ALSquestions
New member
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2021
- Messages
- 8
- Reason
- CALS
- Diagnosis
- 01/2021
- Country
- US
- State
- MD
- City
- Baltimore
Hello, all,
Thank you in advance for the wisdom of the group. My mother is likely to be diagnosed with ALS at age 71, though I’d estimate her symptoms began at age 68 or 69. Her brother, age 74, was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, but the presentation sounds suspicious to me—paranoia, maybe some sort of psychosis or delusions, but seemingly not a major memory issue. I’m not in touch with him, so I don’t have a good deal of info, I just know he was acting “crazy” before his diagnosis (decided to run away from his wife, without any money, got picked up by the police at a train station, generally acting strange and not making sense) and seems much better now that he’s on treatment, but I don’t know what drugs he’s getting. But maybe it is AD and it’s just more advanced than I would recognize, not being in touch with him?
Their mother lived into her 90s without dementia or any nerve/movement disorders. Their father died in his mid-50s of a heart attack. Their paternal grandparents, as far as I can trace, both died at age 71, but I don’t know the cause. I also know nothing about their father’s siblings.
My mother has some signs of dementia, so her ability to provide a family history is not reliable.
What should I make of all this? Any thoughts on whether this seems suspicious of fALS?
Thank you so much. Trying to wrap my head around all of this. I wish you all well.
Thank you in advance for the wisdom of the group. My mother is likely to be diagnosed with ALS at age 71, though I’d estimate her symptoms began at age 68 or 69. Her brother, age 74, was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, but the presentation sounds suspicious to me—paranoia, maybe some sort of psychosis or delusions, but seemingly not a major memory issue. I’m not in touch with him, so I don’t have a good deal of info, I just know he was acting “crazy” before his diagnosis (decided to run away from his wife, without any money, got picked up by the police at a train station, generally acting strange and not making sense) and seems much better now that he’s on treatment, but I don’t know what drugs he’s getting. But maybe it is AD and it’s just more advanced than I would recognize, not being in touch with him?
Their mother lived into her 90s without dementia or any nerve/movement disorders. Their father died in his mid-50s of a heart attack. Their paternal grandparents, as far as I can trace, both died at age 71, but I don’t know the cause. I also know nothing about their father’s siblings.
My mother has some signs of dementia, so her ability to provide a family history is not reliable.
What should I make of all this? Any thoughts on whether this seems suspicious of fALS?
Thank you so much. Trying to wrap my head around all of this. I wish you all well.