Lumbar Punctures, Trial Data, and the Infusion Decision | Caregiver Update

Send us Fan MailThis is a real-time update on our mom Rosemary's early onset Alzheimer's journey from April 2026. We had been going through months of testing and workups to understanding if our mom would be a candidate for anti-amyloid infusion therapies — lecanemab and donanemab.We walk through the full workup: the APOE genetic testing, the lumbar puncture required to confirm eligibility, and the genetic counseling to rule out inherited mutations tied to early onset Alzheimer's. We also get into what happened after the lumbar puncture — a spinal headache that sent our mom to the ER for a blood patch while our dad was out of town, and what we learned about aftercare instructions and coordinating care from a distance.Then we talk through the call that changed the direction of this whole decision: her tau levels were high enough that the studies show almost no measurable benefit from the infusion therapy for someone at her level, even though she wasn't formally ruled out as a candidate. We talk about how that news landed for her, for us, and how we've had to separate the clinical data from the grief of hearing it.This episode covers real time processing of our mom's Alzheimer's diagnosis and what it's like as adult children trying to make these decisions as part of our mom's care team.Support the showThanks for walking this journey with us. Conversations Through Alzheimer's is hosted by sisters Amber and Felicia, and new episodes drop every Monday through September 2026.If this show has resonated with you, share it with someone who needs it and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. Follow along on our socials:TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@conversationsthroughalz YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConversationsThroughALZSupport the Alzheimer's Association by joining our Walk to End Alzheimer's team or donating: https://act.alz.org/site/TR/Walk2026/NY-WesternNewYork?pg=team&team_id=1057467&fr_id=19818