Do I have to fear the possibility of dementia? The odds are against that little gem. As we grow older, we start to fear dementia, especially in the form of Alzheimer's. We worry when we deliberately enter a room and, once in it, we cannot remember why we are there. Don't stress. I am told that momentary loss of memory is not uncommon as we age. As a good friend once remarked - you don't have to worry if you can't remember where you just left your keys; you have to worry if you don't know what a key is used for.
It is estimated that later in life, PWP are at a 10 - 15% higher risk of dementia than people who have managed to avoid the condition. Pretty scary until you realize that less than a fifth of PWP will suffer from severe dementia in the later stages of PD. Most of us will not encounter the problem; we will remain sane most of the time and for those times in which we accidentally act crazy, we have a good, albeit false, excuse. So take this opportunity to place a lampshade on your head at your next party. People will laugh and might poke their neighbour and whisper "parkinson's" Take heart for as Albert Einstein once said:
A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?
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