Alzheimer’s Initial Stages

It’s usually passed off as “just normal” signs of aging. Forgetting where one placed a wallet or handbag, or where the car is parked. Familiar names seem to vanish when trying to recall them, being just on the tip of the tongue but never making it all the way to full consciousness.

While these episodes do pass, they keep cropping up with increased frequency.

Many times the person experiencing these symptoms will effectively hide them from friends and family. It’s understandable, because no one likes to admit they’re not as sharp as they once were, or may be starting down the path to clinical dementia. Even if they do see a doctor, all too often the somewhat elderly are just sent away with pat on the back and a prescription to calm them down.

What To Watch Out For:

It will be a series of small incidents at first:

• – You’ll notice the person is continually “misplacing” their personal belongings.
• – Events that happened just a short while ago (weeks, days or even hours) seem to be forgotten far more frequently than usual.
• – They may appear suddenly startled or frightened in what should be familiar places and surroundings – questioning where they are and where you are taking them.
• – Confusion over common place happenings starts becoming noticeable.
• – You’ll notice unusual mood swings. Though their basic emotions and personality remains more or less intact, they may become increasingly belligerent or argumentative. (This is often a defense mechanism for hiding the severity of the symptoms.)

As Alzheimer’s Progresses

The incidents mentioned above aren’t getting any better – rather they’re becoming more and more obvious. Unable to hide their frustrations, the person in question will start with drawing from previously anticipated activities.

What To Watch Out For:

• – They may reduce or stop seeing friends and acquaintances.
• – Daily walks or regular outings are no longer taken, many times because the person fears forgetting where they are or how to find their way home.
• – If they are still driving, they’ll sometimes take off without noticing the passenger who was with them beforehand is no longer in the car.
• – They become pronouncedly more withdrawn, confused, and are markedly reticent in speaking about what they feel is happening. The beginnings of paranoia are not uncommon.

It’s at this point medical advice should definitely be sought, as the person affected can soon become a danger to themselves and others. Not through acts of aggression, but through being unaware of their actions or surroundings.

Progressing Disabilities

As damage to the brain cells spreads, inappropriate behavior becomes more marked. The wall between reality and mind induced fantasy begins to break down. Alzheimer patients may see or hear individuals that are not present, or take images (like in wall murals) for actual physical things. Their memory lapses may also become increasingly dangerous – such as leaving the oven burners on, forgetting to turn off water – or leaving the premises and wandering about in a blank daze. Patients in these advanced stages will often need help in dressing, bathing and eating. Paradoxically, people in this stage may start talking far more than before, reliving older memories and experiences.

Final Stages

In the final stages of Alzheimer’s, patients may lose their ability to communicate, except through maybe grunts or half articulated syllables. They no longer recognize loved ones or friends. Motor skills are minimal, at best. Being bed-bound, they rely upon constant around the clock care.

The end result is finally death, usually through pneumonia, nutritional deficiencies or chronic dehydration.

Alzheimer’s & Related Dementia Symptoms, Considerations and Care

Alzheimer patients can live a good many years after the disease begins. While starting off with seemingly mild symptoms, such as forgetfulness or memory lapses, in the end stages of Alzheimer’s, the sufferer is often in a limbo of fear and shadows.

Not even recognizing their loved ones or current surroundings, it’s a heartbreaking situation for all involved. A once strong, vigorous parent or spouse is left a frail husk of their former selves.

Caring for an Alzheimer’s patient is both physically demanding and spiritually draining. All too often the caregiver is overwhelmed, and they themselves are in danger of succumbing to the daily, constant stress of seeing to the patient’s needs.

But with Alzheimer’s, there are ways in helping you cope with the situation as best as possible. You must recognize both the symptoms and the reality of Alzheimer’s.

Knowing what to expect at each stage of the disease will go a long way in helping you as a caretaker handle each day as it comes along.

What Exactly is Alzheimer’s Disease?

The typical Alzheimer’s brain is partly atrophied; with the brain cells clumped together in what are called “neurofibrillary tangles” or “plaques.”

The average human brain contains approximately 100 billion nerve cells, connecting at over 100 trillion points (synapses). With Alzheimer’s, these neurons begin to die off and the brain’s ability to transfer information dwindles.

In advanced stages, the brain actually shows dramatic shrinkage in size.

Since the brain is no longer effectively processing information – memory, personality and motor functions suffer as a result.

However, one should keep in mind that having these tangles and plaques does not necessarily mean Alzheimer’s is a given. In one United States study (called the “Nun Study”) nuns who spent there entire life in a cloister were examined after death.

Even though some of these nuns did exhibit the classical tangles and plaques consistent with Alzheimer’s, they never had any of the symptoms, living a healthy, well structured life up until the very end.

These are the figures from the latest Alzheimer’s Association study – the 2009 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures:

• – 5.3 million people are afflicted with Alzheimer’s
• – Alzheimer’s is the 6th leading cause of death in the USA
• – Every 70 seconds, a new case of Alzheimer’s is diagnosed

A Message for Patients and Their Families

It’s estimated that in less than 10 years, 1 in 4 Americans will be diagnosed with this disease.

Who’s At Risk?

The risk of Alzheimer’s increases with age, and symptoms usually start to appear at age 65 or older.

However, early onset dementia is not rare – with some cases starting at age 30.

The genetically related risk factor is the presence of the Apo lipoprotein E epsilon4 (APOE e4) allele.

Groups having this genetic trait in greater numbers are Africans, Inuits, Native American Indians, and Northern Europeans.

Environmental Factors

There are several toxins linked to both the severity and onset of Alzheimer’s, the most common being:

• – Aluminum (processed foods, medications and personal hygiene products)
• – Mercury (amalgam tooth fillings, industrial run off & ocean pollution)
• – Fluoride (municipal water “treatments”)
• – Copper (from copper lined cookware and environmental factors)

Some researchers also find relationships between electromagnetic fields such as cell phone radiation and Alzheimer’s. This does have a ring of truth, as cell phones emit high frequency radiation beamed directly into the user’s brain. Given the almost addictive use of cell phones in the younger generation, this can well be a catastrophe in the making.

Doctors also indicate that resistance to the pancreatic hormones as yet another cause of Alzheimer’s. With the incidents of diabetes exploding across the nation, this is a trend to carefully monitor.

(The aforementioned Nun Study did have some interesting observations. Nuns were asked to submit writing samples over the course of 20 years (1986 – 2008). Researchers found those nuns who had the greatest deterioration in writing skills also had the greatest tendency towards Alzheimer’s.)