By REGINA D. Posvar LPN,RNA
Q: Dear Nurse, my sister took my mom to see a specialist three months ago and they recommended she use coconut oil in her diet. I am not sure the amount prescribed but recently I have been noticing my mom is communicating better and recognizing me when I come to visit her. She used to always confuse my sister and I and I feel she really knows it is me. She had stopped talking over a year ago only, “yes” and “no” answers. Now she can tell me exactly what she wants. Does the coconut oil really have anything to do with it? Will it heal her?
A: Virgin cold press coconut oil has been used to treat persons with Alzheimer and related dementias for a number of years now with lots of controversy. It does not heal the disease however it can reverse symptoms that the person is experiencing which improves quality of life for that person as well as the caregiver. For example: Your mom lost her ability to communicate other than yes or no questions so this makes it harder for you to figure out what she needs. You know her so guessing helps you to form your questions to make it easy although it is still a challenge as engagement is difficult. Now that she can communicate with you better it helps finding what is comfortable for her and she is able to make her own choices. She can connect with you it better and will feel more involved with life and enjoy better. Think about this, when you have no voice we will feel alone and isolated. Trying to get a message across to someone and not knowing how is frustrating. Therefore communication improves quality of life for you and her. She can say “no, I do not want breadfruit for breakfast”. A simple no may be taken to mean she does not want breakfast at all. This will leave you thinking everything is ok until later when she may become agitated because she is hungry and cannot say that she wanted something else to eat.
Coconut oil has improved the quality of life for many families. This can also help a person in the earlier stages remain independent a longer time. So look for good quality virgin cold press coconut oil. A good source I recommend out here is Ali Rose Coconut Oil; it seems to be the most consistent in quality. You do not have to have dementia to benefit from it. I recommend that caregivers take it as it helps relieve stress as well. The average dose for caregivers is two tablespoons a day. Persons with dementia have a different dosage and may require more. See a specialist as you have done for your mom, on good dosing.
Q: Dear Regina, I am realizing my mom is having memory problems. I know some of it can be normal aging. My family says not to worry as there is nothing we can do about it and she is not dying. I see more and more people with it. I don’t hear about the fatality of it. How possible is a person to die from Alzheimer’s?
A: If your mom is diagnosed with Alzheimers she will die from it. There are no survivors. As quoted alz.org: “it destroys brain cells and causes memory changes, erratic behaviours and loss of body functions. It slowly and painfully takes away a person’s identity, ability to connect with others, think, eat, walk and find his or her way home.” This is sad but the reality of this disease. However a person can live two to tenyears on average after diagnosis and live well with support and understanding of care needs and support from the caretaker.
It is important for families and individuals to take these symptoms seriously and address them. You will save yourself and family a lot of unnecessary grief if you are better prepared as soon as you are aware of the condition. There are things like legalities that need to be protected in the family and many things that become a challenge later as the disease progresses.
You do not hear about fatality much because most doctors do not put Alzheimer’s as cause of death on the death certificate; they put the immediate cause like pneumonia or kidney failure, or fracture as primary cause of death when in fact it is secondary to the real cause of death. The good news these days is that at some doctors are at least putting it on the death certificate. Not having it on the death certificate gives the illusion that there is no death behind it and makes it harder for researchers to get the real numbers of fatality. It takes longer to search that this person or that person had Alzheimers by looking up medical records. One of the reasons these numbers are important is it allows for funding to find a cure. Our Caribbean area is the least funded and expected to have one of the fastest growth in persons developing a type of dementia. I encourage us to do better.
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