when i was first diagnosed with mci due to alzheimers disease my symptoms were more subtle and really only showed up on my neuropsychological testing and initially on the moca test the one sometimes done in the office
after my diagnosis i decided that one of my goals would be to educate folks as many as i could about alzheimers disease
one of the things i did was list the 10 signs of alzheimers disease listed on the alzheimers associations website www.alz.org
again
i have none of these signs
you have to be further along that i am to start showing some of these signs
although the one thing i have noticed is some spatial things in my peripheral vision
i notice it more since i had my cataract surgery in my left eye
some think that the spatial vision is the first sign or symptom one notices
it will affect ones driving eventually
driving when one shouldnt be driving is probably the biggest risk to bodily harm and death to someone with memory loos and also to innocent other drivers and pedestrians and bikers
another risk is the wandering that can happen to alzheimers patients as they worsen
ive vowed not to be one of these statistics
when its my time to stop driving i will stop driving
the goal of research now is to find folks before these signs show up then develop medications and treatments to stop the disease before it gets this far
we are close but arent there yet
what researchers are realizing is once signs show up the disease may not be able to be stopped but maybe it can be slowed down some
the first thing you do is to maximize your health
do all those healthy things we all should be doing
maybe more aggressively
like
exercise eat a diet like the mind diet maintain a normal weight get adequate sleep avoid meds that can affect the memory control blood pressure cholesterol and diabetes avoid excessive alcohol dont smoke eg
01-17-2011
10 SIGNS OF EARLY ALZHEIMERS
i will post these warnings signs for early alzheimers each day
i dont have any of these signs yet
as i have early mild cognitive impairment amnesic type that is
thought to be the precursor to early alzheimers
my findings only show up on more elaborate neuropsychological testing
however i do notice some of them but others dont yet
#1 memory changes that disrupt daily life.
one of the most common signs of alzheimers, especially in the early stages is
forgetting recently learned information
also including forgetting important dates or events, asking for the same information over and over and relying on memory aides( eg reminder notes or electronic devices) or family members for things they used to handle on their own.
whats typical or 'normal'
sometimes forgetting names or appointments, but remembering
them later
this is from the alzheimers association website www,alz.org
01-18-2011
KNOW THE 10 SIGNS # 2
from the alzheimers association website
on knowing the 10 signs of early alzheimers
2 challenges in planning and solving problems
some people 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 some things that they did before
whats normal
making occasional errors when balancing a check book
im thankful that i dont have this problem but my wife she does
with the checkbook
01-19-2011
KNOW THE 10 SIGNS # 3
3 difficulty in completing familiar tasks at home, at work,
or at leisure.
people with alzheimers often find it hard to complete daily tasks
sometimes, people may have trouble driving to a familiar location, managing a budget at work
or remembering the rules of a favorite game
whats typical or normal
occasionally needing help to use the settings on a
microwave or to record a television show
im glad thats typical
my wife she has to do all of that for me but thats been for years
from www.alz.org
01-20-2011
KNOW THE 10 SIGNS # 4
4 confusion with time and place
people with alzheimers can loose 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
whats typical
getting confused about the day of the week
but figuring it out later
(whew that one had me worried at first)
01-21-2011
KNOW THE 10 SIGNS # 5
5 trouble understanding visual and spatial relationships
for some people having visual problems is a sign of alzheimers
they may have difficulty reading, judging distance and determining color or contrast
in terms of perception they may pass a mirror and think someone
else is in the room
they may not recognize their own reflection
whats typical
vision changes related to cataracts
as i read these and write these signs each day i reflect
back on my moms journey with this disease and see
things that we did not recognize as a problem early on
later on in her disease these were very obvious to everyone
01-22-2011
KNOW THE 10 SIGNS # 6
6 new problems with words in speaking or writing
people with alzheimers 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 finding the right words or call things by the wrong
name (eg. a watch a hand clock)
whats typical or normal
sometimes having trouble finding the right word
01-23-2011
KNOW THE 10 SIGNS # 7
7 misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
a person with alzheimers disease may put things in unusual places
they may lose things and be unable to go back over the steps to
find them again
sometimes they may accuse others of stealing
this may occur more frequently over time
whats typical or normal
misplacing things from time to time, such as a pair of glasses (my
wife she has this problem) or the remote control (thats a man thing)
now where is my shovel
from www.alz.org
01-24-2011
KNOW THE 10 SIGNS # 8
8 decreased or poor judgement
people with alzheimers may experience changes in judgement
or decision-making
for example they may use poor judgement when dealing with
money, giving large sums to telemarketers
they may pay less attention to grooming or keeping themselves clean
whats typical or normal
making a bad decision once in a while
my mom had a real problem with giving excessive money to
charities and to telemarketers
its obscene how they take advantage of the elderly
no one does anything about it
we put her on a do not call list, added caller identifier to her phone,
and put her on a no junk mail list
i even did a change of address to a lot of them to send her junk
mail to my house
she died almost 3 years ago and i still get requests from charities
etc for donations
KNOW THE SIGNS # 9
9 withdrawal from work or social activities
a person with alzlheimers may start to remove themselves from
hobbies, social activities, work projects or sports
they may have trouble keeping up with a favorite sports team
or remember how to complete a favorite hobby
they may also avoid being social because of the changes
they experienced
whats typical or normal
sometimes feeling weary of work, family, and social obligations
weve all been there right
01-25-2011
KNOW THE SIGNS # 9
9 withdrawal from work or social activities
a person with alzheimers may start to remove themselves from
hobbies, social activities, work projects or sports
they may have trouble keeping up with a favorite sports team
or remember how to complete a favorite hobby
they may also avoid being social because of the changes
they experienced
whats typical or normal
sometimes feeling weary of work, family, and social obligations
weve all been there right
my mom loved to go to church every sunday even as she
progressed in her disease
in the nursing home even when more advanced she still enjoyed the church services and singing
one problem with patients with alzheimers and other diseases is
that people dont go and visit the patients as they worsen
this is true of a lot of diseases-terminal cancer, huntingtons, als,
hiv etc
this sometimes is when patients need the visits the most
i think most of us are afraid because we see ourselves and
dont want to face the inevitable end of life
from www.alz.org/10 signs
01-26-2011
KNOW THE 10 SIGNS # 10
10 changes in mood and personality
the mood and personalities of people with alzheimers can
change
they can be confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful or anxious
they may be typically upset at home, at work, with friends, or in places where they are out of their comfort zones
whats typical or normal
developing very specific ways of doing things and becoming
irritable when a routine is disrupted
now that sounds familiar
from the alzheimers association website- www.alz.org
its a wealth of information about this disease
the organicgreen doctor
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