Many caregivers of those who suffer with dementia believe that there is no treatment for the progressive symptoms that accompany so many diseases. There is treatment; for most cases there is no cure,
except in cases that may have been caused by injury, medication, depression, etc.
It is true that some cases of dementia are treatable. For example, in the case of a brain tumor, relieving head pressure is crucial and can sometimes reverse dementia. It can at least stop its progression. Some medications have the side effect, in which case different dosages, brands, and concoctions can be trialed to find the right balance.
Depression or other mental illnesses such as post traumatic stress disorder cause the victim to want or need to block out events. Although it may seem helpful at first to suppress the memories created during traumatic events, it really is an advancement in healing to deal with the feelings. The memories will always be in the subconscious, and, even decades later, they can be conjured unexpectedly, in which event the victim may adversely respond.
It is the irreversible cases for which there are little medical treatment. Some medications can be taken to ease accompanying symptoms, and in some cases of diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, progression can be slowed, but there remains no permanent cure. Anxiety and depression that come with suffering from dementia can be treated, and because a victim will also suffer anger due to his own recognized inabilities, anger can also be addressed.
Sadly, however, in the most commonly known cases the only dementia treatment is ample education on behalf of the caregiver of the patient. A caregiver should know that there will be no convincing a patient that he is remembering something wrong. It is best for a caregiver and all loved ones to go along with whatever hallucinations or inaccurate memories are happening at the moment. If the patient repeatedly asks the same conversations or tells the same stories, the attending caregiver should just go along. He or she is the only person capable of knowing reality in the situation. Because of the dementia itself, the patient is incapable of being convinced that he is wrong in any way, and it will only make those involved angry when they fail at convincing him otherwise.
Some of the best dementia treatment available is not for the suffering patient at all. Caregivers should inform doctors of the situation. Medication for anxiety, depression, anger, stress management, etc. can be an immense help for those struggling to care for someone. Counseling has also been shown as an effective form of healing for those caring for a loved one with a progressive disease, and services such as hospice care are meant to help family members and caregivers as much as they are meant to comfort the patient, himself. Caregivers agency