Stages of Caregiving: The Early Stage of Alzheimer’s

When your loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s their life not only drastically changes, but yours does too. It can be scary and overwhelming to take on this new role of caregiver. To help you better understand what is to come, here are some insights into the early stages of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s.

What to Expect

When someone is first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s they may not experience debilitating symptoms for weeks or years and can function independently. Your role as a caregiver during this time is to be their support system during the initial shock of their diagnosis and realization of a new life with the disease.

Your Role as a Caregiver

As the disease progresses your loved one may slowly begin to forget familiar names, what they were doing or tasks they’ve been performing for years. During early stages of Alzheimer’s you may need to help them with:

• Keeping appointments
• Remembering words or names
• Recalling familiar places or people
• Managing money
• Keeping track of medications
• Doing familiar tasks
• Planning or organizing

Use MemTrax for Monitoring Brain Health

Along with the program outlined by your doctor, one way to monitor and track the progression of the disease is through the MemTrax test. The MemTrax test shows a series of images and asks users to identify when they’ve seen a repeated image. This test is beneficial for those with Alzheimer’s because the daily, weekly, monthly interaction with the system tracks memory retention and allows users to see if their scores are getting worse. Keeping track of your mental health is critical in managing and handling the disease. Take a free test today!

As a new caregiver it can be overwhelming to help your loved one through this difficult time. Check back next week as we go over the second stage of Alzheimer’s and what you should expect as a caregiver.

About MemTrax

MemTrax is a screening test for the detection of learning and short-term memory issues, particularly the type of memory problems that arise with aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. MemTrax was founded by Dr. Wes Ashford, who has been developing the memory testing science behind MemTrax since 1985. Dr. Ashford graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1970. At UCLA (1970 – 1985), he attained an M.D. (1974) and Ph.D. (1984). He trained in psychiatry (1975 – 1979) and was a founding member of the Neurobehavior Clinic and the first Chief Resident and Associate Director (1979 – 1980) on the Geriatric Psychiatry in-patient unit. The MemTrax test is quick, easy and can be administered on the MemTrax website in less than three minutes. www.memtrax.com