Many of the signs of early Alzheimer’s can be attributed to a host of other physical and mental disorders. Here are some common signs of dementia (an umbrella term for Alzheimer’s and other memory loss diseases) and what else can cause these symptoms.
Memory loss – Forgetting important information like birthdays and anniversaries of close relatives that you once knew. Forgetting the home address or remembering an old address instead. What can also cause this? Urinary tract infections (UTI), medication and depression.
Financial challenges – If you hear that the electric bill never came that is why the lights were turned off, that is a big concern. If overdrafts happen that never, ever happened before that is also a concern. Financial challenges are one of the first signs of dementia. What can also cause this: vision problems.
Following directions – This includes driving directions, board or card games, crafts, recipes that kind of thing. It is a sure tell-tale sign if it is something you have done from memory and now have no idea how to do it. What can also cause this? UTI’s, medication, depression, distraction due to a life challenge (like widowhood) and vision problems.
Confusing time and place – Confusing morning and afternoon is a sign. While forgetting the day of the week may not be a sign of dementia, especially if you are retired and each day seems the same. What else can cause this? Medication, UTI, acute illness like flu or Covid and stroke.
Word Finding – Everyone forgets a word now and then. If it seems to get worse or they point to a stove and say washing machine, be concerned. What else can cause this? Medication (especially opioids and nerve paid meds), depression.
Misplacing items often – We all misplace things (I spend several minutes a day looking for my phone) but usually we are able to ask where we have been and are able to locate our item. When you see car keys in the refrigerator or eye glasses under the kitchen sink, you should be concerned. What else can cause this? UTI, medication, poor eyesight, depression, distraction due to a life challenge.
Social withdrawal – If a usually talkative person seems to be not participating in conversations, it could be dementia. If a bright person has no idea what a news article was about, be concerned. What else can cause this? Hearing loss, vision loss (yes I cannot hear well without glasses), medications and depression.
Mood changes – If someone is confused, suspicious of people they should trust, or seem very uncomfortable in a new setting like a restaurant or irritated easily there is reason for concern. What else can cause this? Depression, UTI, hearing loss (not understand what is really being said).
Many things can look like Alzheimer’s but are not. If we looked at this list in the days and weeks after a death, most widows or widowers would be suspected of having dementia. Conversely, I have seen people who clearly have dementia and their family has a million excuses for why their symptoms are eight other things other than Alzheimer’s.
So how do you know? First look at the person’s social, mental and medical condition. Have they started a new medicine, has someone close to them died, are they not hearing you? If there is a newly prescribed medicine or hearing loss, take action and make an appointment to find out more. Do not assume.
Once you take an inventory of what could be wrong and you do not see anything obvious, the next step is to visit the person’s primary care physician or nurse practitioner. Tell the health care provider what you are seeing and what is abnormal. People with dementia, especially very bright people, are good at covering up their dementia to a point. Since there is no definitive test for Alzheimer’s or most other dementias, the best thing to do is rule out everything else.
Since early intervention can make a difference in treatment of Alzheimer’s do not delay in seeing a doctor. Early diagnosis can also help with legal issues so the person can still weigh in on future medical intervention and wills, trusts, etc. Putting your head in the sand and ignoring it does not make the problem go away, it just makes it harder to deal with when the dementia is in its advanced stages.