Dementia danger of demon drink

DEMENTIA robs individuals of their mind and faculties.

TV presenter Fiona Phillips’ frank openness about her decision to quit GMTV to care for her father, did much to raise awareness of the condition. Here, consultant psychiatrist Dr Stephen Bradshaw dispels some of the myths surrounding the condition. A specialist in old-age psychiatry for the Pennine Care Foundation Trust, which runs Oldham’s mental health services, Dr Bradshaw says dementia is common — but not inevitable. Dr Bradshaw spoke to Marina Berry, who also spoke to a Saddleworth woman whose struggle to care for her husband prompted her to fight for improved services for others.

Dementia is progressive. There is no cure, and drugs can only alleviate suffering or slow its progression.

But Dr Bradshaw is keen to point out that the vast majority with the illness live in their own homes, lead active lives and are still able to carry out everyday tasks.

He said: “It is simply not true that nothing can be done. There are many options of help for both patients and carers which can make a massive difference to their lives.”

Dr Bradshaw said early diagnosis was vital. Anyone suspecting symptoms, which range from memory loss and disorientation to mood or personality changes and problems learning new information, should seek immediate medical help.

He is involved in a joint move by Pennine Care Trust, Oldham Primary Care Trust and Oldham Council to modernise older people’s mental health services.

The drive aims to provide more expert care and treatment to sufferers in their own home, to offer specialist care and support to carers and to improve the quality of care provided in hospital wards.

The move has been welcomed by Sheila Strutt, whose husband of 46 years, Alan, has dementia.

The couple, who live in Uppermill, were both made redundant from Saddleworth Woollen Company at the age of 56.

Mrs Strutt found a new job straight away, but her husband, now 67, struggled to find work.

She said: “Alan was always a social drinker. He never drank at home, but played in Dobcross Band and played cricket and football. He joined everyone else when they went for a drink afterwards.

“After we lost our jobs, he started to drink heavily. The following four years are what caused his dementia.

“When we got to 60, we couldn’t afford to live on our pensions, so he decided to stop drinking and hasn’t touched it since.

“When an alcoholic gives up instantly they need tranquillisers and vitamins to help them through, but Alan didn’t know about that.

“He had awful withdrawal symptoms and used to wake me up with his terrible screaming in the night.

“Then, all of a sudden, he went back 30 years in his head.

He thought our late son, Michael, was still alive, he thought he still walked the dog and accepted simple explanations to the awkward questions he was asking.”

Mrs Strutt struggled to care for her husband with very little help for the five years until he was 65.

She said: “We kept going to the doctors but couldn’t get any help. They wanted to put Alan in a permanent residential home, but I didn’t feel he was ready for that.

“With alcoholic dementia, part of the brain still works.

Some days he can complete the Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword, and we watch all the quizzes on Sky TV because it helps to keep his mind active.

“He has lucid moments, and sometimes I think ‘crikey, there’s nothing wrong with him,’ but it’s rare we have a conversation. At times he seems to completely shut off.

“I had lots of plans for my retirement — I was going to visit all the people I never see and only send Christmas cards to, but I haven’t been able to do any of it because I can’t leave Alan on his own.

“My life revolves around Alan, but it’s almost as if I am living on my own. It’s hard because there is no-one to really talk to or share decisions with.

“Although I have some very good friends, most of them live a long way away, and I thank goodness for the internet, telephone and satellite TV.

“Since Alan turned 65 it has been a bed of roses, there is so much help available for older people with dementia.

“He goes to day care two days a week and has a carer who comes to the house a couple of times a week which gives me a break.

“Most people with dementia wander, looking for somewhere from the past, but Alan is happy here in Uppermill — it has been his home since he was 23.”

Mrs Strutt is involved in local groups which work to improve services for with dementia sufferers. She attended a dementia conference held in Oldham to bring together carers and professionals, and is currently helping a psychologist student from Lancaster University who is studying carers’.

She is also keen to warn of the dangers of alcohol and how it can result in dementia, and is urging anyone who is drink-dependant to seek help and advice on how to stop safely.

She said: “Alan’s dementia is called Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, most often seen in alcoholics, but frequently unrecognised.

“I have done a lot of research on this, and I believe Alan would probably have got dementia at some time in his life, but certainly not as early as he did.”

Help for carers of those who are diagnosed with dementia at an early age is available from the Young Onset Dementia Group which meets at the Cannon George Centre, next to St Margaret’s Church in Hollinwood. Call 0161-627-8105.

A dementia group for sufferers and carers runs at Sacred Heart Church, High Street, Uppermill, on the second Friday of the month, from 10am to noon.

And a carers of people with Alzheimers and other dementias group meets at the Rowan Ward, Parklands, on the Royal Oldham Hospital site. Call 0161-627-8598.