Jacbec, I am sorry you and your wife are living through this. I do not know what stage, but I would suggest you consult with a physician about possible depression. As I said above, my Mom is in late stages, but the addition of an anti-depressant provided notable difference in her demeanor, alertness, mood.
My wife can only eat with her fingers but has a good appetite. She is not incontinent, but needs to be taken to the bathroom and assisted. She cannot bathe or dress herself. She has difficulty going up & down stairs and walking in general. She cannot speak intelligibly & speaks very little. She sleeps about 12-16 hrs a day. She does not seem to recognize family members. She gets angry at times, but infrequently. She wanders, scratches furniture with her fingers, continually messes up her hair, sucks on her fingers & stares in mirrors, sometimes talking to the mirror. She often cries out for her mother (who passed away with Alzheimer's in 2001 at the age of 94. Otherwise my wife seems very healthy. She was diagnosed in 2003. I am wondering what stage she is.
I notice that Shirley is gettng little more forgetful every day! Several times a day she asks me what day or date it is. The same outine hat she has been doing daily fo years has slipped her mind. She sometimes has to be told her connection to friends that I mention. She often when talking about one of my family members remembers them as a different relationship!
How long, generally, does an AD patient live through Stage 7? Also, our Neurologist tells me "stages" are no longer used in the medical profession, is that really true?
plugg111, I am certainly no authority at all, but I would have to say no, everyone is different. I have found that treatable physical ailments, diet and meds can play a roll in maintaining a stage. I believe the stage 5 to 6 are critical with regard to hygiene, meds, and diet.
my Mom is now 75, onset with Alz, we think around 2000. She now has severe Alz, but getting her back a bit from what we thought was just another stage has been "successful". From 2006 to 2008, her Alz progressed to the classic paranoia, hoarding, shadowing my Dad, sun downing, then incontinence and lack of grooming and socializing. Improper diet and hygiene were major contributors.
In 2008 and again in 2009, respite care identified a UTI and with meds and healthy diet, brought her back a bit, but she lost much mental capacity with each episode. I guess at this time she might have been classified as stage 5 or 6.
In late 2010, she was on 3 meds, risperdone, razadyne and the problem med.... depakote, the seizure med which she started in Fall 2009. My Dad passed in April 2010 and in late 2010, Mom had become very despondent and was literally falling asleep in her breakfast. we thought it was just another stage. but after some research, I asked neurologist to make a change, take her off of depakote. he said well if she has a seizure, don't blame me. he then decided to change depakote to Lamotrigine which also contains an anti-depressant. the next 60-day visit, he was amazed at the difference in her personality. mentally, she has been fairly stable, still knows us, likes visits, music, chatting. however, physically, she is now total care. she still lives in her home with a live-in care giver and under hospice care. the one-on-one care is certainly great, but she is still declining. we just live each day to be sure she is happy and comfortable. some days she is so very coherent and others, she just seems to not want to be bothered. I finally stopped trying to figure it out. when she is up, we exchange our "I love you's", when she is down, I say, Mom, you know I would do anything for you and she says I know, you always do. I know, I can't ask for more than that.
best wishes to you. I suppose I want to suggest that you not worry so much about guessing and planning on the timing of stages. I know it drove me nuts! if you are able to handle the meds, diet and hygiene, that is the best you can do. you cannot control the disease. just try to eliminate other factors are not compounding it. and be sure she is safe and comfortable. that is my 2 cents worth.
I just want to point out that the stages listed here are applicable to ALZHEIMER'S only. It says that in the title, but it might be tempting the think the stages are pretty much the same for each type of dementia. They very definitely are not. If your loved one has another type of dementia it is best to research it on websites specially for that disease.
This is an excellent and helpful article. It just shouldn't be applied beyond the scope of its title.
winkpc, I am truly sorry for your loss, and realize you have been living through the loss of the love of your life since at least 2000. Your devotion is remarkable. My Dad died after living through the same broken heartache. I appreciated your earlier post which kept pushing me to be sure I had covered all possibilities for my mom. Our primary care said 'don't try to be the hero' and finally our neurologist agreed that alzheimer's disease is so cruel and that it is the long goodbye. Know that I am sorry for your loss and sadness, and hope that you feel comfort with many happy years ahead to share with your family and friends, in loving memory.
winkpc, your loss is sad but the fact that you and your daughter experienced positive moments and your wife had her dignity and didn't suffer are heartening. Thank you for sharing this.
