October 21, 2008

Facing Alzheimer’s Disease End Stage

Posted in Alzheimer tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , at 4:26 pm by samuelhenly

There are actually 7 stages of Alzheimer’s in which a patient goes from having mild to severe Alzheimer’s.  While you may not notice any changes in the person at first, by the time a person has a moderate case of Alzheimer’s, they will need assistance with complicated activities.  Then during Alzheimer’s disease end stage a person will be unable to do anything by themselves and thus need constant supervision.  If left alone, they may forget to eat and thus starve to death.

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease End Stage

As aforementioned, Alzheimer’s is very debilitating, even to the point that the person may forget to eat during the Alzheimer’s disease end stage.  Their speech will also severely decline to the point that the person may only know 6 or 7 words, if their speech is even intelligible at all.  A person will also lose their ability to walk, sit up, smile and hold their head up.  This is because the brain is no longer able to tell the body what to do.  Even though the disease will become more apparent, making it more difficult to see the person during Alzheimer’s disease end stage.  It is important to find out what the person wants and try to do it for them.

Decisions For Alzheimer’s Disease End Stage

There are a lot of decisions that need to be made during Alzheimer’s disease end stage.   Hopefully the patient has already prepared advance directives and a living will with durable power of attorney.  However, if these things are not available, then the caregiver will need to make these decisions for the Alzheimer’s patient.  Some of the things that need to be decided upon include the outcomes of various treatment options, goals of medical care and any risks that may be involved with this care.  Medical jargon needs to be avoided and the caregivers’ feelings need to be taken into consideration.

Emotional Support For Alzheimer’s Disease End Stage

Alzheimer’s disease end stage is very stressful and demanding.  This is because the patient’s behavior will have declined so greatly.  Unfortunately, a lot of people do not stop to consider how Alzheimer’s disease end stage affects the caregiver.  Right after an Alzheimer’s patient’s death is when the caregiver is going to need the most support.  These people will need help in not only dealing with the person’s death but also in resuming their own lives afterwards.  Thankfully these services are easily accessible and any psychologist will be able to put you in touch with them.

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