Discovering Alzheimer's Disease
Learn about the signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, as well as tips for coping with the diagnosis.
Signs and Symptoms
Caregivers discuss the signs and symptoms that led to their loved one's Alzheimer's disease diagnosis.
Transcript:
Laura, Caregiver for Mother, 8 Years, California:
I found her parked on the side of the street about five miles from the house and she said that her car had run out of gas. So we went down there with gas and her gas tank was full. So she was just completely disoriented…
Every 68 seconds, someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s disease.
Alice, Caregiver for Sister, 1 Year, Pennsylvania:She really didn't know who I was. So when I asked her a question and she had to take a few minutes to answer, that's when I knew, “This is serious.”
Judith, Caregiver for Mother, 4 Years, Texas
… She was becoming the pack rat. She was becoming a mess, and these were things that just – we didn't grow up with that.
Dalel, Caregiver for Husband, 5 Years, California
One day we just had to take the car keys away from him because he was in two car accidents.
Wayne, Caregiver for Mother, 9 Years, California
Shortly after she retired, she went to get her driver’s license renewed, and passed the written test fine, and did ok on the driving test except she couldn’t find her way back to the DMV.
You know your loved one better than anyone. When you see a change, voice your concerns to the doctor to help find the cause. –Suzanne Mintz
Kate, Caregiver for Husband, 1 Year, Texas
…Pete always paid the bills and I never touched anything, never had to do taxes. I just did our taxes over the weekend for the first time. But he was missing paying some bills…
Laura, Caregiver for Mother, 8 Years, California:
…But it was mainly just forgetting appointments, forgetting phone calls, post-it notes everywhere, she wrote everything down.
It is estimated that 5.4 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer’s disease.
Wayne, Caregiver for Mother, 9 Years, California:
…. Nothing was dated, and she would never throw away notes when they were done, so there would be maybe 15 notes on the exact same thing, none of which had a date on it.
Dalel, Caregiver for Husband, 5 Years, California:
I didn’t understand why he was changing from like a, somebody who was really friendly and kind, to this kinda grouchy kind of person who didn’t really wanna have a conversation.
Claudia, Caregiver for Mother, 12 Years, Texas:
She didn't want to go to any holiday functions any more. She didn't want to – even going to the doctors became hard. It was a change, and just taking her out. She really didn't want to – she didn't want to go with me to a movie. She didn't want to go to the grocery store with me. She didn't want to do anything so it became very difficult, really very difficult.
You are not alone. 15 million Americans care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease.
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