he's been a very friendly, social guy. he's 55. he used to love kids. suddenly one night, he shouted at the kids for no apparent reason. it freaked them out, and that's when people thought s'thing was wrong with him. then his neighbour, who was very close to him and was pregnant went to meet him. he asked her to take him to his bedroom saying that he'd forgotten the way to it. when she took him in there, he asks why she's even there. and when she tries to argue with him, he throws a vase at her! these are a few of the 1st symptoms noticed. otherwise, he had been shwoing serious loss of interest in his daily activities. when he was taken to meet the doctor, he accused the doc of being his enemy.
what stage could this be and do these symptoms corrsepond to alz?
please, please reply.i'm in dire need
thanks
Answer:
Unfortunately there is no definate diagnosis able to be made for Alzheimers while alive - it can only be confirmed through an autopsy.
Your friend should see a Neurologist who will do some cognitive tests and can give you an idea of how far advanced his dementia is.
It sounds to me from my personal experience that he's still in the early stages. It's common that they can become aggressive and rather mean and spiteful to grandchildren they do truly love. Noise is a problem as is light. A common problem is called "sundowning" and it happens, as in it's name, around the time the sun starts to go down. I recommend painting in bright, light colours any rooms that have minimal light and have lights on by dinner time (earlier in the winter).
Speak to this person and discuss their problem with them. Things have to be decided in advance. There will come a time no matter how much you know (and I was trained medically to deal with this) that you will no longer be able to cope 24/7 and the person will have to be transferred to a nursing home. Let them help decide which one they would prefer and maybe visit some.
Our police department has a special program where Alzheimers patients register and wear a special bracelet (like a medical alert one). The places they are most likely to wander to are known to police and they know how to approach this person if they go missing, without scaring them. You may want to look into that.
Once dementia moves along the person will start to wander and cannot be left alone. If they are, remove fuses from the stove, hide the kettle, anything that could start a fire while you are out. At night, in case you don't hear them...place a lock either at the very top of your doors or at the very bottom.they won't look there. After unlocking the door they still won't be able to get out so may just go back to bed.
They will also start to forget people and current events in their lives although they will remember things from the past like they just happened. It's very hard on loved ones to see this...that's why it's called "The long goodbye".
Near the end stages their memory will become worse and they may experience either/or expressive or receptive ephashia. That means they can either no longer talk or no longer understand what is being said to them. They may also start to have trouble swallowing food and have to go on a diet of soft blended foods.
If they are not exercised by the staff (and most nursing homes are understaffed and don't do this) they may develop contractures...their legs crossed and "stuck" in that position (or hands, arms positioned in an odd way).
At midpoint of the disease they will lose control of their bladder and then bowels making adult diapers necessary.
It sounds like your friend is in the early stages...please get him to a doctor asap for a diagnosis. There are programs that family and friends can attend put on by the Alzheimer Society which will tell you exactly what will happen as the disease progresses. Your best friend is knowledge.
My Dad went through all the things you are describing and althought his dementia was linked to parkinsons and not alzheimers, they are very similar.
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