COULD IT BE ALZHEIMER’S? WHEN SHOULD I START SEEKING HELP?

It starts with the occasional misplacement of car keys or difficulty remembering the directions to a favorite eatery. Eventually, Alzheimer’s disease becomes more noticeable, although there is often no reason to feel alarmed for a loved one. After all, growing older comes with a few blips on the radar that is a natural signal indicating the ritual of aging. However, Alzheimer’s disease represents a brain disease that turns worse over time. The disease is defined by slow changes in the brain that produce deposits of certain proteins.

More than 6.5 million seniors in the United States live with some form of Alzheimer’s disease. The key is to detect the signs, which can be difficult to do because of the slow degenerative process that brain cells go through. If a loved one shows signs of forgetting things and/or experiencing a significant personality change, you might be asking the question, could it be Alzheimer’s and if it is, when should I start seeking help?

Alzheimer’s disease triggers the following signs, which if you notice them, might make it the right time to seek help.

Memory Loss

We all experience memory lapses. However, the memory lapses associated with Alzheimer’s typically get worse and continue to persist. As memory lapses become more serious, your senior loved one might repeat statements, as well as ask the same questions several times within just a couple of minutes. As Alzheimer’s develops, your senior loved one can forget having conversations and worse, not remember appointments and important events such as birthdays. Repeatedly misplacing items represents one of the most common signs that a senior loved one lives with some stage of Alzheimer’s disease.

Diminished Cognitive Skills

Alzheimer’s disease can cause concentration lapses, especially when it comes to abstract concepts such as letters and numbers. For example, a senior loved one starts to dial a phone number only to lose focus on the task at hand because of the series of numbers required to make the call. Completing more than one task at the same time is an especially difficult thing to do for those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Handling financial matters like balancing a checkbook or paying monthly bills can turn into a huge problem for seniors trying to live independently with Alzheimer’s.

Personality Changes

The dramatic, albeit slow changes to the brain for seniors afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease can negatively impact mood and behavior. Your senior loved one might suddenly lose interest in a once cherished hobby. Social withdrawal, especially from interacting with family members, is a common sign of Alzheimer’s disease. Significant mood changes might indicate an underlying mental health concern triggered by vast changes to the brain. The mood swings can be as dramatic as a senior loved one feeling euphoric one minute, and then expressing anger or aggression the next minute.

When Should I Start Seeking Help for Alzheimer’s?

There is not a one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Some family members require help when a loved one experiences the early signs of Alzheimer’s, while other family members seek help when a senior loved one falls into one of the later stages of the disease. Regardless of when you seek help for Alzheimer’s, oursenior living facility in Portland, Oregonprovidesthe best memory carefor residents living with the debilitating disease.

Connect with a MorningStar at Laurelhurst caregiver today to learn more about our memory care services.