David's Alzheimer's Fight
Hosted by David Uhlfelder, who is facing early-stage Alzheimer’s with resilience and humor, alongside co-host Dr. Karen Gilbert, this podcast shines a light on living well with the disease. Together, they share personal stories, expert insights, and practical tips to help others navigate the journey with strength, knowledge, and hope.
David's Alzheimer's Fight
Treatable Causes Behind “Dementia” Symptoms
Memory loss doesn’t automatically equal Alzheimer’s and we’re here to prove it. We unpack the most common, overlooked, and treatable reasons from clinical depression and thyroid problems to vitamin B12 and vitamin D3 imbalances, plus the huge role of hearing and vision in cognitive load. Along the way, we share personal testing stories, what changed after correcting deficiencies, and the simple, specific steps you can take to measure what matters and act with confidence.
If you’ve noticed confusion, poor focus, or new struggles with routine tasks, don’t settle for age as an explanation.
This podcast shares insights, not medical advice. Please consult a professional for your care. Hi everybody, this is Dave and joined by my co-host, Dr. Karen Gilbert. Today we're going to revisit the treatable reasons why a person may show signs of dementia.
SPEAKER_00:This is so important, regardless of age, whether you are 55, 75, 95, or 105, if you start to have these symptoms, a little confusion, inability to focus, memory loss, uh, difficulty getting through some daily activities, there actually could be a treatable reason. So we we want to lose this age bias that just because someone's of advanced age, it must be Alzheimer's. That is not necessarily true. Common conditions like clinical depression, uh either underactive or overactive thyroid, certain vitamin deficiencies, we talk about B12 in particular and D3, these are things that may be treatable. And the truth is, even if that person really does turn out to have Alzheimer's, treating what's treatable is always important. Fixing what's fixable will give you your best function, both cognitively and physically. So uh we talked about hearing loss in a previous podcast. Untreated hearing loss is one of those issues. Want to make sure that your vision is optimal, that you're getting your vision checked every year to make sure those eyeglasses are correct for you, uh, to make sure you do not have visual or hearing uh impairment. And David, one of the first questions I had asked you when we first spoke was did you have such an evaluation? Has this been done?
SPEAKER_01:And I said, yes, I did. My primary care position on a yearly basis test these different things like B12 and D3. And surprisingly, at the time we first did it, there was a deficiency in both of those things. I started taking just a plain vitamin, and it's ever since I've not had a problem with the levels, and since that I've been able to take care of. And that's fairly simple. So even if you don't have Alzheimer's, these are things that you need to have. You know, so it's not just for Alzheimer's, it's for everybody, whether you're one or 51 or 61 or 81.
SPEAKER_00:Exactly. People have said sometimes, well, I can just go buy vitamins at the drugstore. Yes, you can, but maybe you don't need them. So it's best to have it measured, it's best to have that blood work at least annually. And then if you do need a supplement, your provider can help guide you as to how much to take. So we don't want to overdo it. Um, the B vitamins are water soluble, you really can't do harm. Your kidneys will get rid of the extra, but why take what you don't need? Uh, vitamin D3, though, could be a problem because it's fat soluble. It's not as easy to get rid of excess, and too high a D3 could actually be toxic. So we encourage talk to your provider, get the blood work done, measure it, and then you can manage it. Uh and that really is the best course. And of course, that thyroid panel as well. Did they test that for you?
SPEAKER_01:Yes, they did. And it that was that was uh okay as well.
SPEAKER_00:So it's important to ask when your primary provider is filling out that lab slip, ask them what they're ordering and and make sure that they order that thyroid panel, the B12, the D3. Uh, I know when I asked for it at my annual in March, uh the physician said, Really? You you want all that? I said, Yes, it's my brain. And he said, Well, your insurance may not cover it. And I said, uh, I'm not worried. I'll pay for it. It's important. I need to know. And indeed, I had to change the amount of B12 I was taking because mine was actually quite high. So uh it turns out, by the way, insurance did cover it. So there wasn't uh any issue there. So again, super important. Let's not just assume somebody's having problems because they're getting older. Always get that annual physical, always make sure that everything is checked so that we can be uh on our best cognitively and physically.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you again for joining us today, and I appreciate you tuning in. We hope that you possibly will share information or get in touch with us if you'd like to hear it more or have any specific questions. And most of this can be handled right through the website, David's Alzheimer'sfight.org, where you'll be able to find useful information as well as links to all the podcasts and other types of podcasts that I've been showing.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you so much. You can reach David by email, uh David at DavidAlzheimer's Fight.org. You can reach me very simply, education at allskare.org. That's A L Z C A R E dot org. Uh, you can reach me by phone at 561 683 2700.
SPEAKER_01:And make sure to like us on Facebook, whatever you have is social media, Instagram, anything like that. Please, it would help us greatly. And thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. We are here on this earth as humans to help others. That's what I believe. Please note this podcast provides information only. Podcasts should not be considered professional advice or a substitute for professional advice. Viewers of the speakers do not necessarily reflect those of Alzheimer's Community Care or David Ufelder. Listeners and viewers are encouraged to consult with appropriate professionals and are responsible for how the information provided is used.
