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What Are the Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease?
Alzheimer's Disease begins slowly. At first, the only symptom may be mild
forgetfulness, which can be confused with age-related memory change. Most people
with mild forgetfulness do not have Alzheimer's Disease. In the early stage of
Alzheimer's Disease, people may have trouble remembering recent events,
activities, or the names of familiar people or things. They may not be able to
solve simple math problems. Such difficulties may be a bother, but usually they
are not serious enough to cause alarm.
However, as the disease goes on, symptoms are more easily noticed and become
serious enough to cause people with Alzheimer's Disease or their family members
to seek medical help. Forgetfulness begins to interfere with daily activities.
People in the middle stages of Alzheimer's Disease may forget how to do simple
tasks like brushing their teeth or combing their hair. They can no longer think
clearly. They can fail to recognize familiar people and places. They begin to
have problems speaking, understanding, reading, or writing. Later on, people
with Alzheimer's Disease may become anxious or aggressive, or wander away from
home. Eventually, patients need total care.
The seven warning signs or symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are:
1. Asking the same question over and over again.
2. Repeating the same story, word for word, again and again.
3. Forgetting how to cook, or how to make repairs, or how to play cards —
activities that were previously done with ease and regularity.
4. Losing one's ability to pay bills or balance one's checkbook.
5. Getting lost in familiar surroundings, or misplacing household objects.
6. Neglecting to bathe, or wearing the same clothes over and over again,
while insisting that they have taken a bath or that their clothes are still
clean.
7. Relying on someone else, such as a spouse, to make decisions or answer
questions they previously would have handled themselves.
Some of the common symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease are:
- anxiety, paranoia, suspiciousness, agitation
- changes in personality and judgment
- confusion and memory loss
- difficulty with activities of daily living, such as feeding and bathing
- difficulty recognizing family and friends
- disorientation
- getting lost in familiar surroundings
- hallucinations and delusions
- loss of appetite
- weight loss
- loss of bladder and bowel control
- loss of speech
- problems with routine tasks
- repetitive speaking or action
- sleep disturbances
- total dependence on caregiver
- wandering, pacing.
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