THIS POST WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN 2016 BUT WAS UPDATED ON 6/21/2021
Today, I have a treat for everyone. I am welcoming the beautiful and talented Erica Silva to The Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver. Please give her a warm welcome!
I am a Freelance writer by day, and a sports fan by night. I write about beauty and health-related issues (but not at the same time). I live simply, give generously, watch football, and a technology lover. Find me on Twitter @ericadsilva1
Like any other disease, an early diagnosis of dementia can make a great difference in finding the best available support systems, making the right choices for treatment, and making decisions for the future.
An early diagnosis can also help in verifying the underlying causes of dementia. Some of the factors that lead to dementia are treatable, and their reversal can have a very positive impact on the person with the condition. These factors include vitamin deficiencies, medicinal side effects, or certain types of brain tumors.
Dementia damages brain cells and impacts their ability to communicate with each other, making daily tasks appear complicated and challenging.
The latest research indicates that women have a one in six chance of developing the condition, compared with a one in 11 chance for men. Scientists are in the process of investigating further, looking at the varying gender-specific or environmental risk facts that influence the condition in women more often.
However, missing appointments a couple of times, or forgetting a phone number does not necessarily point towards dementia. But in situations where one or more of the core brain functions – such as memory, communication, and language, the ability to focus and pay attention, reasoning, and judgment or visual perception – are impaired, a doctor should be consulted immediately.
Following are some of the major signs of dementia in elderly women that can help diagnose the condition early.
Memory loss that affects day-to-day functions
The most common sign of dementia is memory loss. Forgetting recently learned information including important events, dates, names of loved ones, routes that were taken routinely, repeating the same questions, and relying on family or memory aids such as electronic devices or notes to remember day-to-day tasks are some telling signs and should be paid attention to.
Disorientation to time or place
Forgetting the date or the day of the week every once in a while is normal and happens with everyone, but people with dementia often lose track of time and place. They have difficulty understanding the passage of time or seasons. They tend to forget dates or days frequently, and where they are or how they got there. It is normal to see a patient complain about how long they’ve been left alone when the caregiver might have returned within minutes.
Trouble completing familiar tasks
People with dementia have a hard time completing familiar tasks like remembering the rules of their favorite game, driving to a familiar location or counting cash. Often, they may forget to serve part of the meal, or fail to remember a recipe that was their specialty.
Challenges in planning, solving problems, and misplacing things
People with dementia have difficulty planning or keeping track of phone numbers, cash, or monthly bills. They will also take a much longer time to concentrate and focus on things they used to do frequently before. Since people with the condition become forgetful, they keep misplacing their personal items, keeping them in inappropriate places.
Difficulty in speaking, writing, and visual perception
People with the condition will often find it hard to communicate effectively. They will lose track of a conversation, stop in mid-sentence or repeat themselves over and over again. They will also frequently use the wrong words to describe situations, objects or call people the wrong names. The condition also impairs their visual perception and the ability to judge distances. Often, while crossing a mirror a person with dementia would think someone else is in the room.
Changes in personality
Dementia first brings subtle and then very obvious changes in people. An individual, who was always outgoing, social and very confident, may withdraw from social gatherings or lose interest in previously pursued hobbies. People with the illness find it challenging to follow their favorite sports team, or complete a previously enjoyed work project. They pull themselves back socially mostly because of the changes they are experiencing.
Conclusion:
Research is bringing to light new behavior patterns found in patients with various types of dementia, such as not being able to pick up on sarcasm, or failing to tell when someone is lying. Tripping frequently over their own two feet, or an utter disregard for social norms are also important signs that could mean an impending diagnosis.
Dementia can affect all aspects of a person’s life as well as her loved ones. Even if it is suspected that an elderly person might have the disease, the news may still come as a shock. People with the condition are encouraged to engage in activities that make them feel good and stay independent for as long as possible.
Eventually, a person with a dementing illness will require help from family and friends to cope up. Dementia gradually worsens with time, but its progression depends on the overall health of the person, and the type of dementia.
Thanks so much, Erica! I really appreciate it. You provided a lot of useful information, plus you are a football fan I love you already haha!
