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Alzheimer’s disease is an illness of the brain. It causes large numbers of nerve cells in the brain to die. This affects a person’s ability to remember things and think clearly. People with Alzheimer’s become forgetful and easily confused and may have a hard time concentrating. They may have trouble taking care of themselves and doing basic things like making meals, bathing, and getting dressed.
Alzheimer’s varies from person to person. It can progress faster in some people than in others, and not everyone will have the same symptoms. In general, though, Alzheimer’s takes many years to develop, becoming increasingly severe over time. As the disease gets worse, people need more help. Eventually, they require total care.
Alzheimer's disease consists of three main stages: mild (sometimes called early-stage), moderate, and severe (sometimes called late-stage). Understanding these stages can help you care for your loved one and plan ahead.
You can help family and friends understand how to interact with the person who has Alzheimer’s.
There is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, so the chief goals of treatment are to:
TRY TO TALK SLOWLY AND CLEARLY.IF HE/SHE DON'T REMEMBER THINGS FROM THE PAST,TRY TO ASK ABOUT HERSELF AND ALL THE PEOPLE AROUND HER.WHEN IT COMES TO MEDICINE USE EXELON PATCH TO DECREASE HER ALZHIEMER..IT'S THE BEST PATCH FOR OLD PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM THAT KIND OF DISEASE.
Alzheimer's disease is an illness of the brain. It causes large numbers of nerve cells in the brain to die. This affects a person's ability to remember things and think clearly. People with AD become forgetful and easily confused. They may have a hard time concentrating and behave in odd ways. These problems get worse as the illness gets worse, making your job as caregiver harder.
It's important to remember that the disease, not the person with AD, causes these changes. Also, each person with AD may not have all the problems we talk about in this book.
he following sections describe the three main challenges that you may face as you care for someone with AD:
"Talking with Dad is hard. Often, I don't understand what he is trying to say or what he wants. We both get pretty frustrated sometimes."
Communication is hard for people with AD because they have trouble remembering things. They may struggle to find words or forget what they want to say. You may feel impatient and wish they could just say what they want, but they can't. It may help you to know more about common communication problems caused by AD. Once you know more, you'll have a better sense of how to cope.
Here are some communication problems caused by AD:
The first step is to understand that the disease causes changes in these skills. The second step is to try some tips that may make communication easier. For example, keep the following suggestions in mind as you go about day-to-day care.
To connect with a person who has AD:
"Every few months I sense that another piece of me is missing. My life… my self… are falling apart. I can only think half-thoughts now. Someday I may wake up and not think at all."— From "The Loss of Self"
To encourage the person with AD to communicate with you:
To speak effectively with a person who has AD:
Here are some examples of what you can say:
You also can:
AD is being diagnosed at earlier stages. This means that many people are aware of how the disease is affecting their memory. Here are tips on how to help someone who knows that he or she has memory problems:
Also, you may notice that the person stops caring about how he or she looks, stops bathing, and wants to wear the same clothes every day.
You may see changes in behavior that the disease didn't cause. For example, certain medicines, severe pain, poor eyesight or hearing, and fatigue can cause behavior changes. If you don’t know what is causing the problem, call the doctor.
In addition to changes in the brain, the following things may affect how people with AD behave.
How they feel:
"I finally figured out that it's me who has to change. I can't expect my husband to change because of the disease."
Here are some ways to cope with changes in personality and behavior:
Use distractions:
Other ideas:
See Medicines to treat behavior problems related to AD for more information about these problems and some medicines that may help.
"I'm exhausted. I can't sleep because I have to watch out for my wife. She wanders around the house, takes out all kinds of stuff from the kitchen. I don't know what she's going to do."
Evenings are hard for many people with AD. Some may become restless or irritable around dinnertime. This restlessness is called "sundowning." It may even be hard to get the person to go to bed and stay there.
Here are some tips that may help:
As the disease progresses, the person with AD may have hallucinations. During a hallucination, a person sees, hears, smells, tastes, or feels something that isn't there. For example, the person may see his or her dead mother in the room. He or she also may have delusions. Delusions are false beliefs that the person thinks are real. For example, the person may think his or her spouse is in love with someone else.
Here are some things you can do:
Someone with AD may have a good reason for acting a certain way. He or she may not be paranoid. There are people who take advantage of weak and elderly people. Find out if someone is trying to abuse or steal from the person with AD.
