To my knowledge we have never discussed dementia and/or alzheimers disease(s) as they may relate to pool. So, a friend who has profound dementia came into the poolroom with her girlfriend. She played pool somewhere areound a "6" APA or low 500's Fargo rating. She couldn't remember me or her own name but after a little discussion I threw out the balls for nine ball on a table and gave her a cue to see what would happen. She began to run the balls off in rotation, chaulk the cue between shots and attempted to play position. When I called out her name she didn't respond at all. I took the cue away from her and she just stood there without expression and her girl friend took her home. I know that old memory is usually the last o go but I was curious about the pool she played and her efforts to run out etc. Does anyone have any ideas about how pool has affected anyone they know who has dementia?
Dementia/Alzheimers and Pool
- Thread starter baby huey
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mr3cushion
Verified Member
Jerry, sorry to hear this about your friend. But, if I happen to acquire this horrible disease, I want to have the same issues.
lfigueroa
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I have seen many, many old timers at pool rooms throughout my life and I have always found it remarkable that very few of them ever get taken down by Alzheimer’s.
Cancer, stroke, crippling arthritis, yes. But the brain consistently seems to remain intact.
I think it may be two things. I recently read that as little as 4,000 steps a day can stave off dementia, so there’s that. Most of us probably do that without a thought. I also think working out problems on the pool table and then having to execute helps too, better than crossword puzzles and other mental exercises.
I’m sure they’re out there, but the old guys I usually see at the pool room still have their marbles. Can’t hear worth a damn but can still tell you about a shot they saw 50 years prior.
Lou Figueroa
Cancer, stroke, crippling arthritis, yes. But the brain consistently seems to remain intact.
I think it may be two things. I recently read that as little as 4,000 steps a day can stave off dementia, so there’s that. Most of us probably do that without a thought. I also think working out problems on the pool table and then having to execute helps too, better than crossword puzzles and other mental exercises.
I’m sure they’re out there, but the old guys I usually see at the pool room still have their marbles. Can’t hear worth a damn but can still tell you about a shot they saw 50 years prior.
Lou Figueroa
I reecently read an article that if you begin to use your off hand for activities like drawing, writing, opening doors, turning a screwdriver, brushing your teeth and other similar activities you'll begin to use different pathways in the brain which can help ward off dementia.
Tobermory
Verified Member
40 years ago my girlfriend at the time was studying the teachings of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, and one of the exercises she learned, designed to help break habits of life that lead us to automatic rather than intentional actions, was to brush her teeth left handed. Not easy to do. I try every once in awhile to make sure I haven't turned into an automaton.
J.R.
Verified Member
I self-diagnosed myself based on the below chart. There are several bullet points in the chart that suggest that I could be in the early stage of the Alzheimer's disease. I definitely have "problems coming up with the right word or name, remembering names when introduced to new people, and forgetting material I have just read." The chart also indicates that the duration of this early stage is 2 to 4 years. I guess the saving grace is that I can remember having these same problems since kindergarten.
As some of you already know, I am a retired Chicago police officer. A few days ago, I was driving down the street from the pool room to go home. I don't know why but a cop pulled me over. I stayed seated as he walked over from his squad car. I rolled down my car's driver's side window waiting for the reason for the stop. The first thing the cop asked me, "Do you know why I pulled you over?" I now realize that here was a cop with Alzheimer's.
As some of you already know, I am a retired Chicago police officer. A few days ago, I was driving down the street from the pool room to go home. I don't know why but a cop pulled me over. I stayed seated as he walked over from his squad car. I rolled down my car's driver's side window waiting for the reason for the stop. The first thing the cop asked me, "Do you know why I pulled you over?" I now realize that here was a cop with Alzheimer's.
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crabbcatjohn
Verified Member
My grandmother passed 15 yrs ago on Thanksgiving. She had been moved to a lock down nursing home. My kid was about 12 at the time and we stopped by for a visit.. She remembered me off and on the short time we were there. We were walking down the hallway leaving and a elderly lady thought my kid was her grandson. She followed him calling her grandsons name trying to get him to stop. Freaked him out...lol
Very sad disease and heartbreaking to be around. Eventually your brain forgets how to operate your organs.
She loved doing crosswords her whole life until the end when her brain couldn't do them any more.. Of course we are all worried it will get us too so there's that thought every time I forget something.... Moms 87 and exercises her brain constantly and is in good shape.
Very sad disease and heartbreaking to be around. Eventually your brain forgets how to operate your organs.
She loved doing crosswords her whole life until the end when her brain couldn't do them any more.. Of course we are all worried it will get us too so there's that thought every time I forget something.... Moms 87 and exercises her brain constantly and is in good shape.
gulfportdoc
Verified Member
Touching story about the nursing home. I've had a few folks with Alzheimer's in my practice (I wasn't treating their Alzheimer's), and it's strange how some can seem fairly normal if you didn't know them. Some use examples of confabulation, where their brain makes up a story to sound like their memory is okay, and they don't know that they're doing it. The response may be a recollection from some completely unrelated circumstance.
Actually death is not caused from the brain not operating the body's organs, because we have no control or awareness of that anyway. I think most die from pneumonia or dehydration. It's a very sad disease, and I feel sorry for people when they realize that they're in the throes of it.