You make some legitimate points and I found it interesting what you said regarding the inability to pick up on sarcasm and failing to tell if someone is lying. It is the same as a young child which, of course, makes perfect sense. Thank you for posting this to give us the warning signs.
Thank you Carol for your constant support. It is very much appreciated.
Thank you. Can’t see well so please pardon typos. Live alone but think I have early onset and am in trouble bc only have Humana Medicare equals nobody cares equals not working anymore so should be dead already I guess. Seems to me as I’m too poor to eat but not welfare quality bc I worked and earned a home and car I can’t afford to keep up and eat. I’m in trouble. Thanks for info as why I can’t remember how to do it all and why I just cry, appreciate the info. But there’s no help for me like my medical problems I guess. PCP who doesn’t refer me to help. This is how it works. Thanks again as I know not a nervous brake down.
Crystal, I was very touched by your comments and would like to try and and get you some help in some way. I am in no way a professional, but I would like to try. I’d like to give you my email it is Rena@thediaryofanalzheimerscaregiver.com and I would also like to invite you to join “The Caregivers Corner” a private Facebook group where you can talk to others who may be able to offer solutions. On my site it is in the top right hand next to the title area. Please reach out to me through email and let’s see what we can come up with. You are not alone…at least not anymore.
Thank you Erica and Rena, for this very important post. I’ll be sharing!
Thanks Lana!
There’s so much info out there that it’s good to have a simple list like this. of course, being retired I am sometimes not oriented to time, which can be rather funny. As in, “what day of the week is this?” LOL
So true Carol! I go through the same things on a daily basis!
As always, Rena, an informative post. So glad I got to hear Erica’s voice.
Thanks so much Karen!
Thank you so much for the great info, both of you Rena and Erica! I’m sure it will be a great help for anybody concerned. Keep up the good work. xx Abby
Thanks Abby!
Great post, I tweeted it out there. And Rena, let me know if I can help with Crystal in any way. You know how to find me!
Will do Cathy! Thanks so much!
It’s funny. I was working on a post of my own and somehow your name popped into my head. And I thought to myself that I lost touch with you and I don’t know why. You know what I think of you -AWESOME, GREAT, STUPENDOUS, COMPASSIONATE. Well you get the idea. So I came over here to see how you are and poof! Another fantastic post.
My FIL is struggling with dementia it’s so hard to see. So glad to know you.
I’ve missed you too Cathy! Where have you been hiding lately!
Yup my mom is having a lot of memory issues, but fortunately (according to your list) she is not too far into dementia. Thank you for sharing!
It should be stated that not recognizing sarcasm is only a sign when the person was previously able to. Many people never could.
And never ever use written sarcasm as a test; many more people Can’t. (I had to give up writing satire because only a certain audience got it. Yet in the pre-Internet days it was considered to be my best writing.)
Now I can monitor my parents. Thanks to this blog I can see the symptoms first before its too late.
A home maintenance professional, whether in the home itself or in the garden, means that those time consuming “must do” jobs are completed for you, leaving you more time for the better things in life.
In-home services allow adults to receive day-to-day help with the personal care they need, preserving their dignity and maintaining a good quality of life. Assistance with activities of daily living can include bathing, grooming, and medication reminders.
expansions or room additions can allow you to roam through your castle as freely as a lion struts through the jungle. Suddenly, you have extra space to entertain guests or just hang out, improving the feng shui of your home. Plus, add-ons, such as screened-in porches or sunrooms, can allow you to enjoy the sunshine without getting blasted by a summer wind or the winter chill.
Home care means that you or your loved one will receive care in the familiar surroundings of your own home. This could be hourly visiting care for a couple of hours a week, or it could be a more intensive level of live-in care, where a carer will be there around the clock.
The most important aspect of care in your own home is the fact that you or your loved one will be surrounded by their own comforts, their own bed, their favourite mug, the neighbours they’ve known for years. This especially helps with progressive conditions that affect the memory such as dementia.
Loving a loved one can be difficult. I lost my dad and I’m losing my mother. Visits and prayers are always on the top of my list.