Disclaimer

I am not a doctor. I am providing information based on experiences that my mom has with natural remedies. The purpose of this blog is to help folks to educate themselves. Use this information with your own discernment.

06 October 2009

Ashwaghanda - could this be the solution for my mom's dementia?

Yesterday was a rough one for me, mostly because I was extremely tired. All day I thought how nice it would be to take an uninterupted nap. My mom had the same thoughts, only she was sleeping as she sat up, her eyes would not stay open.

Knowing from past experience that if I let my mom sleep during the day, she's up all night. Folks with dementia can easily get their days and nights mixed up. I've seen this happen with my mom more times than I care to remember.

I was deeply concerned about my mom yesterday. I wasn't sure what to do next, especially when the homeopathic remedy, Helleborus Niger 30 c, stopped giving her relief from her mental confusion. Nothing was working.

The thought of my mom losing her mind and eventually ending up in a nursing home facility totally bummed me out. I cried. I thought of Uncle Al. I thought of myself and how I was becoming too tired to care for anyone... that I need a break, just one week away from explaining that there are no people, midgets, floating heads, wild animals and dogs in the yard. My mom's insanity was beginning to make me crazy, through my mom's suggestions I started to see things out of the corner of my eyes.

Being Sue, I would not give in to these negative thoughts of despair. I dug deep down inside my soul and found the strength to pull myself up so that I could find another possible solution. I had learned at a very young age that as long as I keep at it, eventually I'll find success, even if there is currently no apparent solution.

I am on a mission to find a solution to help keep my mom living with me and able to visit her children. She deserves to enjoy her family.

Who knows if I'm setting myself up for a disappointment, I don't care. My mom was there for me when I was a kid, now it's my responsiblity to be there for her as she drifts backward into her 2nd childhood.

I have hope. Hope gives me the will to push forward. Here we go!

Yesterday I posted that I found a Ayurevedic herb, Ashwaghanda. Like Fenugreek it seems to do everything. I've read that in Indian Medicine, Ashwaghanda is a "general tonic" for all that ails you. It doesn't have any side effects, only if you have thyroid trouble (should not take it if you have thyroid issues.)

In India it is given to seniors to help them with senility and dementia. It is also good for helping one to sleep and have a sense of well-being. All things that my mom needed badly.

I've been reading about Ashwaghanda this morning while I wait for everyone to wake up. My mom is still out like a light. I checked to make sure she was breathing and she started a gentle little snore. Yay!

Ashwaghanda is used for:

  1. Anxiety, depression, panic disorders
  2. Antioxidant, free radical scavenger
  3. Body building aide
  4. Weakness, fatigue, herbal rejuvenation, aphrodisiac
  5. Nervine tonic, calming and antistress agent and adaptogenic herb

I'm pretty excited this morning because I believe Ashwaghanda can help my mom.

Here's a website, The Holistic-Herbalist, that talks a bit about the incredible benefits of this amazing herb, Ashwaghanda.

1 comment:

  1. Update: My mom has a cataract in her right eye. A significant sized one that the doctors want to surgically remove.

    My mom's been using eye drops that the ND prescribed. We haven't been religious about doing the drops, when my mom is crazy she doesn't allow me to do the drops.

    She took the Ashwaghanda last night before bed and a little in her coffee this morning. She complained about eye pain. I put the drops in. She told me that it felt good with her eye covered so I found a big bandage and placed it over her eye with a few drops of the natural eye drops that are supposed to dissolve the cataract.

    Within minutes she told me that her eye was draining, that liquid was running down her face. I didn't put much of the eye drops into the bandage to leak as much fluid as was coming out of her eye.

    She left the bandage on for a few hours. When she took the bandage off she told me that she could see more clearly.

    I wonder if the cataract is gone? We'll know when we see the surgeon in a few weeks. I'll surely write a post about it.

    ReplyDelete