4 Dementia Warning Signs

Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia.It is one of the several disorders that causes the gradual loss of brain cells.There is no cure for this disease, however there are medicines that helps slow down the progression, if caught in the early stages. So, how do you know if you have Alzheimer's? There is absolutely no 100% test that will show that a person truly have this disease. The ONLY method of being 100% that a person had Alzheimer's is through an autopsy.

There are signs and symptoms that doctors use with other tests to determine which dementia a person might have. Here, I will give you 4 warning signs to look for when dealing with Alzheimer's disease.

1.Memory Loss. Forgetting recent information is one of the most common early signs of dementia.Everyone forgets, but a person that begins to forget more often and is unable to recall the information later may be having memory loss due to dementia. Always ask yourself what's normal and what's not.Occasionally forgetting someone name or a doctors appointment is normal, but if you are having trouble recalling a conversation you may have just had 30 minutes ago, it may be a sign to get checked out.

2.Misplacing Things. This definitely was one of the signs I picked up on when I noticed something was wrong with my dad. My dad was always a routine person when it came to keys, wristwatch, and hats. These items were placed in the same location almost every night for 40 yrs.When he first misplaced his keys, it wasn't a big deal because who hasn't .Even though we found them in an unusual place, things happen The thing that struck me was where his keys or watch were ending up at a couple times a week. The medicine cabinet was a place he started placing his keys before bed, and most times his watch ended up in the food pantry.We knew something was going on, but denial is something else when it hits home.

3.Disoriented To Time And Places.People with Alzheimer's can become confused and get lost in their own neighborhood and forget how to get back to their own home.Not only that but time becomes a factor as they will start getting what time of day confused.As this disease took hold of my dad, every day became Sunday to him. What he loved most was church and he associated every day to Sunday.It was strange that each morning at the same time he would get dressed for church, yet if you asked him what time it was he could not tell you. He would just demand that you get dress so we won't be late for church.

4.Changes In Behavior Or Mood. Behavior problems normally emerge during the early stage of alzheimer's, and is one of the most difficult part when it comes to caring for someone.Agitation,anger,inappropriate sexual touching,depression, and urinating in public ae just a few things to look for in behavior changes.As a caregiver just remember it's not your job try and change or control their behavior, because you can't. The best thing you can do is determine the cause of the behavior, relax them, and try to diffuse the situation.

Remember everyone situation is unique.If it has been determined that a love one has alzheimer, learn all you can about the different stages to educate yourself how to cope with each stage as it progresses.

Nursing Home Director Charged In Queens,NY For Not Reporting Dementia Patient Missing For Four Days

Juliet Clifford,a Director of a Nursing Home in Queens,NY was arrested Saturday June 8 2013 for not reporting a dementia patient missing from her facility on June 26th.

It was not reported until June 30th to police that  74 year old Alan Frazier had been missing. According to the report, when asked what happen, Clifford lies to police stating that Frazier left on his own, against the advice of medical staffing. Now I don't know which side of the bed Ms Clifford woke up on, but it's not up to a patient with dementia to make decision on their own.

There was absolutely no reason for her to neglect her responsibilities in reporting this. Patients walk out of homes all the time, but they are mostly caught as they are leaving. But to go home night after night knowing that an elderly man,not in his right mind, is out on the street where he could walk in front of a car and not report it is just shameful.

I was a caregiver for my dad for years and this is one of the reason we as a family didn't put my father in a nursing home.We felt that he needed attention 24/7 and we all know that there is just not enough staff members to be one on one with a patient all day, unless they are hired by family to do so.

Not only is this Ms Clifford fault, it's also her staff under her.Each CNA in a nursing home have their own patient to take care of. There are also Registered Nurses there that CNAs have to report too.The question is, how long did it take his care provider to know he was missing and report it to a senior staff member? I know Ms Clifford is the person that covered this up by lying to police, but the D.A. in this case should not stop with her. They need to go after everyone who knew this man was missing and failed to report it.

Let's open up a discussion in the comment section.Do you believe there should be more staff members charged in this case if they knew the man had been missing and failed to report it?

Is There Medicine That Can Prevent Dementia?

There is no medication that prevent or cure Dementia or Alzheimer's Disease, but doctors rely on several drugs to manage different symptoms of dementia, such as delusion,depression,sleeplessness,and agitation. As a caregiver it is crucial to understand the use of medications and be alert to possible over medication and reactions to drug combinations.