NH Steve
Administrator
Interesting that this thread just popped up, because in the Member's Cafe somebody posted about a 3 year old drummer from China, and I commented about the opposite end of the human/music spectrum -- people with advanced Alzheimer's that can still perform music.
NH Steve
Administrator
Under "Cause of death" for both my mother and her father it was listed as Alzheimer's. There are plenty of things our brain controls that we have no control or awareness of (in the traditional cognitive sense of control and awareness). Apparently that includes things like swallowing, which can lead to complications including pneumonia and dehydration. So maybe the doc's could have put pneumonia or something else on their death records, but since it was the Alzheimer's that was the underlying issue, that is what they put.
I was diagnosed with Parkinson's in the beginning of January 2020. Dopamine depredation effected the left side of my brain. I am a 78 yr old man who has ben a gym rat since 17. Still have 6 pack abs. Exercise is critical in staving of the effects. It is a very nasty disease as it steals your mind & body. The medication, carbidopa-levodopa is has difficulties reaching the brain. Only 7% reaches it if you are inactive. Exercise, especially aerobics can increase the % to 27- 28 %. Significant difference! Boxing tailored to Parkinson's patients is helpful. So is table tennis. I just started playing pool again after a 22 yr break because of a broken neck & back injuries. It's not like riding a bike! I also have RA. Today is my 1st day home after having a total reverse shoulder implant on my rt shoulder on Dec 6th. I used to be an A player that regularly ran 30 to 40 with an occasional run in the 60's in a 125 pt straight pool game. No more but I am determined to regain most of my form. I am the member who posted about Jimmy Matz, a world class player from Reading, Pa. I will gladly answer any questions regarding Parkinson's & will keep posting about my personal experience with this nasty disease. Love to hear from
other pool players with it. Hopefully it will help others affected. Also, I would love to hear from anyone else who knew Jimmy or who has a copy of the video
featuring a match between Jimmy & Fusco. Any way to copy it on blue ray. I would love to hear from anyone who knew Jimmy. I'm originally from Reading, Pa & was good friends with him. I also backed him in matches & on the road. I played most of the players from Reading in a previous post. MERRY CHRISTMAS
Jan Sabo
cell# : 239 572-3488
email: jansabo45@gmail.com
i
other pool players with it. Hopefully it will help others affected. Also, I would love to hear from anyone else who knew Jimmy or who has a copy of the video
featuring a match between Jimmy & Fusco. Any way to copy it on blue ray. I would love to hear from anyone who knew Jimmy. I'm originally from Reading, Pa & was good friends with him. I also backed him in matches & on the road. I played most of the players from Reading in a previous post. MERRY CHRISTMAS
Jan Sabo
cell# : 239 572-3488
email: jansabo45@gmail.com
i
BrookelandBilly
Verified Member
Mine is just plain recall. My favorite line today at 76 is “I will never forget old ‘what’s his name’!”
I started this thread for two reasons; one being what I mentioned about one of my customers and secondly, my mother had alzheimers and died of it at ninety three years of age. Everyone of her ten brothers and sisters had the disease and lived into their late eighties or nineties. So getting into my mid seventies I'm most interested in things like physical activities one could do to prolong the onset of symptoms. I read about the left handed (off handed) things one could do as well as cross word puzzles and other hand eye/intellectual stimulants for the brain to help utllize all of one's intellectual capacity. Thanks to all for their respective input.
Switching hands while doing common things such as brushing your teeth & hair, eating, drinking, putting on clothes etc. has been proven to stimulate different areas of the brain for some time. I have been doing that for 20yrs. Playing pool & the different skills that come into play during a match or practicing are all problem solving skills that stimulate different areas also. i don't know of any official studies using control groups but will check. Bottom line, playing pool has to be beneficial, not to mention 1 of the best skill games out there. Who knows, this forum may start another activity to improve brain function even in 1 affected by disease
BrookelandBilly
Verified Member
An idle mind is the devils workshop. And the devils name is Alzheimer’s…George Carlin
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My mother used to play pool, but not really a lot. At one time she could make pretty good shots. I took her to the pool room after her dementia had begun. She wanted to use the cue stick to hit object balls directly into the pockets without the che ball. So we just whacked balls for about an hour. It was a fun time just being with her and interacting. She's gone now, but I'll never forget our time together.
My mother was in a lock down dementia ward. Along with visiting her I used to walk around the ward and chat with the other patients. They each would absolutely light up when someone stopped to have a conversation with them. It made me feel good to see the simple pleasure I could give others with just a little bit of my time.
NH Steve
Administrator
Yes the last couple of years my mother was in the same sort of nursing home section -- for residents with sever dementia. I remember bumping into a guy that I knew slightly, who had owned a chain of newspapers. He greeting me extremely warmly, "Great to see you", that seemed normal as can be at first but then I realized it was sort of an adaptive behavior, and in reality he had no idea who I was. I remember from both my grandfather and my mother, they both got good at simple adaptive generic comments that could fool you into thinking they were not as out of it as they actually were....
Some people with dementia get kind of mean and nasty -- I was blessed in that both my grandfather and mother were very sweet in their dementia. It sounds like you bumped into quite a few of those in your walks through the ward.
evergruven
Verified Member
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saw this today and thought of this thread..hope y'all are having fun and staying healthy
www.medpagetoday.com
Their Alzheimer's Disease Didn't Worsen. Why?
Case reports find one healthy habit in common
www.medpagetoday.com