10 Warning Signs and Real Life Examples of Alzheimer's Disease

Ten Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease. Copyright 2003. Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.alz.org
Below are the 10 warning signs of Alzheimer's disease, followed by my experiences caring for my mother-in-law, Billie. If someone you know has more than one of these symptoms, the Alzheimer's Association recommends a visit to a physician.

1. Memory Loss

It’s normal to occasionally forget names, dates, places. Most people remember them later. A person with Alzheimer’s disease may forget often, and never remember later.

Real Life Example: In the early stages of Alzheimer’s, Billie forgot where we were going, where to meet, or what planned activity was next.

Mid-way through the disease, she answered the telephone and told the caller to “hold on.” Then, she wandered the house while holding the phone. Minutes later, she rediscovered the phone in her hand and disconnected.

In late-stage Alzheimer’s, Billie’s memory span decreased to 5-10 seconds. She was surprised to see the person she spoke to seconds earlier.

2. Difficulty Performing Familiar Tasks

Busy people can be distracted from time to time. They may leave vegetables cooking on the stove and only remember to serve them at the end of the meal. People with Alzheimer’s could prepare a meal and not only forget to serve it, but also forget they made it.

Real Life Example: Billie would mix edibles and non-edibles when preparing food. The scariest combination was a sandwich made with pumice soap and peanut butter.

3. Problems with Language

Everyone has trouble finding the right word sometimes, but a person with Alzheimer’s may forget simple words or substitute inappropriate words, making his or her sentence incomprehensible.

Real Life Example: Mixed up words. Early in the disease, Billie recognized that she used the wrong words. She would say, “Oh, don’t listen to me, I’m crazy.” Later, like-sounding words were confused. For example, “roof” became “Ruth” to Billie. She would say, “roofs? Is he talking about my sister, Ruth?”

Eventually, Billie stopped correcting herself and was unaware of inappropriate conversations.

4. Disorientation of Time and Place

It’s normal to forget the day of the week or your destination for a moment. But people with Alzheimer’s can become lost on their own street — not knowing where they are, how they got there, or how to get back home.

Real Life Example: Billie would ask, “Where are we? Where are we going?” dozens of times on a short trip across town. Once when she asked, “Where are we?”
I replied, “St. Petersburg, Florida.”
She smiled at me and said, “It’s easy to see things once you know where you are.”

5. Poor, or Decreased Judgement

People can become so immersed in an activity that they temporarily forget the child they’re watching. But people with Alzheimer’s can completely forget a child under their care.

Real Life Example: Billie would insist on wearing a shirt + sweatshirt + jacket on hot days, or a T-shirt and no jacket on cold days.

Once in cool weather, she wore just a nightshirt to dinner at our house. We couldn't convince her to wear more/different clothing without upsetting her and putting the entire evening at risk.

6. Problems with Abstract Thinking

Balancing a checkbook could be disconcerting for anyone when the task is more complicated than usual. Someone with Alzheimer’s may forget what numbers are, and what needs to be done with them.

Real Life Example: Billie would randomly dial numbers on the phone, or answer it when it didn’t ring.

She wrote nonsensical messages in odd places. She wrote "where's my car" on the outside of an art case. Another time, when Billie said she wanted to leave a note for someone, she scribbled across the top of a newspaper, “We are here and we’ll be back” then threw the newspaper in a wastebasket.

7. Misplacing Things

Anyone can temporarily misplace a wallet or keys. A person with Alzheimer’s may put things in inappropriate places: an iron in the freezer or a wristwatch in the sugar bowl.

Real Life Example: One of our biggest challenges was putting away groceries. By the time we unloaded the car, Billie would have the ice cream on the back porch and cereal in the bedroom.

We learned to keep her busy carrying one small item at a time from the car to the house while I quickly put groceries away.

A “Missing in Action” list was posted on the fridge for items we hoped to find. We learned not to leave anything valuable unattended because not only was Billie good at hiding items, she was fast about taking them.

8. Changes in Mood or Behavior

Everyone becomes sad or moody from time to time. Someone with Alzheimer’s can exhibit rapid mood swings—from calm to tears to anger—for no apparent reason.

Real Life Example: Billie was sad every afternoon and evening. Often, she experienced intense grief for her long ago deceased parents. It took concentrated efforts to distract Billie into a new thought or to cheer her.

9. Changes in Personality

People’s personalities ordinarily change somewhat with age. But a person with Alzheimer’s can change drastically, becoming extremely confused, suspicious or fearful.

Real Life Example: Billie experienced confusion, anxiety and intense fear. She would wake in the middle of the night and mistake my father-in-law for a stranger. She would leave the house and frantically knock on a neighbor's door. Billie's fear was real. Kind neighbors escorted her home, checked the house, and woke my father-in-law who didn't know Billie left the house at 2 am.

10. Loss of Initiative

It’s normal to tire of housework, business activities or social obligations, but most people regain their initiative. The person with Alzheimer’s may become very passive and require cues and prompting to become involved.

Real Life Example: Billie wandered aimlessly as she searched for a familiar activity. She would say, “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. No one tells me what to do.”

When she didn’t find something to occupy her, Billie would sleep. She would take three or four naps a day, more if she felt sad. This was terrible because it disturbed her nighttime sleep patterns.
Ten Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease. Copyright 2003. Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.alz.org
A checklist of ten common symptoms, developed by the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association, can help you recognize signs of Alzheimer’s Disease. If someone you know has more than one of these symptoms, the Association recommends a visit to a physician.  Download the Alzheimer's Association 10 Warning Signs Checklist.