Alzheimer's Disease Signs & Symptoms

We all have those times when we think, "What was his name? I know I met him before. Was it Jim? Tim?" Or, "I know I have it somewhere. If I can just remember where I put it!"

If you're like many of us, these moments happen frequently in the busy pace of life. However, there is a significant difference between being absent-minded or preoccupied and having a true progressive memory problem such as Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's Disease can cause the shrinking of brain tissue.

Here are four signs that could indicate a more serious problem:

• You lose your keys. When they're found, you have no recollection of how they might have gotten there.
• You always were a fantastic cook, but lately even making coffee seems more difficult. You wonder who has been messing around with your coffeemaker.
• You're great at covering for yourself. For example, when someone asks you a question to which you don't know the answer, you turn the question around by saying with a chuckle, "I'm not sure. What do you think?"
• You've had a hard time recently balancing your checkbook, even though that's always been your job.

If these symptoms paint a picture of you or someone you love, seek an evaluation from a physician, geriatrician, or psychologist.

The Alzheimer's Association has identified 10 warning signs of Alzheimer's disease:

1. Memory changes
2. Withdrawal from usual activities
3. Disorientation to time and place
4. Visual-spatial difficulties
5. Decrease in written or verbal communication ability
6. Challenges in problem-solving and planning
7. Personality and mood changes
8. Misplacing items frequently
9. Decline in judgment
10. Difficulty performing familiar tasks

While Alzheimer's disease has been described as having seven stages, the symptoms of Alzheimer's can also be collapsed into three broad stages: early, middle, and late. Remember that symptoms can overlap and may vary in each person with Alzheimer's.

• Difficulty with tasks such as balancing a checkbook or making dinner
• Difficulty learning new tasks
• Slower reaction time when driving or making decisions
• Occasional difficulty finding words
• Short-term memory impairment
• Increased irritability, anxiety, or depression
• Often an awareness of these changes

In early-stage Alzheimer's, individuals may still function quite well overall. Although they may be aware of the increasing difficulty with certain tasks, they are also often quite skilled at hiding this from others by deflecting questions, changing the topic, or relying on their family or loved ones to make decisions or answer questions. Some persons also begin to withdraw, perhaps due to their uncertainty over their ability to cope with decisions or social interaction. Notice that in this stage, long-term memory typically remains intact.

• Significant personality changes, such as being argumentative, impulsive, angry
• Resistive to, or combative with, physical care, even (sometimes especially) when provided by a loved one
• Short-term and long-term memory loss
• Increased difficulty communicating with others
• A "love-hate" relationship with their caregivers; for example, extremely dependent on but also very unkind toward a spouse or adult child
• Potential for wandering away from home
• Very poor judgment and decisions
• Often the physical abilities still remain intact here, such as their ability to walk around
• Sometimes incontinence becomes a concern

Moderate, or mid-stage, Alzheimer's is often the most difficult stage. While some individuals remain "pleasantly confused" throughout the entire disease, many display inappropriate behaviors and emotions. They may be quite restless and become paranoid or have hallucinations, or refuse to let you help them with a bath or getting dressed. They may get up several times in the night, and rummage through the same drawers repeatedly. This middle stage of Alzheimer's can be very taxing for the primary caregiver, and this is often when in-home help is hired or the person is placed in a facility, such as an assisted living or a nursing home.

• Decreased ability to interact with others
• Ability to recognize people diminishes
• Physical decline, such as inability to walk or talk
• Difficulty with eating, even with assistance
• Apparent withdrawal from surroundings
• Incontinence

In this final stage of Alzheimer's, people often are quite immobile and spend much of their time in bed or a wheelchair. They are no longer able to respond much to others, although you may occasionally receive a smile or hear some attempts at language. The behavior challenges of mid-stage Alzheimer's are replaced with what looks like complete withdrawal; however, these individuals can still benefit from gentle conversation, holding their hand or giving them a hug, visual stimulation such as colors and pictures, and especially hearing music. Individuals with late-stage Alzheimer's become more prone to illnesses as their body loses strength. Often, infections like pneumonia eventually cause their death.

Alzheimer's disease has also been described by four words beginning with the letter "A."

• Amnesia: memory loss
• Aphasia: impaired communication
• Apraxia: physical functioning (also called motor skills)
• Agnosia: difficulty understanding information from the senses, such as vision or smell

Not all problems with cognition (the ability to think and remember) are due to Alzheimer's disease. This is one of many reasons why it's important to see your physician if you're experiencing these symptoms.

Sometimes memory loss can be caused by conditions that—if identified and treated—are potentially reversible.

For example, inadequate amounts of vitamin B12 in your body has been shown to cause symptoms that are similar to early stage Alzheimer's. Some research has found that correcting this problem by adding higher amount of vitamin B12 to the participants' diets was able to improve cognition significantly.

True Alzheimer's disease is not reversible, although multiple non-drug approaches and medications can be helpful in treating its symptoms. So, even if you're feeling anxious about going to the physician, it is very important to rule out these other conditions that could be effectively treated and partially or even completely reversed.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause, or type, of dementia, but there are several other conditions that also cause symptoms of dementia. This can include vascular dementia (related to a stroke or tiny, unnoticed blockages of blood flow in your brain), Lewy body dementia (a condition that consists of Parkinson-like effects in the body and impaired cognition), frontotemporal dementia (sometimes called "Pick's disease") and Huntington's disease (a genetic condition that often affects younger persons with involuntary movements and cognitive problems).

If you see yourself or your loved one described in these symptoms, contact your physician to arrange for an evaluation. Diagnosing Alzheimer's disease involves several tests to rule out other conditions and is an important first step in treatment and management of the disease.

Affecting more than five million people in the United States alone, Alzheimer's disease is far from uncommon. However, because Alzheimer's disease affects the mind and many other conditions affect the body, there can be a greater fear and stigma about the disease. Unfortunately, this can cause people to hide and ignore symptoms, delay treatment, or simply isolate themselves. Rather than sharing a diagnosis via multiple phone calls, social media posts, and an online journal, Alzheimer's disease is too often a whispered word in the corner of a room.

We would encourage you to hold on to the knowledge that there is no blame or shame in an Alzheimer's diagnosis. Instead, by seeking support (whether in an official group or simply by sharing your story with others), you can gain strength, knowledge, and hope while living with Alzheimer's disease.