According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 5 million people are living with Alzheimer’s disease in the U.S. The disease is characterized by a gradual decline in thinking skills, memory and reasoning skills. It is one of the most common types of dementia. It is also the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S.
Dr. Phil McGraw explains 10 most common signs and symptoms that might indicate that you have developed Alzheimer’s disease. It is possible to experience one or more of these symptoms in varying severity. If you observe any of these signs, it is important to visit your doctor immediately.
Here are the signs and symptoms that might indicate Alzheimer’s disease:
- Memory loss of recently learned information: This is one of the most common signs of Alzheimer’s and might disrupt your daily life due to excessive forgetfulness.
- Problems in reasoning or planning: Few people with Alzheimer’s experience prolonged inability to plan or follow schedules. They might also have problems in trivial numerical calculations. For example, having problems in keeping track of monthly bills and implementing a simple food recipe.
- Difficulty in remembering familiar tasks: People suffering from Alzheimer’s disease have difficulties in performing usual tasks like remembering rules of a simple game and inability to drive themselves to a known location.
- Confusion with place and time: Few people with Alzheimer’s disease can easily forget seasons, dates, and passage of time. They might have trouble in recollecting the location where they are and how they reached there.
- Trouble in reading and judging distance: Anyone with Alzheimer’s disease might have difficulties in reading, comprehending visual images and mentally calculating approximate distance between two places.
- Problems in continuing a conversation or writing: A person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease has problems in continuing a conversation. They might just keep repeating their words or stop in a middle of a conversation. They also face trouble in learning new words and writing expressively.
- Frequently misplacing things: People with Alzheimer’s disease often keep things at unusual places and tend to forget where they kept them. They might also face difficulties in finding the things back even after several attempts.
- Poor or decreased judgment: People with Alzheimer’s disease experience significant changes in judgment and might not be able to make decisions on their own. These people also do not pay attention to self-grooming and might stay unhygienic.
- Avoidance of social activities or work: People suffering from Alzheimer’s try to avoid social interactions, sports, hobbies and their assigned projects. They might become more introverted than they were before without any apparent genuine reason.
- Significant changes in personality or mood: A person with Alzheimer’s can become anxious, fearful, suspicious, depressed or confused.
Dr. Phil strongly recommends visiting a doctor if you notice these changes in yourself or a loved one. It might help you or them to initiate a required treatment as soon as possible.