Aricept(approved in 1996), Exelon(approved in 2000), and Razadyne(approved in 2001 under the name Reminyl), are three cholinesterase inhibitors that are commonly prescibed by doctors to treat Alzheimer's symptoms in early to moderate stages. During my research all of these drugs were designed to prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine, which is a chemical messenger in our brain that is important for memory and other thinking skills.Now these drugs are suppose to work to keep levels of the chemical messenger high, even while Alzheimer's is damaging or killing cells that produce the messenger.

Even though doctors might prescribe a drug for a limited period of time, the problem is that it may take up to four weeks for a drug to leave the system after they have finished using it, so it could alter a person memory if not careful.This is the reason why we as caregiver must keep a running tab of which medicine was given and what time the medicine was given, so we can give accurate information to pharmacists and doctors when visiting.

Getting medical advice before starting any medication, whether it's over the counter or prescribed is an easy and safe way to cut down on possible side effects, because some medications can contribute to the problem and make some symptoms worse

I was a caregiver twice for family members with Alzheimer's Disease and have seen first hand what these drugs can do if they are taking with other drugs such as high blood pressure pills.Establish a relationship with your pharmacist, so they better understand the conditions to maybe catch a mistake a doctor has made

Testing For Dementia. Does Dementia Run In Your Family?

As age creeps upon us and memory loss becomes more frequent, we believe it to be some form of dementia. Now even though this may be the case, you never will know unless the proper test for dementia is done.

Now, I say proper test because there are many forms of dementia, with Alzheimer’s being the leading cause. But there are some symptoms of dementia that are reversible if caught early. For example, did you know depression can be a form of dementia. When we think of depression, it really doesn’t cross our mind that it could give symptoms of dementia or short term memory loss.  Now with early intervention this can be effectively treated and even reversed. So it’s very important that when tested we get the right diagnosis in order to get the right medication.

So, when is the right time to get tested for dementia? I ask this question because through research I have found that a person can have dementia 20 years before the first symptom ever show up. That means brain cells are being damaged or dying slowly every year due to some form of dementia. Since there is no cure for these symptoms would it benefit us to know at age 40 instead of when we get our first symptom around 60?

Alzheimer’s Disease, which is the leading cause of dementia, runs heavy in my family on my father side. My father, his dad(my grandfather), and three of his brothers all had Alzheimer’s Disease. I was the caregiver to both my father and my grandfather, so I witnessed  first hand the destruction of it as it slowly took away their abilities to function.

Now I’m at the point wondering if I could be next. Since doctors can see if brain cells are being damaged or dying due to some form of dementia, would it benefit me to know about it 15-20 years before any symptoms may appear.

Doctors believe that knowing before hand could cause more damage to a person. Stress and depression are factors they believe could hurt a person .Even though this may be right, isn’t it our right to know? Now I know they wouldn’t be able to treat anything until they are sure which dementia you have, so I’m not writing this blog for the medical aspect, but wondering from those who have witness this disease first hand, would you like to know this is coming down the road years before the first symptom ever appear.

I want to be tested in the next couple years and maybe every three years after that to see if I’m developing this condition. I would like to know the opinions of those close to this disease, so please leave a comment below.

Dementia Caregiver

Dementia is an umbrella term for several symptoms that is related to a decline in thinking. These symptoms are, but limited too, a gradual loss of memory, loss of language skills, and the ability to perform daily routine tasks.

Now being a caregiver can really take a toll on a person physically and mentally. I think most caregivers, including myself, get into this because a family member has some form of dimentia .

I was a caregiver twice, both for family members suffering from dimentia. My grandfather had it in the late 80's, and my father had it from the late 90's until his passing in 2012.

Looking back on my experience, there is one thing that always sticks out in my mind and that is how little I knew about dementia. My main goal was keeping them clean and fed, plus doing the little things that could make their life a little better.

As the stages progressed, you feel helpless because that is when a lot of medical problems occur and because you are not informed about the disease you have no idea what to expect. I truly believe that if you are to be an effective family caregiver, then it will be important that you learn about the different symptoms so you can be somewhat educated on them when they occur.

Learning how to communicate can also be a challenge. It goes far beyond words as the disease moves along. Being able to read body language, and deciphering statements because they can no longer express themselves will take time.It will take patience because there will be several times when you will just get frustrated about the whole thing.

My goal for this particular article is to just encourage caregivers to not just join caregivers support groups, which also is very important, but get educated all you can about the different types of dementia.

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