This may be crazy question.. but has anyone ever heard of someone staying in say Stage 4

charley0419

has anyone ever heard of this ? I’m curious or hoping has anyone just at a say Stage 4-5 and never going further. ????

ARIL

I am no expert here, but many publications of the FAST (Functional Assessment Staging Tool) indicate average lengths of time people are in each stage. Some of these can be years long, and since they are averages across populations, individuals might be in one stage even longer.

Of course, many people expire of other diseases without going through all the stages.

And there are medical conditions that mimic dementia symptoms, so not all symptoms that look like dementia are that.

But it is my impression that disease progression is inevitable if a person with dementia continues to live.

Others may have more information on this one!

eaglemom

No question is crazy, and frankly this is a great question. We all know there are stages our LO go through on this journey. What is different is the length of time they might stay in one stage. Or completely skip a stage all together.

It is a progressive disease, we know that. But the rate of progression is different for each person. Even though you might think your LO isn't progressing, it might be at such a slow rate you can't tell. I personally would enjoy your LO's prolonged stay in stage 4.

eagle

Bluebird

My husband, 74, has been in stage 4-5 for about 5 or 6 years. Sometimes I feel like there is no progression. If I look back a year he seems to be the same but if I look back 4 years then I see a difference. His neurologist at first had him come every 6 months but because his progression is so slow he now has my husband come once a year. His short term memory has gotten worse but pretty much nothing else. My husband’s doctor said because his progression is so slow he may die of natural cases rather than his Alzheimer’s.

I tried to convince myself that maybe he didn’t have Alzheimer’s so the neurologist did an MRI of the brain and a lumbar puncture. They both showed he definitely has Alzheimer’s.

Someone else on this site said their spouse remained in stage 4-5 for 10 years then had rapid progression to stage 7. It’s pretty much a wait and see game.

SusanB-dil

MIL has alz and vascular. Vascular can plateau on a level for quite some time and then drop. I call them like stairsteps. At times she will have a TIA and take 3 steps down and then bounce back up a step or even 2. So it can seem like she has been at the same stage for quite some time, even with the alz as part of it all.

harshedbuzz

@charley0419

If it's Alzheimer's or Vascular, it is progressive and terminal. That said, some folks do seem to progress very slowly. I am very certain my uncle knew his wife had dementia when he died in 2002. I could tell by the way he treated her a few years before that— gently scaffolding— that he knew something he wasn't sharing. She had vascular dementia and hovered in stage 4-ish for years and didn't pass until 2018. Despite her disease progression, she remained very sweet and good natured making her pleasant to be around.

My dad lived at least 12 years after I noticed overt dementia symptoms and spent much of that time in the stage 4-5 range— I would say dad spent a combined 9 years between 3-5, about 15 months in stage 6 and only a couple weeks in stage 7. FWIW, my dad knew exactly who mom and I were and was conversational right up until he died from complications of aspiration pneumonia.

My mom and I were often at loggerheads about my dad's dementia and progression. She didn't see it until the symptoms nearly killed her. I think it was more than just denial and loving wishful thinking— she was like the frog in a pot of water set to boil— whereas I saw him maybe 5 times a year and saw very significant changes especially if it had been 6 months because I didn't travel to FL to visit that winter.

HB

MN Chickadee

Not sure if anyone has stayed in stage 4 indefinitely, but my mother stayed in it for at least 10 years. She hovered in that stage where she was cognizant of the changes happening to her and still partook in her own care decisions and was a pretty functional person who just happened have short term memory loss for so very long. I guess it was a blessing, better that than end stage lingering forever. Eventually the other issues associated with Alzheimer's came and then she went through stages 5 and 6 relatively quickly (maybe 2 years in each stage.) She had just entered stage 7 when she got covid which sent the dementia into a spiral that eventually took her.