What are the Ten Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer’s?

What are the Ten Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer’s?

We repeat these ten warning signs from the Alzheimer’s Association website in our book review of Kim Campbell’s biography of the celebrity country music star Glen Campbell from before his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease through his passing. We reflected on how Glen Campbell manifested these signs as his dementia progressed, and how there was not a distinctive change in his behavior from immediately before his diagnosis and afterwards.

Alzheimer’s disease afflicts about three quarters of patients suffering from dementia. The Alzheimer’s Association assists all dementia patients.

Glen Campbell Suffering from Alzheimer’s, Early Signs and Symptoms
https://seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/glen-campbell-suffering-from-alzheimers-early-signs-and-symptoms/
https://youtu.be/F9NmDiiPowI

Sign 1: Memory loss that disrupts daily life.

“One of the most common signs of Alzheimer’s disease, especially in the early stage, is forgetting recently learned information. Others include forgetting important dates or events, asking the same questions over and over, and increasingly needing to rely on memory aids or family members for things they used to handle on their own.”

Many of us experience mild versions of these ten steps, but not nearly extreme to be diagnosed with dementia. The Alzheimer’s Association asks: What’s a typical age-related change? “Sometimes forgetting names or appointments but remembering them later.”

Sign 2: Challenges in planning or solving problems.

“Some people living with dementia may experience changes in their ability to develop and follow a plan or work with numbers. They may have trouble following a familiar recipe or keeping track of monthly bills. They may have difficulty concentrating and take much longer to do things than they did before.”

What’s a typical age-related change? “Making occasional errors when managing finances or household bills.”

Sign 3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks.

“People with Alzheimer’s often find it hard to complete daily tasks. Sometimes they may have trouble driving to a familiar location, organizing a grocery list or remembering the rules of a favorite game.”
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What’s a typical age-related change? “Occasionally needing help to use microwave settings or to record a TV show.”

Sign 4. Confusion with time or place

“People living with Alzheimer’s can lose track of dates, seasons and the passage of time. They may have trouble understanding something if it is not happening immediately. Sometimes they may forget where they are or how they got there.”

What’s a typical age-related change? “Getting confused about the day of the week but figuring it out later.”

Sign 5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships.

“For some people, having vision problems is a sign of Alzheimer’s. This may lead to difficulty with balance or trouble reading. They may also have problems judging distance and determining color or contrast, causing issues with driving.”

What’s a typical age-related change? “Vision changes related to cataracts.”

Sign 6. New problems with words in speaking or writing.

“People living with Alzheimer’s may have trouble following or joining a conversation. They may stop in the middle of a conversation and have no idea how to continue or they may repeat themselves. They may struggle with vocabulary, have trouble naming a familiar object or use the wrong name (e.g., like calling a watch a hand-clock).”

What’s a typical age-related change? “Sometimes having trouble finding the right word.”

Sign 7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps.

“A person living with Alzheimer’s disease may put things in unusual places. They may lose things and be unable to go back over their steps to find them again. He or she may accuse others of stealing, especially as the disease progresses.”

Sign 8. Decreased or poor judgment

“Individuals may experience changes in judgment or decision-making. For example, they may use poor judgment when dealing with money or pay less attention to grooming or keeping themselves clean.”

What’s a typical age-related change? “Making a bad decision or mistake once in a while, like neglecting to change the oil in the car.”

Sign 9. Withdrawal from work or social activities.

“A person living with Alzheimer’s disease may experience changes in the ability to hold or follow a conversation. As a result, he or she may withdraw from hobbies, social activities or other engagements. They may have trouble keeping up with a favorite team or activity.”

What’s a typical age-related change? “Sometimes feeling uninterested in family or social obligations.”

Sign 10. Changes in mood and personality.

“Individuals living with Alzheimer’s may experience mood and personality changes. They can become confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful or anxious. They may be easily upset at home, with friends or when out of their comfort zone.”

