EP63: What are the Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease? Symptoms of Early- and Late-Stage Alzheimer’s Disease

<p>Welcome to This is Getting Old: Moving Towards an Age-Friendly World, I’m your host Melissa Batchelor, and today I’ll be talking about What are the Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease? I’ve taken care of thousands of older adults living with Alzheimer’s disease and ultimately dying either with or from this devastating disease. I hope the information in this podcast will help you to be prepared as your loved one moves through each stage of the disease.<br /> <br /> There is some variation in what different people think are the Stages of Dementia. I am of the mindset (pun totally intended) to keep things simple – so I think of this disease in 4 stages: Early-, Middle-, Late- and End-Stage; or Mild, Moderate, Severe and ultimately the dying process.<br /> <br /> The stages are helpful for understanding the overall picture of what to expect with a person’s ability and should be used as a general guide. I see people all the time trying to peg a loved one into one of the 7 stages and wants to know if the person is leaving Stage 4 and entering Stage 5. At the end of the day, you are going to have to adapt the care provided to the moment and the person in front of you, regardless of stage or progression. There’s often a lot of overlap and I recommend you don’t get caught up in the specific stages – even if you’re using these three.<br /> <br /> Here’s what we know about Alzheimer’s disease – it’s a progressive, neurodegenerative disease, meaning your brain fails over time. When your brain fails, that means your ability to do anything for yourself is going to fail by time you get to the Late-Stage. How quickly a person deteriorates varies – and can range from 4-8 years, and up to 20, depending on how healthy the person is otherwise.<br /> <br /> <strong>Early-Stage Alzheimer’s – or Mild</strong><br /> <br /> In the early stages, a person may be able to function pretty independently. They may be able to drive familiar routes, work, and participate in social activities. The symptoms may not be very apparent at this stage, but