My mom has early stages Alzheimer's, do we tell her?

If she is able to pay bills, she is still the very early stages. Learn more about dementia, it will get nuch worse. Time to make sure she has all the necessary documents in place while she can still make these decisions. My mom now late stages started having trouble with bills about fifteen years ago. She is about to turn 90 now, is in memory care, and declining very rapidly.

I would take her to her doctor so he can examine her. Sometimes confusion can be caused by infections, diseases, etc. He probably will send her to a neurologist to confirm that she has dementia and what stage she's in. If she has dementia, I would tell her because there may be things that she would want to get in order before her mind gets worse. As bad as it is, I would want to know so I could plan my future.

Early on, I kept thinking the more people told my mom she had dementia, the more she might remember or believe it. What you should know is that many individuals with dementia can't recognize their condition. It's call anosognosia -- and knowing that helped me make more sense of mom and her swings between "my brain is bad" through "Why are you telling the doctor I had a stroke?" After this, I decided I would always tell my mom everything once so we could discuss it, she could ask questions, and vent her anger. Then I never brought it up again.

If she is aware at this point then yes tell her. This will give her a great way to help you plan for what is to come.
Consult with an Elder Care Lawyer, get POA's in place for Finances, Health Care and she should probably sign a P.O.L.S.T that is the "new" DNR. P.O.L.S.T. stands for Physicians Order For Life Sustaining Treatment and it is more detailed than a DNR.
She will forget that she said that she does not want to burden you with her care and when she can no longer care for herself that she will be willing to go into Living or Memory Care. but the fact that you talked about it when she is aware will help you in the decision when the time comes. Or if she knows what is to come she may be willing to look at Assisted Living now.
But it will also give you a greater amount of time for her to plan for possibility of going on Medicaid. There is a "look back" but planning now can help.
Another reason...enjoy each other now. The Mom you have now is not the Mom you will have in 6 months, 12 months or 2 years from now.

If your mom is independent and still fairly aware of her surroundings and obligations, I truly believe she should be in on any medical conditions she may have. When my mom stopped driving and I started taking her to the doctor, I would go in with her after her exams and anything the doctor said, she was privy to. We go to the same doctor, so on occasion, I would speak with her about my mom, but for whatever reason was never alerted that mom was in the early stages of dementia. Mom was always so dramatic, negative and moody, it was difficult to know if there was a "condition" or just a mood to blame. I know if it were me, I would not want any secrets kept from me. If you decide to tell her, keep the conversation positive and tell her you'll be there for her. If you don't know the answer to a question, ask her doctor. Good luck.

Eibhlin My Late Mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2013. I felt Heart broken for Mam as I knew She would never enjoy that great quality Life which She had. I phoned Kathleen My first Cousin and best Friend, and I asked should I tell Mother of Her diagnosis ? The answer was NO stating that Mother is in Her own little World and She's happy there, let Her be and do not upset Her. Three years after Mam had been diagnosed at the ripe age of 87 years Our beautiful Mother passed away suddenly but so peacefully and with out pain. Mam's Heart just stopped beating. I'm so glad I asked Kathleen that Question, and that I did not break Mothers Heart.
Good Luck Eibhlin, this is Your time to make new and beautiful memories with Your Mom.

I would say yes to telling her. Make it gentle and supportive. This way she can plan for it. So often as it progresses most people with Alzheimer's are not able to see their limitations and it makes keeping them safe more difficult. If you can help her to accept it know and put safety measures in place over time, the transition will be smoother because she will be calling the shots by planning instead of you struggle through when she might not be able to decide.

She knows. Since it will progress, just keep an eye on her.

Chances are your Mom already knows that her memory isn't as sharp as it once way. My Dad has dementia and he will complain he can't remember certain things and I would tell him that I am also having the same problem, that happens when we get older... it's just that we have learned so much in life time and the brain's filing cabinets are full so it just take much longer to find the information. Dad was happy with this.

How is your Mom's eyesight? Sometimes our elder's eyesight isn't the best, and that can also confuse them especially if out traveling in areas that are not traveled by them on a regular basis.

She has glasses sight fine she probably midstage its such awful disease