I had an earlier post in which I described the long ordeal that my wife went through with Early Onset Alzheimer's disease. Four months ago, she passed away and I believe she is now in a better place. Prior to her passing , I told staff at her nursing home that in the event she contracted pneumonia I did not want it treated.. They did not treat the pneumonia and they allowed me to stay in her room with her as they administered a morphine drug to help her with the pain. My wife was in a Catholic nursing home and it might surprise some that my wishes were followed. As I indicated previouisly, my wife was bedridden for a few years and the quality of life was gone. I found the time my daughter and I spent with her prior to her death to be quite spiritual. It was a long struggle, but my wife died with dignity surronded by those she loved.
One of the biggest problems I found when I worked in the Alzheimer's Units was that families were not educated. We would try to tell them about wonderful workshops that would help them to learn and understand more. The other big problem was when they would not understand or try to understand that it is the disease and not the person that they know and love that can be so mean and cranky ( and they can seem really mean) . Everyone needs to know as much as they can , it would save a whole lot of pain when that person who normally was always so sweet and never a harsh word starts sounding worse than a sailor.
And last but not least - I send this out one more time , hoping it will help - What a Person With Alzheimer's Would Say -
According to the article my husband is in late stage 6 early 7. I know this sounds really terrible but how does anyone know about how long he will have to suffer with this? I take care of him MYSELF no help at home and some days are really bad, but I really look at him and hope he will soon stop suffering with this. Does this sound bad on my part?
The only form of Alzheimer's known to be hereditary is the early onset version (where early onset means, I believe, under 50 or so and I think the youngest case was 17!). Contact the Alzheimer's Association for more information.
My mother's neurologist classifies Alzheimer's in 4 quartiles. When a person hits the last quartile the decline takes on a rapid descent much like jumping off a cliff. That's where my mother is now. I, of course, am stressed out and kind of a wreck.
My mother is a moderate stage of this disease. We had to put her in a skilled nursing center until the medicaid goes through. Although this was a difficult step, it made sense to have professionals care for her. She's eating much better, getting her meds at regular intervals and they have her socializing again... My mother lost that ability living alone and this was a person who was the life of the party before the disease set in. Our next step is assisted living where she will have more activities and a roomate. I am finally at peace with our decision and know that my mother's quality of life will be much better. She won't be alone and she'll be not far from where I live either. It's a scary disease, but once you know the facts and find care for your loved one, the rollercoaster ride comes to a halt at that point. God bless everyone going through this...remain positive, pray and give yourself some quality time for yourself...take care...Jenifer
While this series is interesting, it lacks longitudinal input. My wife is 69 and she has not been walking for about 3 years. Her cognition level has been quite low for about 10 years. She does keep eating and her weight of about 140 lbs. remains constant. When she was diagnosed a little over 17 years ago, the neurologist said that she could live anywhere between 1 and 20 years. It has been an expensive and lengthy illness, but I guess it is still not her time. I post this to let people know that this is a terrible disease that can strike the middle-aged as well as the elderly and it can go on and on.
This article and all of the comments are terrific and have helped me so much today. My 74 yr old Mom is in early to mid stage 7 and I've been trying to decide what is best. We have a live-in caregiver and wondered if she would be better in assisted living around more people. Sounds like the one-on-one is better since she has frequent UTI and is getting the meals she likes when she wants and our caregiver takes her out often to shop, visit.
I do want to offer my experience, as in hindsight, I feel I should have been more pushy. 5 yrs ago, Mom had discussed her memory problems, but would not seek help. During the next year, she stopped eating healthy, often cancelled social and family functions, and eventually became incontinent. She was very coherent and stubborn enough to object to our advice and deny problems. We started taking meals over and tried all the "tricks" to get her care. Two years ago, she was rushed to the hospital after collapsing. After a week of testing, found she had a severe UTI and virtually no iron in her blood. Once home, she was never the same and has steadily deteriorated. I believe that her lousy diet was a major contributing factor to the acceleration of her illness as well as inactivity and lack social interaction. But who knows? I am simply baffled that at 74, she is so impaired. She truly has always been such a great Mom. I think I'll enjoy the good moments now while I can. Best wishes to all of you and thanks for your advice.
Jim76, I don't know what a dvt is, but I'm pretty sure you haven't failed your mother. Perhaps you are feeling something akin to the "empty nest" syndrome of parents when the last of their offspring have gone off. You spent a great deal of time attending to your mother's needs and now she is not there. You probably should consider her illness and whether or not this was not an unexpected turn of events. Some things just can't be helped no matter how good a job we do as caregivers.
Now, spend some time visiting her (she might come home, after all!) and taking some time to regather your own strength.
I have been caring for my mother for over eight years in her home. She is now in a facility rehabing following a dvt. I am concerned that she may not be able to return. I feel overwhelmed with guilt for failing her and I feel lost as a caregiver.