Paranoia is a type of delusion in which a person may believe—without a good reason—that others are mean, lying, unfair, or "out to get him or her." He or she may become suspicious, fearful, or jealous of people.
In a person with AD, paranoia often is linked to memory loss. It can become worse as memory loss gets worse. For example, the person may become paranoid if he or she forgets:
Paranoia may be the person's way of expressing loss. The person may blame or accuse others because no other explanation seems to make sense.
Here are some tips for dealing with paranoia:
Intimacy is the special bond we share with a person we love and respect. It includes the way we talk and act toward one another. This bond can exist between spouses or partners, family members, and friends. AD often changes the intimacy between people.
Sexuality is one type of intimacy. It is an important way that spouses or partners express their feelings physically for one another.
AD can cause changes in intimacy and sexuality in both the person with AD and the caregiver. The person with AD may be stressed by the changes in his or her memory and behaviors. Fear, worry, depression, anger, and low self-esteem (how much the person likes himself or herself) are common. The person may become dependent and cling to you. He or she may not remember your life together and feelings toward one another. Sometimes the person may even fall in love with someone else.
You, the caregiver, may pull away from the person in both an emotional and physical sense. You may feel be upset by the demands of caregiving. You also may feel frustrated by the person's constant forgetfulness, repeated questions, and other bothersome behaviors.
Most caregivers learn how to cope with these challenges, but it takes time. Some learn to live with the illness and find new meaning in their relationships with people who have AD.
Remember that most people with AD need to feel that someone loves and cares about them. They also need to spend time with other people as well as you. Your efforts to take care of these needs can help the person with AD to feel happy and safe.
It's important to reassure the person that:
When intimacy changes, the following tips may help you cope with your own needs:
"We've shared the same bed for 38 years. But since he's had Alzheimer's, it doesn't feel right to have sex."
The well spouse/partner or the person with AD may lose interest in having sex. This change can make you feel lonely or frustrated. Here are some possible reasons for changes in sexual interest.
The well spouse/partner may feel that:
A person with AD may have:
Sometimes, people with AD are overly interested in sex. This is called "hypersexuality." The person may masturbate a lot and try to seduce others. These behaviors are symptoms of the disease and don't always mean that the person wants to have sex.
To cope with hypersexuality, try giving the person more attention and reassurance. You might gently touch, hug, or use other kinds of affection to meet his or her emotional needs. Some people with this problem need medicine to control their behaviors. Talk to the doctor about what steps to take.
Here are some suggestions for coping with changes in sexuality:
How can I deal a person with alzhiemers...just be calm and recall to ur client about his/her condition..
Alzheimer disease is generative that is irreversible.A calm predictable environment help people with Alzheimer disease interpret their surrounding and activities.Environmental stimuli is limited and a regular routine is establish.A quiet,pleasant manner of speaking , clean and simple explanation.The use ofvmemory aids and clues help minimize confusion and disorientation and give the patient sense of security.
Alzheimer's Disease is a chronic progressive degenerative condition that is prevalent on the elderly population in which there is a decline in cognitive and mental function. I would say that the disease itself has no cure,but there are ways to manage this condition or slow the progression of the disease. Medications (e.g Tacrine HCL) used to improve the patient's memory, supportive nursing management and enhancement of functional skills are some of the examples on how to manage this health condition
patient having alzhiemers desease is not an easy condition especially old. patient loss thier memories.as a caregiver i can help or deal with them by showing old pictures or activities that reminds them.introducing thier relatives and families that somehow part of patients life.i should always look aftr the patient for thier mind is nowhere to go they might do things that can harm themself especially picking sharp objects..in addition to it try to talk to the patient always and be with them anytime to assist them with thier needs.
Ask to communicate with a care giver.
Alzhiemers Disease in simple words is forgetfulness which is caused due to loss of cholinergic neurons in the brian..which gets worsen by time. But it can be treated Pharmacologically and Non Pharmacologically.
I would advice the patients both about Pharmacological treatment such as Antipsychotic drugs and Choline esterase Inhibitors like Donepezil (Aricept) and other drugs like Memantine, antidepressants and Anticonvulsants.
Non Pharmacological treatment such as behavioural and Enviornmental interventions. and lifestyle changes would work.