needed.
·
I suffered awfully with anxiety (I’ve still not learnt
to manage this)
·
I became overwhelmed by things like making a decision
or a change in my routine
·
I was (and still can be) irritable all the time, small
issues became massive issues.
So,
what is MCI?
MCI is Mild Cognitive impairment and it
is an intermediate stage between the expected cognitive decline of normal aging
and the more-serious decline of dementia. It can involve problems with memory,
language, thinking and judgment that are greater than normal age-related
changes. So, to be symptomatic at 18 was
unusual, but not unheard off or rare.
If you have mild cognitive impairment,
you may be aware that your memory or mental function has "slipped."
Your family and close friends also may notice a change. But generally, these
changes aren't severe enough to significantly interfere with your day-to-day
life and usual activities.
Mild cognitive impairment may increase
your risk of later progressing to dementia, when I visit the doctors now this
fact is written all over my record in red.
Dementia is caused by Alzheimer's disease or other neurological
conditions. But some people with mild cognitive impairment never get worse, and
a few eventually get better. I have
really good days when I am literally a fully functional member of society.
Despite the MCI I have held a career, I
started out nursing, moved to Admin and became a Senior Administrator within
the NHS for both the Adult and Children’s Safeguarding Teams. I have married and I have two gorgeous little
boys (Blogger Babies).
Increasing
Cognitive Impairment
Sadly, my MCI is actually getting
worse. My father (Grumpy) has had to
move in to support me. I know rely on
having a routine and lists for everything.
·
I make lists of everything I have to do, these are
stuck to a door in the kitchen so that I can clearly see them. I also have a menu for the month planned so I
know exactly what we are eating and I can plan accordingly.
·
When I have to learn something, new I write little
help guides – an exact step by step process, which has become useful when I
temp as the next person can come in and pick up where I left without too much
difficulty.
·
I have the same daily routine which I stick to, small
changes to the routine can send me into a complete melt down.
·
I have people, friends and family remind me.
How
I feel about MCI
MCI, when I was first diagnosed I was
lost, I literally thought that my life was over. The plans, hopes and dreams I had for the
future were now out of my grasp. I wallowed
in self-pity for about 6 months, until my family and friends became tired of
the same old same old and started demanding I do more. Get of the house have some fresh air…
My life isn’t over, it’s taken about 15
years to appreciate that fact. The odds
are good when you think that only about 10-15% of people with MCI progress to Alzheimer’s. I appreciate that there is still a chance I could
be one of those but it’s not happened yet so I’ll worry about that when I get
there (if I remember!!). And the Mayo
Clinic article states that some people actually get better.
In England, according
to Ken Clasper, who was originally diagnosed with LBD and then, after 10 years,
was re-diagnosed with MCI, the National Health determined that those with
diagnoses of dementia who were still able to function at some higher level were
reduced in their diagnosis to MCI. While perplexing, it does make sense
on some levels. There are other issues this brings up, but
for the purposes of this blog and post, I’d like to keep it simple.
What I can still do…
I like to think that I can
still do all the things that really matter, I enjoy spending time with friends
and family. I might forget to call and
it might be months before I do but luckily, I have brilliant friends who just
pick up as if we spoke yesterday.
I write this blog, and
I support a fantastic charity – The Edith Ellen Foundation, hence the name of
this blogspot. With their support and guidance
I can raise the awareness and profile of MCI.
The Edith Ellen
Foundation are campaigners and world changers, they are working to ensure that
Care in homes and the community is given with kindness, dignity and respect you
can follow them on twitter @edithellen2013.
Awareness
More need to be done to
get awareness and understating of MCI out into the world. More information needs to be given and more
recognition than it has at present.
All most everyone knows
about Dementia and Alzheimer’s and there are dozens of charities out there
raising awareness for them, MCI may not be dementia but it does still involve
memory and day2day living.
I feel my own Dr treats
me with contempt when it comes to this illness because so little is understood
and Dr’s are not willing to look further to explore the cause of it.
Is there anyone else out there?
Sometimes I feel truly
alone with this diagnosis, I’ve never found a support group – there are
thousands for the individual issues like counselling for the depression and
anxiety but nothing that covers the whole diagnosis.
I would like to be the
person who raised the awareness of MCI by sharing this article you too can help
make that change and raise awareness.