My mother's neurologist told me that Alzheimers has four quartiles. And also only one form of Alzheimers is hereditary (early onset). My mother is moving from the third quartile to the fourth. He says this last stage is like jumping off a cliff. Also her reminded me that an infection will make things worse and clearing the infection will bring the person back to where they really are. The most common of infections is urinary tract infection. It is very treatable.
The more they (ubiquitous they) try to slice up progressive steps of an ailment poorly understood, the more they get it wrong.
I personally believe that Alzheimers has a link to additives in food and lack of nutrients from food. In the USA the soil is so badly depleted even organically grown food lacks the nutrition is had 100 years ago.
I kept waiting for my parents' doctors to tell them they have Alzheimer's or some other form of dementia, as it is obvious to everyone around them...and then inform us kids, who share the POA, about what is going on. I'm not clear on why a doctor would not share this with the family if the patient(s) clearly have dementia in the more "functional" stages. We ended up committing our parents when their community got exasperated with their independent living situation, and they are not in a nursing home together STILL their docs will not share this info with us directly, however. We are not told of my parents' appointments by the nursing home and find out after they have occurred.
my grandmother is in stage 7, it is very painful all you can do is be patient and touch and reassure them. It is very sad and she cries out repeatedly and occasionally says a word we recognize.
My father has Alzhaimers, it's the saddest thing ever. In my country there is no community support, doctors don't know anything about the disease,, there are no places where the sick person or the relatives can get help. Me and my mother deal with this all alone and there is no help. We are in deep depression because of that. I'm from Bulgaria, Europe. What can we do?
Make sure that your loved one actually has Alzheimers disease. (I used to be an RN and my last 5 years working as such, I was in elder care.) Some other medical conditions or diseases, such as neurovascular incidents and high blood pressure, as well as some meds can cause conditions that "look" like Alzheimers. Some doctors may even misdiagnose.... I'd suggest, anybody concerned with this should take their loved one to a well experienced geriatrician, instead of their GP.
Joan, This new behavior could be caused by his medication. Is his doctor aware of the nite walking? If not, get him to the doctor ASAP since there are effective medications available that may help. So YES, it is something to be concerned about but does not necessarily indicate that the Alzheimer's is advancing. Also, if his doctor is not experienced treating Alzheimer's and not up on the latest advances, you should consider changing doctors. Many advances in treatment and medications have been made in the last 2 years and General Practitioners do not always stay current unless they have a lot of elderly patients who have dementia or Alzheimer's.
I just finished a nite without sleep due to my husband's condition as he stayed up from 7:30 a.m. Yesterday until 5:30 a.m. today. I believe we are into stage 6 from what I read. When he finally crashed in his lazyboy chair he began to twitch all over ---is this somthing to be concerned about. This is the longest he has stayed up and he spent most of the nite walking or I should say staggering around the house.
Good news for early-onset/ younger-onset Alzheimer's patients: The Social Security Administration (SSA) has added early-onset/ younger-onset Alzheimer's to the list of conditions under its Compassionate Allowance Initiative. Years in the making, this important advocacy victory will give people with early-onset/younger-onset Alzheimer's expedited access to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), meaning claims filed under this initiative will be decided within days instead of months or years. ---Alzheimer's Association Newsletter
98 Comments
First Oldest
First
The Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease
my Mom is now 75, onset with Alz, we think around 2000. She now has severe Alz, but getting her back a bit from what we thought was just another stage has been "successful". From 2006 to 2008, her Alz progressed to the classic paranoia, hoarding, shadowing my Dad, sun downing, then incontinence and lack of grooming and socializing. Improper diet and hygiene were major contributors.
In 2008 and again in 2009, respite care identified a UTI and with meds and healthy diet, brought her back a bit, but she lost much mental capacity with each episode. I guess at this time she might have been classified as stage 5 or 6.
In late 2010, she was on 3 meds, risperdone, razadyne and the problem med.... depakote, the seizure med which she started in Fall 2009. My Dad passed in April 2010 and in late 2010, Mom had become very despondent and was literally falling asleep in her breakfast. we thought it was just another stage. but after some research, I asked neurologist to make a change, take her off of depakote. he said well if she has a seizure, don't blame me. he then decided to change depakote to Lamotrigine which also contains an anti-depressant. the next 60-day visit, he was amazed at the difference in her personality. mentally, she has been fairly stable, still knows us, likes visits, music, chatting. however, physically, she is now total care. she still lives in her home with a live-in care giver and under hospice care. the one-on-one care is certainly great, but she is still declining. we just live each day to be sure she is happy and comfortable. some days she is so very coherent and others, she just seems to not want to be bothered. I finally stopped trying to figure it out. when she is up, we exchange our "I love you's", when she is down, I say, Mom, you know I would do anything for you and she says I know, you always do. I know, I can't ask for more than that.
best wishes to you. I suppose I want to suggest that you not worry so much about guessing and planning on the timing of stages. I know it drove me nuts! if you are able to handle the meds, diet and hygiene, that is the best you can do. you cannot control the disease. just try to eliminate other factors are not compounding it. and be sure she is safe and comfortable. that is my 2 cents worth.
