1. Proactively Planning for the Future
Alzheimer's is a fatal, progressive disease of the brain. The progression through the stages of Alzheimer's disease is typically slow, with the average patient living 4 to 6 years after diagnosis. While difficult, it's important to make plans when a person is first diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, while they are still capable of making decisions. Naming a power of attorney, making or updating a will and making end of life wishes known will help the family tremendously as the disease progresses.
2. No Diagnosis, Yet
The more common descriptive levels of mild, moderate and severe Alzheimer's disease are sometimes broken down into seven more specific descriptions based on level of impairment. The early stages of Alzheimer's occur before the person is even diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The first stage actually has no cognitive impairment whatsoever. The second stage has very mild cognitive impair, such as forgetting where common objects were left. These symptoms aren't noticeable to doctors or co-workers.
3. Alzheimer's or Aging
Stages three and four encompass the mildest category of diagnosable Alzheimer's disease, but symptoms are sometimes attributed to just a normal part of aging. Patients first begin having trouble finding the right word for something and have difficulty remembering names of people they've just met. Later on, patients begin struggling to manage finances, even something such as calculating the tip on a restaurant check. The patient begins to withdraw, particularly in social settings.
4. Help With Daily Living
As the disease progresses to stages five and six, major lapses in memory and recall show up. Patients are unable to recall what their address is, the day of the week or the name of their high school. At this stage, they begin to need help with daily living. While they are still able to physically take care of their needs, they need help with such things as choosing clothes appropriate for the season. They continue to retain the names of close friends and family members in stage five, but by stage six begin to lose this function. In stage six, personality changes occur. Such things as thinking that a caregiver is an impostor, or seeing things that aren't really there are common. The patient needs help dressing and toileting, and may begin to have incidents of incontinence.
5. The Last Heartbreaking Stage
The seventh stage of Alzheimer's finds the patient increasingly unable to control movements. First they are unable to walk, then sit, and then finally unable to even hold up their head. They are unable to feed themselves and have urinary incontinence. Speech is slowly lost, but the patient may sometimes utter words and phrases that cannot be understood. As patients continue to decline into the late stage of Alzheimer's and death becomes imminent, round-the-clock care is usually necessary.
