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There have been a few threads here regarding Alzheimers, particularly from people who are concerned about family members. I wasn't expecting much from this when I clicked on it, but I found it pretty interesting.
There have been a few threads here regarding Alzheimers, particularly from people who are concerned about family members. I wasn't expecting much from this when I clicked on it, but I found it pretty interesting.
well first, I can't even get it open, or at least not to view the 11 signs, just the comments by others, and secondly, not that I don't think these artiflcles can be interesting and somewhat informative, so often,like anything else, the symtoms or signs are things that everyone of us can identify with or they are symtoms of a million other things. We shouldn't take any of these postings too seriously.
I was able to open it and found it interesting, but my mom, who had neared the end of the mild stage only had the last three symptoms that I know of. The ritualistic behavior, like buying duplicates of everything was very big with her--we found hundreds of pairs of scissors in her house and other sewing supplies--we found like 50 thimbles and all still in the package. Then she would get paranoid that someone was trying to steal her scissors and my aunt found about 50 pairs hidden under a mattress--I had to feel bad about the feng shui of someone trying to sleep on that bed! But, I'd say that the most overwhelming symptom of early dementia with mom was the total paranoia of thinking that people were trying to steal from her and it was heartbreaking to see the anguish that it gave her to think that her own mother was trying to steal from her. She also spent a lot of time at auctions buying everything that was pretty. So, I think that the only thing I have against lists of this type is that the early symptoms will be due to the patient's own personality--mom was on the greedy side all of her life so symptoms manifested in a way that only intensified her own personality to begin with.
Other things--she didn't lose words much but she did lose the ability to work on jigsaw puzzles and start new quilt projects--something she had always done a lot of. One early sign was telling the same stories over and over and practically back to back and in the same words each time--almost like a recording. Everyone does that to some extent--any married person can probably repeat his/her spouse's stories word for word too, but the frequency went way up. She would pet her dog and say "Oh, he's just the best little ole dog!" at least 100x per day from early on in the dementia. Also, she went down to eating only 4 things in her diet--raisin bran/milk, bananas, peanut butter sandwiches, and ice cream. If you took her to a steak house she would eat a steak dinner but at home she would only eat those 4 things.
Now mind you, all of the things that I've just mentioned were things she did when she was still capable of living by herself. She actually was living by herself when she died of cancer just this year--here we were scrambling about trying to get in-home care and we found out she had cancer and 2 weeks later she was gone--my aunt stayed with her during that time and we had a job getting everything done that we needed to do, but it is all over now and I'm glad that she didn't suffer. And that brings me to another question--is it possible that those with alzheimer's don't feel pain the way they did before they got dementia? Mom had almost no pain from her very advanced cancer or I'm sure we would have caught it much sooner.
Your mother sounds so much like my aunt, with the paranoia about people stealing from her, and having so many unopened packages of the same item (one that sticks out in my mind is about 20 pairs of Isotoner gloves). This must have been going on in a small way for some time because she had at least a half dozen of the little cardboard sunglasses the eye doctor gives you if they've dilated your pupils. She had saved them every year. It's funny how these behaviors are so similar between different people.
I finally did get it open: I think many of the signs are signs we see in our lives as we get older. Most people we talk with and see in our retirement years have at least one of the 11 signs. Do they have early dementia? Probably, it is what used to be referred to years ago as old age forgetfulness I think. Some of the signs listed I would consider more meaningful of dementia than others...
My dad has dementia. He's lost his words. He can usually get out one word at a time; yes, and no; and he tries to talk but he either can't remember what he wants to say or he just can't get the words to his mouth. He's slowed down considerably and has started taking falls. Some of these points I see in him. I think it's important to remember that sufferers may not exhibit all of these points...but I think its a good starting point for someone who is starting to wonder about a loved one.
I had two dear friends who died in their thirties. One from a cancerous brain tumor and the other from AIDS, at the time it was a disease with no treatment. Both of them exhibited many signs of old age that got progressively worse as their diseases progressed. The suddenly gray hair, stooped posture, dry and thin skin, slowness, etc., might be explained by the effects of pain and literal dis-ease. But I was surprised by how their personalities seemed to take on many of the characteristics of my grandmother, who was in her eighties at the time.
I would take them for an outing and it was just like taking her. Constant complaining about trivial things they would have laughed at a year before was the first sign. Then they both got into the far-off stare, the constantly repeated sentences, cold all the time, inexplicably greedy behavior, and meanness to loving friends and family. I was still young then, so I had no experience with death from illness. I had no idea that people who are dying in youth tend to exhibit many of the same behaviors/brain functions as the elderly. I guess I naively thought their minds would stay the same, just their bodies would die. It's hard to watch in anyone you care about, but especially cruel when the person didn't live out a normal life span.
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