I lost my husband to dementia six months ago. Since I'm a medical professional, a practicing psychiatrist specifically, you would think that I would have been prepared. Of course, I wasn't. The emotional impact was like a knock-out punch. I'm still reeling even though I lived with my husband's condition for five years and had ample time to prepare myself. Anyone who has seen the film Amour has a snapshot of what it is like living with someone with dementia.

There are many types of dementia: Alzheimer's, vascular, Lewy body, dementia due to HIV or Pick's or Huntington's. My husband had Lewy body dementia, which is like the worst of Alzheimer's mixed in with Parkinson's-like features such as muscle stiffness, tremors, and hallucinations. He went from an IQ of 140 to 80. I witnessed it all.

If you suspect that a loved one might have dementia, there are ten signs to look for that are common to most types. They're described at the full version of this post at Huffington Post Healthy Living.

Thanks as usual to Gina Misiroglu of Red Room for putting me in touch with the Huffington Post people. It’s just one of the great ways she's bringing traffic to Red Room and getting attention for Red Room's authors.