Dementia Symptoms.

• Symptoms of dementia depend on the stage of the dementia.

• As the dementia progresses the symptoms become more widespread, more severe and affect daily function and quality of life more.

• Over 50% of dementia sufferers develop behavioural complications which are the major cause of Carer stress and reason for nursing home admission

• The hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease is a slow, progressive decline in short-term memory-

  ·       The person becomes  more forgetful. 

  ·       They forget days, dates, appointments and recent events. 

  ·       They can forget conversation a few hours later.

  ·       They tend to repeat themselves several times over or ask the same questions. 

  ·       Losing train of thought and what they were going to say during conversation.

  ·       Not able to follow conversation.

  ·       They regularly misplace things around the house including their keys, wallet and purse. 

  ·       One of the first signs maybe loss of interest in things generally, and not doing their usual hobbies anymore.

  ·       Loss of motivation- apathy, inertia.

  ·       Sleeping more during the day.

  ·       Slowing down mentally and physically.

  ·       Deteriorating appetite, loss of interest in food, meals getting smaller and smaller.  

  ·       Unexplained weight loss.

  ·       Personality change such as labile emotion, disinhibited social behaviour, lack of social graces, over- familiar with strangers

  ·       Executive function impairments such as problem solving, new learning capacity, reasoning, information processing, planning the day’s activities, everyday general tasks

  ·       Repeating the same questions- “where are we going now?”, “what are we doing next?” “what time is my appointment?”

• As the cognitive decline worsens the memory loss can start to affect their daily life and routines.  This includes:

• ·       Difficulty remembering phone numbers, planning their day and forgetting to pay their bills. 

  ·       Difficulty completing normal routines at home including operating household appliances such as the microwave, dishwasher or washing machine.

  ·       Dyspraxia -impaired co-ordination of simple tasks such as using the kettle, making a cup of tea and toast.  

  ·       Difficulty using the TV/DVD player, computer. 

  ·       Difficulty reading a book, magazine or newspaper or remembering what they have read. 

  ·       Difficulty following a TV programme

  ·       As their dementia progresses they will have difficulties getting the right words out in conversation and understanding words, and have difficulty naming objects (dysphasia). 

  ·       Not recognising / remembering family members or familiar friends (agnosia).

  ·       Management of their finances deteriorates and they either forget where they have put their money, withdrawing too much money from their account for what they need or giving money away particularly to strangers.

  ·       Forgetting to pay bills

  ·       Withdrawing from social activities.

  ·       Changes in mood and personality, becoming either increasingly agitated and more aggressive or more subdued and withdrawn.

  ·       Difficulty learning new things.

  ·       Difficulty writing a card or letter to friends or a business letter.

  ·       Forgetting to cook and eat.

  ·       Forgetting how to cook meals.

  ·       Missing meals.

  ·       Leaving the taps or stove on.

  ·       Forgetting to shower.

  ·       Getting more agitated particularly in the afternoon.

  ·       More argumentative.

  ·       Refusing outside help when they are clearly not managing alone at home.

  ·       Increasing suspicious paranoid behaviour against family.

  ·       Forgetting to take pills/medications.

  ·       Refusing to eat or having just tiny meals.

  ·       Weight loss from poor appetite.

  ·       Forgetting the name of their usual Doctor.

  ·       Not remembering the name of and not knowing why they are seeing a new medical Specialist.

• A common presentation of somebody with undiagnosed Alzheimer’s dementia is that they  can’t cope alone at home any longer.  This is not old age! 

• End-stage dementia symptoms inlcude-

• Cannot walk

• Cannot feed themselves

• Difficulty swallowing food and fluid

• Difficulty speaking and communicating

• Require help with all activities of daily living

• Loss of co-ordination and motor skills
  

   For more information read Dr Peter Lipski’s book “Your Elderly Parents Failing Health. Is It Ageing Or A Treatable Condition”.