This is an excellent and helpful article. It just shouldn't be applied beyond the scope of its title.
Prior to her passing , I told staff at her nursing home that in the event she contracted pneumonia I did not want it treated.. They did not treat the pneumonia and they allowed me to stay in her room with her as they administered a morphine drug to help her with the pain. My wife was in a Catholic nursing home and it might surprise some that my wishes were followed. As I indicated previouisly, my wife was bedridden for a few years and the quality of life was gone. I found the time my daughter and I spent with her prior to her death to be quite spiritual.
It was a long struggle, but my wife died with dignity surronded by those she loved.
And last but not least - I send this out one more time , hoping it will help -
What a Person With Alzheimer's Would Say -
Do not ask me to remember.
Don't try to make me understand.
Let me rest and know you're with me.
Kiss my cheek and hold my hand.
I'm confused beyond your concept.
I am sad and sick and lost.
All I know is that I need you
To be with me at all cost.
Do not lose your patience with me.
Do not scold or curse or cry.
I can't help the way I'm acting,
Can't be different though I try.
Just remember that I need you,
That the best of me is gone.
Please don't fail to stand beside me,
Love me til my life is done.
- Author Unknown -
I know this sounds really terrible but how does anyone know about how long he will have to suffer with this? I take care of him MYSELF no help at home and some days are really bad, but I really look at him and hope he will soon stop suffering with this. Does this sound bad on my part?
My mother's neurologist classifies Alzheimer's in 4 quartiles. When a person hits the last quartile the decline takes on a rapid descent much like jumping off a cliff. That's where my mother is now. I, of course, am stressed out and kind of a wreck.
I do want to offer my experience, as in hindsight, I feel I should have been more pushy. 5 yrs ago, Mom had discussed her memory problems, but would not seek help. During the next year, she stopped eating healthy, often cancelled social and family functions, and eventually became incontinent. She was very coherent and stubborn enough to object to our advice and deny problems. We started taking meals over and tried all the "tricks" to get her care. Two years ago, she was rushed to the hospital after collapsing. After a week of testing, found she had a severe UTI and virtually no iron in her blood. Once home, she was never the same and has steadily deteriorated. I believe that her lousy diet was a major contributing factor to the acceleration of her illness as well as inactivity and lack social interaction. But who knows? I am simply baffled that at 74, she is so impaired. She truly has always been such a great Mom. I think I'll enjoy the good moments now while I can. Best wishes to all of you and thanks for your advice.
Now, spend some time visiting her (she might come home, after all!) and taking some time to regather your own strength.
The more they (ubiquitous they) try to slice up progressive steps of an ailment poorly understood, the more they get it wrong.
I personally believe that Alzheimers has a link to additives in food and lack of nutrients from food. In the USA the soil is so badly depleted even organically grown food lacks the nutrition is had 100 years ago.
Make sure that your loved one actually has Alzheimers disease. (I used to be an RN and my last 5 years working as such, I was in elder care.) Some other medical conditions or diseases, such as neurovascular incidents and high blood pressure, as well as some meds can cause conditions that "look" like Alzheimers. Some doctors may even misdiagnose.... I'd suggest, anybody concerned with this should take their loved one to a well experienced geriatrician, instead of their GP.
This new behavior could be caused by his medication. Is his doctor aware of the nite walking? If not, get him to the doctor ASAP since there are effective medications available that may help. So YES, it is something to be concerned about but does not necessarily indicate that the Alzheimer's is advancing. Also, if his doctor is not experienced treating Alzheimer's and not up on the latest advances, you should consider changing doctors. Many advances in treatment and medications have been made in the last 2 years and General Practitioners do not always stay current unless they have a lot of elderly patients who have dementia or Alzheimer's.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has added early-onset/ younger-onset Alzheimer's to the list of conditions under its Compassionate Allowance Initiative. Years in the making, this important advocacy victory will give people with early-onset/younger-onset Alzheimer's expedited access to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), meaning claims filed under this initiative will be decided within days instead of months or years.
---Alzheimer's Association Newsletter