Stages of Dementia/Alzheimers

Carrie2023

I see many of you posting about what stage your LO is in with their disease. While my mom's diagnosis is fairly new, her doctor has made no mention of what stage she may be in. In your cases, did this information come from the doctor? I don't necessarily need to know mom's stage, was mostly curious about it.

Thanks in advance!

M1

Carrie, google Tam Cummings stages of dementia.  i have found the descriptions on her website the most helpful; there are others, but these are pretty comprehensive.  It's all approximate, people may fluctuate with the behaviors they display, but generally you judge the stage by the most advanced behaviors.

sunnydove

These are the two I found most helpful. 

The 7 Stages of Alzheimer's Disease | How Alzheimer's Progresses (alzinfo.org)

Measure and Manage the course of AD using The Functional Assessment Staging Test (FAST) (mccare.com)

Jgirl57

Carrie, I have only heard my HWD/Alz. Doctors mention mild ,moderate or severe.

For the stages, the resource M1 mentioned by Tam Cummings is what I use. I bought the book 

at the half priced bookstore and refer to it A LOT.

ChicagoGal

I find Tam Cummings definition of the stages very helpful as well.  Bought a used copy.

MaryG123

The FAST chart referenced above has been very helpful to me because of the age equivalence column.  I try to remind myself that my DH is functioning at an 8-12 yr. old level, which increases my patience and lowers my expectations.

GothicGremlin

I've used all of the resources that everyone has already posted - they're all very good.

For me, knowing the approximate stage gives me a heads up on behaviors I can expect to see approximately a year in advance, two years in advance, etc. It gives me a chance to prepare.

I found out about the stages from people on this website. When my sister was diagnosed, the only thing the doctor told me was that it was "early stage". Of course I had no idea what that meant at the time.

harshedbuzz

Carrie-

My dad's neurologists and geriatric psychiatrist all used a 3-stage model to describe his mixed dementia. Folks here tend to use the 7 stage one.

That said, I think family caregivers tend to have a clearer understanding of where in the disease process their LO is unless they happen to be in denial. It's harder for a medical professional to get as clear a sense as many PWD showtime (temporarily seem more with-it than is their current baseline) during appointments. Additionally, the appointments are usually schedule late mornings/early afternoons when PWD are typically at their best. 

I like the FAST with the age equivalencies as well. My mom was in denial about how impaired my dad was and it helped me make points in the debate between independent vs safe. 

HB

PS I recommend this for anyone who has a newly diagnosed LO. It helped me maintain a sense of empathy and understanding. I referred to it often.

understanding-the-dementia-experience.pdf (alzconnected.org)

Carrie2023

Thank you all for your support and advice.  I will check out all the resources you've mentioned.  What a great place this ALZ.org is; I am thankful and grateful!

prov1kenobi

The biggest thing this site has given me is the fact that I am not alone. We are all in this together. And, I have devided to volunteer with the Alzheimer’s group in the Anchorage Alaska area

FloydSnax

Carrie

Thats funny. I thought I was the only one that heard of his NUMBER or STAGE and didn't have one for my mom! I didn't even know how high the number went so I just referred to my mom's as 100. Even now, I see in the comments a way to check and officially give my mom a number, then I thought...ah, who cares now. Hang in there, it gets easier as it gets worse. I have no idea what that means. Good Luck