Early Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease
It is not easy to accept the possibility that you or a loved one is experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, but an early diagnosis can be important. The sooner you know, the sooner you can start planning for the future, and the sooner you can begin exploring treatment options. Medical and non-medical therapies may delay or moderate Alzheimer's symptoms as well as the progression of the disease.
The Alzheimer's Association has defined ten early signs of Alzheimer's disease. Everyone experiences, at one time or another, lapses in memory, difficulty finding something, or forgets an appointment. These are often part of a normal aging process, or may be caused by stress at work or home that is totally unrelated to a neurological disorder like Alzheimer's. However, if you or a friend or family member is having trouble with several of the Alzheimer's symptoms listed, especially if they are worsening or disrupting normal functioning, you should seek medical advice.
10 Signs Of Alzheimer's
- Disruptive reduction in memory
Memory of recent events or recent learning is one of the first and best-known symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Repeating questions, writing reminder notes, and covering up for forgetfulness are all behavioral manifestations of this symptom. An occasional forgotten name or phone number, or a missed appointment are not necessarily early signs of Alzheimer's.
- Decrease in planning or problem solving abilities
Some people with early symptoms of Alzheimer's have difficulty with arithmetic, mathematics, and other operations involving numbers. Activities and tasks will take longer to complete than they did before.
- Difficulty with familiar tasks
Even in the early stages of Alzheimer's, someone might get lost while driving to the grocery store, or walking to the park on the next block. At work, she could have trouble with a task that she has done hundreds of times before. Don't be too concerned if you have trouble setting the video recorder to record a favorite movie: almost everyone has trouble with that....
- Confusing time and location
It is common for people with Alzheimer's to forget what day, month, or even season it is. They might not recognize a familiar place, or forget how they got there.
- Difficulty interpreting visual information and spatial relationships
This is not the same as visual problems that can be corrected with glasses, or those caused by cataracts. An example is the inability to organize letters into words or words into sentences, even though the letters can be seen well enough.
- More than occasional difficulty finding words and using them to convey a thought
This difficulty can be in speaking and writing, and will worsen over time. It may cause a person to stop in the middle of a sentence and restart the sentence, or calling things by the wrong name.
- Misplacing items and inability to retrace steps to find them
This is not just being unable to find the car keys occasionally. It's more like putting them in the microwave or refrigerator, and not being able to remember the steps that led to that action, like returning from the grocery store, walking into the kitchen with the shopping bags, putting the cereal in the pantry, putting the keys in the egg tray in the door of the refrigerator.
- Poor judgment and decision making ability
This symptom gets a lot of attention. People with early signs of Alzheimer's disease are often easy marks for telephone and television sales people. Poor grooming and hygiene, common in people with dementia, may result from poor judgment.
- Withdrawal from social situations and from work and hobby activity
This withdrawal can result from embarrassment, memory problems, or a host of other issues related to Alzheimer's symptoms.
- Mood and personality changes
Paranoia, depression and anxiety are common Alzheimer's symptoms, but they are not the only changes that can result from the condition. Aggressive behavior, agitation, confusion and fear are also common symptoms, especially in new or unfamiliar situations or surroundings.
Experiencing any of these symptoms of Alzheimer's occasionally is normal, and as long as they are infrequent you probably need not be concerned. However, If several of the signs are present, if they are getting worse, and if any of them are severe enough to adversely affect normal daily functioning, you should see your medical professional. Don't make the mistake of overlooking Mom's forgetfulness "because she's getting older." It is too easy to deny a problem like this if is affecting a loved one.
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