Alz stages?

nancy_smith

My husband was diagnosed by AMRI with Alzheimer's a few months ago. He is 81 and comes from a family with Alzheimer's. I don't know what the stages are. I see them in many of the post. Can someone help me figure out where to find them?

Jeanne C.

Hi Nancy and welcome. I've been trying to collect information that comes up a lot here: https://alzconnected.org/group/32-new-caregiver-help

inthe top section there's an announcement with links to staging tools. There's another announcement with a link to Tam Cummings handouts (they're very helpful).

The people on this forum are kind and will be glad to help. Take care.

H1235

https://tala.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Tam-Cummings-LLC-Handouts.pdf

I found this very helpful. Need to scroll down a bit for the 7 stages. There is a check for each stage. Really helps you get a feel not only for where you’re at but what might be to come.

mommyandme (m&m)

Welcome to this little niche, so sorry you have the need though.

Not sure if this could be helpful too:

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

ButterflyWings

Here is another respected scale, which breaks down the 7 stages into sub-stages. This can be helpful to determine where your LO really is, especially during slow progression that we may miss in the day to day grind of caregiving with sometimes subtle drift that doesn't always sink in until something big happens.

Tamm Cummings has been among the most detailed and helpful for me to get a handle on the various things that are happening with my DH in recent years. And the more detailed the model, the more I've appreciated knowing what "might" be coming, so I could try to be prepared and at least keep him safe. So I really like understanding the substages of Fisher Center - Dr. Reisberg as well.

It can seem overwhelming since there are various scales and they don't always agree particularly on the timeline for each stage. I ignore that for the most part, since every PWD is different. But overall this info has been very helpful, especially since often a PWD may seem to have a foot in more than 1 stage at the same time and it is easy to underestimate where they are. Maybe a little wishful thinking plays into that as well. Who among us wants to see our LOs declining even faster than we realized?

But using these models and observing DH so closely, 24/7, I learned to recognize progression and to pinpoint pretty closely where he is, by early mid-stages. If you see 1 or 2 things that appear from the next sub-stage that's realistically their new stage.

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

Sapphire68

I think you have all the info you need above about the stages. I did want to mention that Alz/dementia is not always hereditary. It can be in some cases but it's less common. It's most related to diet, environment around us, etc. Depends on the person mostly.

eaglemom

Welcome to the message boards. You will find two schools of thought on the stages of dementia. #1 - is 3 stages, mild, moderate & severe. #2 - is the 7 stages that have been listed. Different neurologist go by different methods. Let me just caution you though. Please don't get caught up in a stage or label for your LO. On a bad day they my seem to be in a 6, for example. When in reality they are maybe nearing a 4. Those are simply guidelines.

eagle