Brief history of the onset of Alzeimheir's;no links please?

Question

I am particularly looking for confirmation of my suspicions that its very gradual onset means that it is not noticed at first

Answer 1

I believe that in Europe they have been doing some tests on early diagnosis. One of the first symptoms before any mental decline is actually a loss of smell. People loose some ability to detect faint odors almost 15 years before they are usually diagnosed with the disease. There has also been a theory that bilateral inconsistency in strength is an early symptom.

As someone else said there are slight memory problems, "forgetfulness", and some mood changes. Unnatural fears is another early symptom, afraid that people are going to steal from you, keeping the doors and windows locked unnecessarily, and a loss of taste.

Eventually the typical symptoms that most people think of develop- severe forgetfulness, problems with speech, getting lost, wandering, hand-wringing, coordination problems, etc. And finally an eventual decline into death.
Just from watching a couple of inlaws fail during the disease, I believe that it presents itself in subtle ways almost 20 years before the end. When you look back at strange behaviors and symptoms, you see the progression of symptoms. Early symptoms are so minute, loss of smell, fearful imaginations, slight paranoia, mood changes, slight forgetfulness and searching for "lost" words, slight hoarding tendencies........ Now those things make sense, but 15-20 years ago they were just strange.

Answer 2

Hi. Yes Alzheimers disease is insidious in onset (gradual and unknowingly), and also progresses gradually. Onset tends to be later on in life in the elderly, but may occur in middle adult life. It is marked by trouble with memory (unable to learn new things or recall previously learned information), the failure to recognise or identify objects; impairment in executive function, that is, they may not be able to plan or organise something like a complicated meal. They may also have trouble coordinating motor activites (movement) and have language difficulties such as not understanding what is being said to them. Note that not all of these symptoms may occur together. Initially, and often the first recognised symptom is forgetfulness.

Answer 3

My mother had it and died from it.

It probably started at about age 70. First there were memory problems. The very first signs were difficulty in handling the TV remote. Then the phone. Then making food. She stopped bathing and washing her clothing. It progressed from this stage to an anger and paranoia stage. She became difficult and threatening. Hit her 83 year old brother in the head. By this time she couldn't prepare food at all.

Next she hallucinated and had people "living under the floor", in "nests", and needed to get her cat on the roof so he wouldn't drown. This bad stage then changed to a child-like angelic stage with spacy eyes. She no longer knew her family and lost her sense of reality completely.

Then the body started breaking down. Eventually cataplexy, breathing troubles, difficulty eating, inability to walk, and death.

The stages in chronological order were:

Memory difficulties, difficulty doing simple things like a TV remote, difficulty taking care of her house and body, paranoia and panic, anger and violence and threats, hallucinations, an angelic child-like state that is only aware of the 5 senses, loss of sense of reality, degradation, physical problems such as walking and eating, inability to recognize family, difficulty talking, difficulty breathing, and death.

Very sorry if you are dealing with this. I had to involve Adult Protective Services and the Department of Health for the Elderly. Without them we could not have managed. Eventually she had to go into care homes. We are not nurses and we all work. It was very difficult.

There are booklets at the drug store about Alzheimers that helped a lot. They explain all of this and how to deal with it. Also, try Amazon.com. Good luck.

Answer 4

yes it is, and any doctor will confirm that. Alzeimheir;s will often have to build up for awhile before it can be properly diagnosed, because it could be something else.

Answer 5

Yes initially its no more than just forgetfulness that we all experience. Time is the teller of Alzheimer's.