Just wondering if there is a general guideline to the amount of time a person stays in each stage of ALZ?? Does one stage move faster than another?? Or is this all individualized??
Welcome to my website. You have come to a place of comfort for spouses who are trying to cope with the Alzheimer's/dementia of their husband/wife. The issues we face in dealing with a spouse with this disease are so different from the issues faced by children and grandchildren caregivers. We discuss all of those issues here - loss of intimacy; social contact; conversation; anger; resentment; stress; and pain of living with the stranger that Alzheimer's Disease has put in place of our beloved spouse.
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phranque, we are ALL in Stage 1. Stage 1 is the baseline. We were in Stage 1 from the time adult mentality arrived when we were 11 or 12 years old. <grin>
As for the occasional trips to stage 2, when they had my thyroid under-medicated, I lived somewhere in stage 2 or even stage 3 for over a year. And I still make the occasional visit.
The minute they asked me to count backwards from 100 by 7, I'd flunk. I can draw great clocks, and always make a mental picture of placing the "newspaper" on the "table" while eating an "apple". It's the counting backward that was NEVER easy!
nancy B, I too make mental pictures to remember lists. I have a basic picture of a big white house with a porch and a big yard and then incorporate the objects into a picture that fits that surrounding. Sounds goofy, but I'm a visual learner. Maybe because I used to teach 5th grade I'm a whiz at basic math and use the 'breaking apart' principle when doing the subtracting by 7 thing. Once I get to 93, the next one involves thinking that 3+4 is another name for the 'how manyness' that the numeral 7 represents. The following 7 would be 6+1 ..... etc. til you get down to 2.
Pris, that is the way I worked on the subtracting 7 thing as well. But the subtract 10 and add 3 also works well. I think that part of the mini-mental test is about being able to work out a problem you aren't likely to have memorized.
Pris R, tell me again how you subtract by 7s'. I had heard about subtracting 10 and adding 3. I often wonder how I'd do on the 6 hour neuropsychological tests they give our spouses. I know that it is torture for my dear husband, who is Stage 6A, and it wipes out any self esteem he may have for days and days afterward.
Nancy, I think that what Pris does is always try to get to the next number ending in zero and then adjust. So if you are at 93 you subtract 3 to get to 90. But you need to subtract 7. You already took away 3, so take away 4 more to make 7. That puts you at 86. For the next one, you're at 86 and to get to 80 you have to take away 6. You still need to take away 1 to make 7, and 80 - 1 = 79. 79 - 7 is easy, it's 72. Then use Pris' technique again. 72 - 2 = 70 and 70 - 5 = 65.
Janet, right on! I'd nevvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvught of the minus 10 plus 3. I guess my way works for me because I'm very visual and can see all the numbers lined up in my head.
I give up. Been working on that new "trick" and I think it will be easier for me to just subtract 10 and add 3.
How many of you sit there and answer the questions they ask our spouses in our heads... That math one always got me before. Now I can whiz through it. (grin)
I decided that though I am very good at math, and can do calculations in my head, my mind doesn't see any sense in counting backwards unless it is in tens, fives, or twos! LOL I gave up after 93, 86, 79, 72,...okay I'm asleep! LOL
They only ask you to do a few of them. And the point is to check to see if you can still work through a problem. I have major arithmetic issues. Part classic dyslexia. Part the simple fact that the schools I went to messed up big time. A lot of what I was supposed to learn was never taught to me. But I CAN count back by 7 if I work at it. And the first time I tried it I didn't know either of the "tricks" so it certainly was not easy to do.
I have been told that every thing they do in the Neuropsychological examination is actually testing a specific part of the brain. Drawing a clock, for example. My husband actually put the numbers backward. Counterclockwise. I sat there and couldn't believe my eyes the first time I saw him do that. Then they would ask him to place the hands at "twenty minutes till four". He couldn't do that.
But the topper to all of the tests was when a Korean Doctor, working on a Fellowship, asked him to repeat after her certain words and phrases. When she asked my husband to say" "Meftrotist Epriskroprol" I nearly lost it. He asked her "Pardon me????" and she repeated the words. He had no idea what she was saying. I was in PAIN..from biting my lip trying not to laugh. She looked at me, and I had to straighten my face - and ask him to say "Methodist Episcopal" without falling out of my chair. Oh the pain.... I think that part was designed to test my self control.
