9 early symptoms of Alzheimer's

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Forgetting where you put your keys, muttering about bad weather, chatting too much is sometimes abnormal.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of senile dementia, accounting for 10 Types of Dementia from 60% to 80% of all age-related neurological disorders.

In full force, the disease manifests itself, as a rule, after 60 years. However, the first bells suggesting a bad outcome can be seen much earlier.

The death of brain cells (and this is the essence of Alzheimer's disease) can be slowed down if you recognize the oncoming ailment in time and seek help from a doctor.

Be sure to consult with a specialist if you observe at least a couple of the following symptoms of 10 Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer's in yourself or a loved one.

What early symptoms of Alzheimer's to look for

1. Regular blackouts that complicate daily life

Increasing forgetfulness is the first and most important sign that Alzheimer's may be sneaking into you. You can't remember what you talked about with a colleague yesterday. You forget important dates and planned events. More and more often, seeing a seemingly familiar face, you are tormented by the question: "I think I know him, what is his name?" More and more you need diaries, planners, to-do lists and sticky notes with reminders.

Forgetfulness, which has reached the threshold when it seriously begins to complicate your life, in itself, even without other symptoms, is a serious reason to consult a therapist as soon as possible.

2. Difficulties with planning and decision making

Perhaps your memory is okay and you remember exactly what you did yesterday and intended to do the next day. But how to do it? The process of planning a day, until recently so simple and natural, turns into a tedious task that you want to avoid.

To your friend's proposal to meet at lunch, you hesitantly answer: "I don't know if I will be free." Less and less often, you agree to spend the weekend with friends (after all, you need to plan the event so that it is convenient for everyone!). More and more often you find that you forget to pay utility bills on time, make annoying mistakes in calculations and do not know how much money you have in your wallet. Why are there bills and friendly plans - even making a cake according to a long-known recipe becomes difficult.

This confusion speaks of problems with the so-called executive system of the brain, which is one of the first to be damaged when dementia occurs.

3. Difficulty completing common tasks

You have played this game for many years, and now suddenly you cannot remember the key rule. Or you catch yourself getting lost, although you know the area well. Or look at a document open in the editor and do not understand what to click to change the font, although you have been working with this program for several months.

Failure to cope with tasks that were previously easy is another wake-up call.

4. Confusion over time and space

Sometimes you think so deeply that at some point you start, look around and think: “Where am I? How did I get here? Or, for example, you can't remember exactly when you met with an old friend - two days ago or last week? Or maybe it was back in the summer?

It becomes difficult to estimate time and distance. There are problems with descending and ascending stairs, taking a bath (after all, you need to climb into it, calculating the depth and necessary movements), finding a way to the desired place.

5. Problems with speaking and writing

You forget the words and more and more often replace them with phrases like "well, that thing that … well, you get it." Vocabulary generally becomes more scarce. But verbosity appears: disturbances in the work of the brain do not allow formulating thoughts clearly and briefly, you have to indulge in lengthy reasoning. And in the process, you often find yourself on the fact that you forgot, what, in fact, you wanted to say.

6. The tendency to constantly shift objects

Put a wallet or glasses somewhere, and then look for where they disappeared, in general, a normal phenomenon familiar to many. But with the approaching dementia, it becomes more pronounced. Things are "lost" more and more often, and you start to regularly scold someone who "took and did not return."

7. Loss of judgment

Alzheimer's disease makes people unnecessarily naive and unadapted for life. Give money to a scammer who promised 300% per annum? Easy. Go outside in -10 ° C in a dressing gown, because the sun is shining through the window and it seemed as if it was warm? No problem.

People whose brains are attacked by Alzheimer's disease often look sloppy and disheveled because they cannot adequately assess the impression they make on others. But they can throw away the microwave they just bought, because they said on TV that it produces "dead food."

8. Decreased interest in communication and usual activities

Constant apathy, a loss of interest in a hobby that you have been fond of for many years, a tendency to avoid communication - even with friends! - also signs of impending dementia.

9. Drastic changes in personality and behavior

Dementia changes people dramatically. Yesterday's merry fellow and optimist begins to grumble and complain about an unfair life. Those who like to hang out with friends turns into a hermit. A loving father is a man who accuses his children of just waiting for him to die and leave them an apartment. A calm and polite person begins to make scandals literally from scratch. Such obvious changes in character and behavior clearly indicate that something is wrong with the brain.

What to do if you suspect you have Alzheimer's

The first step is to contact a therapist, describing to him all the symptoms found in himself. The doctor will ask you additional questions and, possibly, offer to pass a number of tests - urine, blood (including for thyroid hormones). Some of the signs of advancing dementia are similar to those of other diseases - endocrine disorders, depression, anemia - and here it is important not to confuse them.

In the event that the therapist nevertheless confirms your suspicions, you will receive a referral to a neurologist. A specialized specialist will assess your condition and suggest the most appropriate preventive measures for a particular case. Unfortunately, Alzheimer's disease cannot be completely prevented. But you can stop its development.

By the way, prevention of this type of dementia can be done independently. It includes Alzheimer's Disease Prevention, which includes:

• A healthy diet high in vegetables, fruits, fish, nuts, olive oil. The Mediterranean diet is ideal.
• Daily Brain Exercises: Read more, solve crosswords and puzzles, learn new things, communicate.
• Regular physical activity with an emphasis on aerobic exercise: walking, running, swimming, cycling, aerobics, and so on.
• Quitting Smoking: Passion for cigarettes increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.