Stages of Alzheimer’s

Seven Stages of Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s patients are said to experience seven stages of disease progression.   Remember these stages vary from person to person, not everyone will experience every symptom, and these symptoms may occur at different times in different people.   The medical society uses them as a rough guild only.  Each person is an  individual and may differ slightly at any or all the below stages.

1. No cognitive impairment.  Individuals  show no marked decline in their cognitive function.

2. Very mild decline.  Individuals may experience moments of forgetfulness, such as why they were going to the store or someone’s name.  These issues may or may not be clear to family members, friends or even the family physician.  The person and or spouse is often the only one who seem to be aware of an increase of cognitive decline at this early stage.

3. Mild cognitive decline.  Known as early-stage Alzheimer’s, family and friends may begin to notice the symptoms. Common symptoms include an inability to plan, word-finding problems, or poor short-term recall of written material.

4. Moderate cognitive decline. Known as early-stage or mild Alzheimer’s, the symptoms can be clearly defined during medical interviews. The person may have a decreased ability to handle complex tasks such as managing finances, have problems remembering personal history, and often becomes withdrawn or irritable.

5. Moderately severe cognitive decline. Known as mid-stage Alzheimer’s, patients  now have significant gaps in memory and help with daily activities may be required. Individuals may become confused about where they are and may have problems remembering their address or telephone number.   At this stage getting lost and wandering is common.

6. Severe cognitive decline.  Person often experiences personality changes and need help with daily activities.  They may need help getting dressed.  Will be unable to recall recent experiences, may forget the name of their spouse.  By now most people are said to wander.  A smaller percentage will hallucinate.    At this stage they are in need of 24 hour care.   Normal sleep patterns are often disrupted.

7. Very severe cognitive decline. In late-stage Alzheimer’s, individuals ultimately lose the ability to speak, respond to the environment around them and–in the end–the ability to control movement.

Understanding the various stages of Alzheimer’s is helpful for care givers as well as for planning the future care.

There are many services available that can help.  Care givers who try to go it alone, soon learn their limits.  However this is dangerous for both the patient as well as the caregiver.    Check with your state agency on aging.  There are many free or low-cost programs to help.