I hate when they test my husband with me in the room. He always has trouble with the three words, date, who's the vice president. He looks at me and I stare at the floor.
There are a lot of steps in the counting backwards test. You must remember to start at 100. You must remember to subtract 7. Then you have to remember the new number (i.e. 93). Then remember that 7 is the number to subtract. And so on. The arithmetic is only a distraction in some ways. The backwards part helps eliminate recitation of common sequences. Wow, exhausting!
You also have to know what "subtract" means. A friend's doctor gave him the mini mental exam recently. The friend couldn't subtract 7 correctly, but the doctor told him it was ok; he was going in the right direction.
Ah yes, the old before and after conundrum. During the speech and cognitive therapy phase of my husband's diagnosis, it became obvious that although he had AFTER down pat, he had no clue as to what BEFORE meant. He could recite the days of the week in perfect order (no longer I think), but if asked which day came BEFORE Wednesday he could not say Tuesday. But if you asked him which day came AFTER Monday, he told you Tuesday right off.
I still can't remember the 3 words. Sometimes I can remember 2, but not all 3 and the doctor changes them each time. I agree that the test can be demoralizing. After the neuropsych test my husband was so depressed and down. He felt humiliated because he couldn't remember stuff he should have. The MMSE test the doctor does on visits are not as bad. When you are not working or have other reasons to keep track of the day or date, it is hard even for me. When she asked him what city and county he is in, it always amazes me that he gets it right since it is a different city, county and state than we live in. I haven't looked at the stages cause he is where he is. Looking at the stages right now is too of a depressing thought - he is still in the mild AD stage and that is enough.
I went and studied them. I would say 3-4, still early in the disease. His hardest problem which is in stage 5 is remembering the date and month. But when there is nothing going on in your life to necessitate it, then it is harder. He still remembers he has to apply to 3 jobs a week to collect his unemployment. I think he basically has about 6 businesses the rotates through. With our ages, in this employment atmosphere, jobs will not likely come this year. And, he doesn't use computers so that knocks him out of 99% of jobs. I am hoping to fly back to New Hampshire next month so he can see his sister. After we get back, then I will see about getting into one of the studies at OHSU.
Jeannette - don't worry about getting the days mixed up. The day is the day it is where you are. Living on the west coast, we are always having to think of the time in other places across the US. I was on a depression support group in the mid 90s and one of the guys was from Australia - always had fun with the day differences. We are a international community here and remembering the differences is part of the 'flavor'.
Charlotte, please keep in mind that there are year limits on being able to apply for SS Disability. One male member said in a discussion earlier this week that his wife waited five years and was denied. Apparently, he was told that there is a rule with early onset that says that if you are out of work for 5 years that you are no longer eligible. In my DH's case, he was out of work for 10 years and is no longer eligible for any SSD at all.
Speakers and "professional caregivers" :) at caregivers' conference today spoke of early, middle, late, final stages. That works for me--easier than to try to fit in 7, 9, or 12.
There was one book (sorry, can't remember its name), that broke down the stages 1-7 to even smaller increments (6a, 6b, etc.) My only problem with stages is that the person most likely does not easily fit into any one stage. Startling used to write she went to the stage where her husband wasn't descirbed at all and backed down one. At this point, I would say my husband is solidly in stage 7 (rarely talks, can no longer feed himself, dress himself or toilet himself and walks only if two people are holding him up).
Deb52657.... Check www.alzinfo.com. for in depth description of PROGRESSION of the Disease. Specifically, cut and paste this in your keyword space above...
This directly addresses Alzheimer's disease, Stage 6A..6B..6C..etc. Once they get beyond Stage 5, I have found that some 6's were worse than others, and couldn't put my husband there, but knew he was beyond 5. I found this website to be extremely helpful. (NancyB)
I think I like the simpler 'early, middle, late, final stages'. I don't want to get caught up in technicalities. I may later, but for right now I will go simple.