Alzheimer’s – Recognizing The Symptoms

Every 70 seconds someone in America is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.  As the 7th leading cause of death, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s is higher than ever.   With symptoms beginning at the higher risk senior citizens, 55-65, the disease symptoms and problems become worse as the patient ages.

Patients reaching these ages for Alzheimer’s complain about similar types and themes of symptoms. The patient may seem more irritable and uncomfortable in his or her surroundings. This may be a rare occasional onset, but rest assured that these are the main early symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Progression of this may lead to increased confusion and override rational decision making. Still at the early stages, patients may complain about problems formulating proper words. This will also involve math problems, decision making processes for abstract situations, as well as loss of stream of consciousness and thought.
Patients who are suffering from early stages of Alzheimer’s may also have noticeable differences in their attitudes about things they once enjoyed, as well as changes in personality. This becomes more evident with the progression of the disease. Patients may seem apathetic and depressed about activities or thoughts that once made them happy and content. They may also begin to stumble during words and forget places and people that they had a vague recollection of. Again, it is important to note that at the early stages, occurrences such as these are rare and may happen infrequently. Progression to medium stages will disable the patient further, where more and more faces, places, and events will be forgotten to a greater degree.

Finally towards the end of the early stages of Alzheimer’s, symptoms may become evident in the personality of the patient suffering from the disease. The patient may be noticeably different in his personality, gaining new and weird behaviors. They may speak or act inappropriately, with this lack of judgment.

As the early stages of Alzheimer’s, it is important to make a checklist and record differences in activity and behavior. If one notices the patient in a more aloof and gloomy mood, reflective versus participatory in their activities (and over the age of 60) then it may be symptomatic of Alzheimer’s.  It is key to accept the changes in behavior and understand that paranoia, hiding, and irrational behavior are part of the suffering for both family as well as patient.

Article Provided by:
Alzheimer’s Network
503-364-8100
www.alznet.org