ASOCIACION DE ALZHEIMER DE PUERTO RICO

Edif. Santurce Medical Mall 1801 Ave. Ponce de León  P.O. Box 362026 San Juan, PR 00936-2026 Tel: (787) 727-4151 (787) 268-6818   Fax: (787) 727-4890 E-Mail: alzheimerpr@alzheimerpr.org

Alzheimer's Disease International

CHARACTERISTICS OF A PATIENT WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE IN EACH STAGE

 First Stage

1. Less energy, drive and initiative.
   

2. Reaction time is slower.
   
3. Greater difficulty learning new things.
   
4. Desire to maintain close to familiar people, places and things.
   
5. Catastrophic reactions.
   
6. Can have easy moments of anger or intranquility.
   
7. Realize that they have problems with their memory, but often deny it or try to cover it up.
   
8. Depression and affliction.

 Second Stage

1. Talks slower.
   

2. Misinterprets what is heard.
   
3. Difficulty in following the flow of conversations, TV, jokes or stories that have been read to them.
   
4. Problems doing calculations (example: balancing the checkbook).
   
5. Difficulty in making decisions.
   
6. Difficulty in planning for the future.
   
7. Introverted.
   
8. Insensitivity to others.
   
9. Avoids situations in which they can fail.
   
10. Suspects jealousy.
    
11. Needs supervision in order to function normally.
    
12. Feelings of guilt, sadness and depression.

 Third Stage

1. Obvious incapacity.
   

2. Disoriented in time and place.
   
3. Cannot recognize familiar people and events.
   
4. Lethargic.
   
5. Needs instructions repeated to them and constant supervision.
   
6. Not very cordial with close relatives.
   
7. Cannot remember words, invents new ones.
   
8. Unexpected conduct - sometimes exaggerated, eccentric.
   
9. On occasion remembers clearly things from the past.
   
10. Paranoid.
    
11. Sad, depressed, retreated.

 Fourth Stage

1. Extreme apathy.
   

2. Feels lost around family members.
   
3. Wanders.
   
4. Needs help in all the daily normal activities and personal care.
   
5. Continues the memory loss of recent events and of the past.
   
6. Repeats a lot (syllables, words or phrases).
   
7. Cannot recognize themselves when they look in the mirror.
   
8. Illusions, depression, delirium.
   
9. Loss of personal dignity and self-confidence.
   
10. Possible Incontinence.
    
11. Helplessness, confusion, panic.
    
12. Feels like as if they are another person.

    

    Main Menu | Board of Directors | Our Mission | Support Group Meetings

     Please send any suggestion, comment or problem to
    alzheimerpr@alzheimerpr.org