New here

Johnsie

Greetings,

I just signed up today, August 17, 2023. Thank you for this forum. I am the primary caregiver for my husband. I am still learning how to cope with his diagnosis. Sorry to ask questions, but where can I find the "stages" of Alzheimer's? I see many of you mention a stage with a number. I need to know what stage my husband is in. THANK YOU.

M1

Welcome to the forum, and of course it's fine to ask questions--that's how we all learn from each other. Sorry you are facing this. I think this is a live link, the original Tam Cummings page is not where it used to be. There are useful, you may also want to look up the FAST scale, as it's called.

Ed1937

Please ask questions. That's what makes the forum. Welcome. Sorry you're dealing with this, but you found a good place for help and understanding.

There are several sites dealing with stages. Here are a few:

https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/neuroscience-blog/2019/november/stages-of-alzheimers

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/in-depth/alzheimers-stages/art-20048448

https://www.alzinfo.org/understand-alzheimers/clinical-stages-of-alzheimers/

https://www.alzheimers.net/stages-of-alzheimers-disease

tgeno

Welcome to the forum. I've seen all kinds of "stages". There is no one universally accepted stage measurement. My wife is in what I consider an "early" stage. People can exhibit signs of being in multiple stages at the same time. The progression of Alzheimer's varies with the individual. My approach is to deal with what I'm seeing in front of me and prepare for what's to come.

Johnsie

Thank you, everyone, for your replies. It took me a few minutes to navigate and find the replies, but I found them. (SMILE). I look forward to communicating with you all as I go through this journey. It's hard watching my husband get sad because he loses his keys or wallet and can't remember yesterday. He is a retired military man who is used to being in total control, and now he has no control. Plus, we're still battling the VA for his benefits. It's a lot right now, but I feel better now having a space to share and receive information. Thanks for listening.

sandwichone123

Please ask questions! Lots of people on this forum are isolated caring for their loved ones, and being able to provide support and information and share their hard-won wisdom is a bright spot indeed!

Iris L.

The VA has many benefits for PWDs (persons with dementia) but it may be difficult to access them. Someone recently posted about Agent Orange possibly being a cause of more disabilities. Check that out.

Iris

H.V.

I think the Reisberg Scale is the most accepted (also called the Global Deterioration Scale).

It can be found here: https://www.scribd.com/document/282913503/cgass

Here's another link, more informative:

https://www.dementiacarecentral.com/aboutdementia/facts/stages/

SDianeL

Welcome Johnsie. So glad you're here but sorry for the reason. If you haven't done so, get to an Elder Care Attorney and get a DPOA done asap. So glad I did. My DH was diagnosed 2 years ago and I have used it several times since he can no longer understand documents or sign his name. Also get the book "The 36 Hour Day" it helped me so much and was recommended to me by a nurse. Get a Veteran Service Office in your County to help with claims or benefits at the VA. If he was in Vietnam and exposed to agent orange, they will pay and give him a rating based on the current progress of the disease. If he can still care for himself they would rate him very low but you can keep appealing. The NIH did a study and found that someone exposed to agent orange has a 50% greater risk of getting dementia. You can find it online. Someone posted on this forum a link to the Stages and Behaviors. It's the best and most thorough and easily understood one I've seen. Please stay in touch. Message me if I can help with the VA. We've been fighting it for other things for 35 yrs. Here's the link to the Stages document: https://tala.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Tam-Cummings-LLC-Handouts.pdf

ldesrochers

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/66069/new-here

Hello. Check out the Discussion Group: “No one is prepared for Alzheimer’s"…..this is about the full story of another woman, myself, who cared for my husband over the course of seven years. I have written a book on this story. It is hard to predict when this or that will occur. But it should be helpful to you to read how one woman managed the evolving disease . It is a hard road, but you can make it, and one clue is flexibility as things change Much love to you in this endeavor.