Caregivers should not hesitate to seek help

On Monday morning we are concerned with the fight against Alzheimer’s disease on the eve of World Alzheimer’s Day. At the Côte d’Or, he has 10,000 people, the president of the France Alzheimer’s Association 21 is with us to talk about.

Ten thousand people with Alzheimer’s disease in the Cote d’Or. On the occasion of the World Day against this disease, associations want to send messages to patients and caregivers. Messages of prevention and support as explained by Christine Gutras, president of the France 21 Alzheimer’s Association.

France Bourgogne: We can all suffer from mild amnesia. At what point should you worry and tell yourself that you have to go for a consultation?

Kristen Gutras: I would say you should go for counseling as soon as you have problems, memory disturbances, disorientation or mood disturbances. That is why you have the Memory, Research and Resource Centers at the University Hospital of Dijon. There are also consultations on local memory throughout the territory. Alzheimer’s disease cannot be cured. But the earlier you diagnose it, the more you can do to limit its effects.

As the disease progresses, it is necessary to summon up the various systems in place, to summon the associations of families such as ours that will support the patient and caregivers throughout all stages of the disease.

Because the family suffers from Alzheimer’s disease almost as much as the patient suffers

Indeed, a whole family suffers, whether it is spouses, children or grandchildren. It is important to inform these families that they can better understand this disease. We provide small training sessions for caregivers so that they can understand what is happening but also anticipate what will happen. All this is to allow patients to carry on with life, because life goes on even with Alzheimer’s disease.

International Day is Tuesday 21st September, will you be doing activities at Place de la République in Dijon?

There will be an information platform and we will offer three activities: games that help maintain social connection, a musical bistro like the one we have deployed this summer throughout the department and a tango workshop that we want to develop next year.

It is important not to be alone, especially not to isolate yourself.