I am not a doctor nor am I an expert in the neurological field of Alzheimer’s and Dementia. I am writing this from a self-learned perspective as well as a nurse who has cared for patients and researched current information on the subject matter.
When people display memory problems it’s usually the first sign that something is wrong. To what level those memory changes occur are individually noted. Not everyone progresses at the same pace.
So, just a short synopsis of what happens in the brain when someone develops dementia or Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is a degenerative brain disease and the most common form of dementia; Dementia isn’t a specific disease; it is a term that describes a group of symptoms.
It can be very eye-opening for families to be told their family member is being diagnosed with either disease. The symptoms may be mild and un-noticeable at first especially by family who is with their person consistently. The day-to-day encounter isn’t as striking as when someone meets the person after being apart for a while. It may be more surprising to family who hasn’t interacted recently.
Working with a person with Alzheimer’s or having a loved one with the disease can be a challenge but, what if you don’t know if that’s what is going on with them? How do you tell if its Alzheimer’s? What if it is something else?
It’s important to have a proper assessment by a qualified healthcare provider to be certain. But the following checklist will be helpful as starting point when signs are subtle or if you just want to learn more.
CHECKLIST:
- Is my special person forgetting more lately?
- Is this person whom I love and care about not recognizing usual situations in life such as how to get from point A to point B?
- Is my loving person not taking care of personal hygiene as before?
- Are there bills on the table that have not been paid?
- Has the person forgotten children’s grandchildren’s names?
- Has my loved one placed items in unusual places and cannot retrace steps to locate them?
- Have you noticed conversations that are forgotten, rebuked, or angrily not remembered as if they haven’t happened?
- Have they forgotten appointments consistently?
- Has the house not been kept clean or orderly unlike previous way of living?
- Have they gotten into altercations thinking someone is stealing spying, or treating them badly?
- Have they entered seclusion not wanting to answer the phone, texts, or visitors to their home as before?
- Do they become angered easily with outbursts about anything that may seem trivial?
- Have they changed eating habits; stopped eating and losing weight?
- Do they seem depressed, despondent, non-caring, suicidal?
- Do they tend to become disengaged with what brought pleasure in the past outings, card games, church activities, visitors, shopping, or vacation planning?
If any of these situations are noticed, look carefully at your loved one who may need a professional evaluation for Dementia/Alzheimer’s. Do not be afraid to get involved; to help and be there for them. You may be the only one.
DISCLAIMER – I am a Registered Nurse, not a doctor and the information provided is from trusted resources. Should you need more information you can find them at the following references I have utilized:
- Alzheimer’s by Medicine X-USA on Facebook
- https://www.alz.org
- Alzheimer’ Disease Treatments https://www.aarp.org
- The 36 Hour Day by Nancy L Mace MA & Peter Robins MPH
- The Changing Brain by Teepa Snow MS OTRL FAOTA
- AARP – Dementia Resource Guide
- DailyCaring.com
- CDC.gov
- Medicare.gov
- Hadley Vlahos RN The In-between Unforgettable Encounters During Lifes Final Moments
- https://alz.org/alzheimer’s-dementia/10signs/whatis-alzeihmer’s/brain_tour
