alzheimer's disease vs dementia

Welcome to the place where I share dementia tips, strategies, and information for family members caring for a loved one with any type of dementia (such as Alzheimer's disease, Lewy Body dementia, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, etc.)

In today’s video, I’m answering the question I get asked the most. It’s also the question most people confuse. What’s the difference between Alzheimer’s disease and dementia? I hope this video helps make the difference clear, but in the end, it’s really more important to recognize that no matter what you call it- it’s a difficult thing for everyone involved.

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OTHER VIDEOS MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO:
Find out: "why you should lie to your loved one with dementia"
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In case you haven’t met me, my name is Natali Edmonds and I am a board certified geropsychologist. That means that I am a clinical psychologist who specializes in working with older adults. One day, while hiking a trail, I came up with the idea for Careblazers and I decided to see if posting videos online could provide help to the many other Careblazers in the world who don’t get to have help come directly to them in their homes. I hope that this work helps you in some way on your caregiving journey.
#careblazer #dementia #dementiacare

[lifewithblindnessandmultip]

Careblazer or care hero! I love it. You know careblazer or being in a careblazing role is not just dementia it's anyone who cares for an individual who needs an intense type of care. And my heart goes out to all of you. Due to the fact that people in dementia do not often realize or acknowledge that it takes a lot of energy to provide care to them. Caring for dementia patients is really hard and it's often a thankless job. It's done out of love. You gotta really have a heart to do this line of work anyhow. But this is especially true when caring for anyone who has dementia. God bless you all.

[chellegriggs]

OMG, I've been saying this for months...I tell people it's an 'umbrella' term, just like the word cancer. My husband was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia two years ago and the way I describe it is 1) his autopilot has been turned off, when we go to sit in a chair or go to open a door, our 'autopilot' tells us to reach for the chair handle or reach for the doorknob...his autopilot doesn't tell him anymore. 2) his world has slowed way down, but the rest of us are still going at the normal speed, he can't access information that fast anymore. So I try real hard to slow way down and ask ONE question of give ONE command at a time. It helps. I just wish the stigma that comes with the word dementia wasn't there.

[SD-czog]

Thank you for all of your videos, they have helped a great deal over the past year. This has been an extremely challenging experience for my parent as well as me and my fellow siblings. It's often overwhelming

[anitahall]

this was awesome ! and i love how calm and clear you speak and the time you took to give encouragement to caregivers, appreciate you!

[ruthpeeler]

I really appreciate your way of informing the "careblazer" I wish more Doctors would understand that by saying he has dementia that they need to be more specific. Because you care for each diagnosis differently.

[tucsontom]

Have you changed cameras? Your last couple of videos are not as sharp as previous ones. Maybe it's out of focus or lower resolution.

[lindaalice]

I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in October 2011, at the age of 44. I woke up one morning with numbness in my lower back and legs, I couldn’t feel my feet touching the floor and I also suffered from Anosmia & Tinnitus . I saw my doctor and had an MRI to see if I had a disc problem, it was negative and she told me she feared MS. I was sent to a neurologist, had two more MRIs, and was told that night that I have four lesions on my spine MS. I tried every shot available but nothing worked. In 2015, my neurologist and I decided to go with natural treatment and was introduced to Dr Madidia natural organic MS Herbal formula, i had a total decline of symptoms with this treatment, the numbness, terrible back pains, stiffness, body weakness, double vision, depression and others has subsided.

[lynnskaggs]

Thank you for this educational service.

[linscott]

My Mum has Alzheimers, my Dad Mixed Dementia, my husband mild cognitive impairment due to a brain tumour.... which has potential to develop into dementia.
Each one presents with its own set of problems.
Mum was short term memory, confusion, hallucinations & delusions.
Dad long term memory, spatial awareness, serious lack of judgement & reasoning.
My husband mild short term memory loss, fluency of speech, word finding, judgement & reasoning also.

They all come under the Dementia Umbrella, and all present difficulties in daily living.

[juliemunro]

This was very useful information. Thank you

[jannalynn]

Interesting. I always thought Alzheimer’s was a entirely different category from Dementia. Looks like I need to do more research! Thanks Doctor!!
Have a good day!!

[RegisteredNurseL.A.]

I was thinking it’s like the term cancer, too!!! When you mentioned alcohol related dementia, it makes me wonder why alcohol is so readily available with all the problems it causes like it’s ability to be addictive and deaths related to it. I’ve cared for so many patients going through withdrawal and seen many with Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome. That’s one of the dementias that can be prevented and we’re more concerned about vaping 🤷🏼‍♀️ It baffles me. Sorry for going off on a tangent

[amsohn]

Thank you, good information!!
Blessings

[chiloza]

That was very enlightening. Thank you so much, Dr.!

[kgoswami]

Hi doc, my dad has lewy body dementia. The physical behavior which we all are finding difficult to understand is that he keeps shouting and yelling the whole day. Some days it's like 24x7. We are unable to help him calm down. What could be the reason... please shed some light on this. We all wish to help our dad

[kathykelley]

Thank you for your videos! I'm the only caregiver for my husband who is failing fast and as I'm disabled and chronically ill, and can barely take care of myself, it's becoming impossible. Unfortunately, his diagnoses a few years ago was Dementia, and various doctors have guessed at which type. With no specific diagnoses, Medicare will not cover his needs plus has severely cut benefits this year such a home health care which helped us a lot dealing with issues. My question is how does a doctor diagnose which type of Dementia a patient has, Alzheimer's or other type? The way I understand it, there are no actual tests to determine a specific diagnoses.

[whitneysawyer]

This was helpful, thank-you for this video :)

[maryharris]

What would you learn about care and progression if you had a more specific diagnosis? Neurologist just says “dementia” at 86 - should I press for more?

[nikipoulikakos]

finally i understand the difference, well explained!

[alexanderbhartley]

So the difference could be (analogy) such as I have a Buick, that can be a blanket term/brand.
Now then do I have a Le Sabre, a Le Cross, a Lecern, a Regal, a Century, etc. and so forth...
Ya think?
I have had a Mercury Grand Marquis. I've looked at the Ford Crown Victoria. So while there are many similarities, there are distinct differences; some subtle, some obvious...