What’s a typical age-related change? “Developing very specific ways of doing things and becoming irritable when a routine is disrupted.”

Source: https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/10_signs

If this causes you to worry, have your loved one consult your doctor and a neurologist. There are other medical conditions such as drugs, dehydration, or a vitamin deficiency that are likely curable but whose symptoms closely resemble dementia. Plus, recent medical discoveries enable doctors to better diagnose and treat the symptoms of dementia.

Sometimes brain tumors cause symptoms similar to dementia. Often brain tumors are operable, and often the patients recover much of their cognitive abilities after treatment. Oliver Sachs in his famous book on The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat includes several interesting case studies of patients with brain tumors.

The Alzheimer’s website has abundant information on dementia, and a 24-7 hotline you can call anytime at 1.800.272.3900. The hotline is free, they have qualified professionals manning the lines who can provide advice on what to do. Support groups are available in most cities.

Like Glen Campbell, Tony Bennett was temporarily released from dementia when he sang the songs he sang so many times before, he performed duets with Lady Gaga when he had advanced Alzheimer’s. Rita Hayworth was one of the first celebrities to publicize that she was suffering from dementia, her daughter raised funds for the Alzheimer’s Association in its early days.

The author of the recent 2023 book, Travelers to Unimaginable Lands, has many case histories of both dementia patients and their caretakers, and the challenges they face when their loved ones suffer from dementia.

The author recommends Learning to Speak Alzheimer’s, which has many practical tips on how to care for patients with dementia. And Oliver Sack’s famous book is read by many beginning medical students and others, and contains many fascinating case histories of patients suffering from neurological conditions, some are similar to or many be dementia.

Tony Bennett and Rita Hayworth: Their Struggle With Alzheimer’s
https://seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/tony-bennett-and-rita-hayworth-their-struggle-with-alzheimers/
https://youtu.be/4ujlV3a7Il8

Problems Family Caretakers Face When Caring for Loved Ones Suffering From Dementia
https://seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/problems-family-caretakers-face-when-caring-for-loved-ones-suffering-from-dementia/
https://youtu.be/VqR7y0Z8bYk

Learning To Speak Alzheimer’s and Dementia Caretakers Guide
https://seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/learning-to-speak-alzheimers-a-caretakers-guide/
https://youtu.be/9vPK05gs8BQ

Oliver Sack’s Case Studies Including the Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, and the Curious Story of Phineas Gage
https://seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/case-studies-including-the-man-who-mistook-his-wife-for-a-hat-and-the-curious-story-of-phineas-gage/
https://youtu.be/tBZIs0YZ05A

My introduction to the problems dementia patients suffer happened when I stopped the foreclosure of an owner without family in our over-55 condominium association who was suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s disease so he could be placed in an appropriate lockdown facility. We ponder what you should do if your neighbor suffers from dementia.

The Alzheimer’s Association has many presentations on dementia, this is one they gave for our Sunrise Florida Rotary chapter. The police in many Florida jurisdictions are hiring social workers to assist in dealing with dementia patients.

How I Halted the Foreclosure of a Destitute Owner with Advanced Dementia! We Discuss Dementia
https://seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/how-i-halted-foreclosure-on-owner-with-advanced-dementia-reflecting-on-dementia/
https://youtu.be/_uAJPCCRNQ8

How Do We Treat our Neighbors Who Suffer From Dementia? Guidance for Over-55 Condos

https://wp.me/pachSU-YQ
https://seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/how-do-we-treat-our-neighbors-who-suffer-from-dementia-also-guidance-for-over-55-condos/
https://youtu.be/zwQK3VgaNOo

Aging Gracefully Seminar, Dementia; Elderly Programs & Services in Broward County, FL Rotary 4/2024
https://youtu.be/TCm4BYWrs8U

Wellness Checks for Dementia: Police and Mental Illness
https://seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/wellness-checks-for-dementia-police-and-mental-illness/
https://youtu.be/z_SlPLARCxU