Alzheimer's disease is a brain disease that affects memory. Alzheimer's is a progressive disease, which means it gets worse over time. Changes in behavior and thinking processes also present themselves at various stages of the disease process. Recognizing the symptoms of early onset Alzheimer's helps many individuals to actively participate in their future care.
Definition of Early Onset Alzheimer's
Early onset Alzheimer's is defined as the disease process that becomes apparent in individuals under about 65 years of age. Many people mistakenly believe that Alzheimer's is only an "old person's disease," but some individuals in their 40s and 50s have been diagnosed. Early-onset Alzheimer's affects different people in different ways, which makes it very difficult for a physician to diagnose early. Symptoms may appear and then disappear, only to reappear again at a later point in time. Early stage or early onset Alzheimer's is the point at which an individual may first begin to experience difficulties with concentration and memory.
Early Symptoms
By the time an individual recognizes signs of trouble, the disease process is already well under way. Note that early symptoms don't signify the beginning of the disease process, but are only the first signs that are observed. It may take years before such signs are recognized by an individual or loved ones. One of the first symptoms of the disease is difficulty concentrating or remembering basic tasks such as balancing a checkbook, chores and remembering names of friends or colleagues. Other early symptoms include more frequent episodes of such forgetting.
Good Days and Bad Days
A person experiencing early onset Alzheimer's may have good days, followed by bad days. Erratic memory often causes an individual to forget to pay the bills, their favorite recipe, or where things are kept or stored. Recent memory impairment is almost always present, such as forgetting that you just told a story or asked someone to do something. Additional symptoms at this stage may also include difficulty remembering words for common objects, as well as episodes of disorientation where an individual might forget what store he or she is in, get home, and even experience poor judgment.
Changes in Personality
Early onset Alzheimer's also brings with it non-cognitive difficulties, such as personality changes, loss of senses like smell and reduced coordination, making it potentially difficult to tie shoes, wash dishes or brush one's teeth. At this stage, some individuals experience alarming changes in thought process such as delusional thinking, where a person suffering from early onset Alzheimer's may believe that spouses or other family members are plotting against them, purposely making things more difficult, or setting him or her up to fail.
Communication
A person suffering from early onset Alzheimer's may also experience difficulty in communicating with loved ones and family members. Language mechanics suffer and sometimes, people forget the names of common objects found in the house or at work. Remembering names becomes increasingly difficult, as does concentrating on conversations. In many cases, individuals suffering from such symptoms withdraw from social interactions and increasingly resort to silence, because they are embarrassed by the confusing changes taking place in the world around them and their inability to communicate feelings, emotions and fears.
Emotional Changes
A person suffering from early onset Alzheimer's may also undergo some emotional changes and express fear, anger, or frustration toward other family members and friends. In most cases, this is caused by an increasing sense of isolation and depression with the changes in their abilities. Many people feel an enormous sense of loss and continue to retreat into themselves.
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