The Top 5 Early Non-Memory Related Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease

Oh, God, he has Alzheimer’s Disease! This is the frantic, frightened lament heard around the world when a loved one forgets where they put their keys. Or forgets to stop at the grocery store to bring home the milk you requested. Or forgets to show up for a doctor’s appointment. Forgetfulness is associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. Everyone knows that Alzheimer’s Disease is a memory disease, right? If you notice memory lapses in a loved one, it is your foregone conclusion that they are developing Alzheimer’s Disease. This is NOT necessarily the case.

Alzheimer’s Disease is NOT ONLY ABOUT MEMORY. It is a degenerative brain disease that manifests itself in puzzling, unexpected symptoms, especially in the early stages -symptoms you would never imagine pointed in the direction of Alzheimer’s Disease. Nor, contrary to popular belief, is Alzheimer’s Disease endemic to the elderly. Initial symptoms can appear as early as in one’s 40’s, and often in one’s 50’s and 60’s.

The information in this article may be surprising to many of you, but it is extremely important and may save you years of chasing around in circles to find the appropriate doctor and the correct diagnosis. In the case of spouses, it may save you countless hours of misguided marriage counseling and may help prevent divorce.

Let me assure you that this is not a clickbait “Eating broccoli and walking 5 miles a day will prevent Alzheimer’s Disease” type of article. I am not engaging in hyperbole when I tell you that I am uniquely and expertly qualified to write on this subject.

Tragically, my expertise comes from 12 years of a journey through Hell with my husband, Sid, and the Alzheimer’s Disease that killed him. During this time, I researched, learned, attended care-giving and research conferences, spoke at Alzheimer Seminars, represented my state of Florida four times at the Alzheimer’s Forum in Washington, DC, educating Senators and Representatives about Alzheimer’s Disease, as well as developed, managed, and wrote award-winning blogs for my own website (www.thealzheimerspouse.com)that provided support and information for spouses of Alzheimer’s patients.

I was completely immersed in the World of Alzheimer’s Disease from the time Sid first exhibited disturbing signs of “something” in 2003, until I sat by his bed in 2015, heartbroken and shattered, as Alzheimer’s Disease took his life.

It took 3 long years of misdiagnosis, incorrect medications, and perplexing symptoms until we finally received the definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease. To hopefully keep you from wasting as much valuable time as we did, this is my attempt to educate, inform, and save you the heartache of ending up at the wrong end of the cliched, “If I had known then, what I know now” regret. You will know now because I am going to enlighten you.

This knowledge won’t prevent Alzheimer’s Disease. In spite of what you have read previously, nothing will. But it should enable you to attain the appropriate support early enough in the diagnosis to improve your and your loved one’s quality of life.

These are the 5 most common early symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease, not necessarily related to forgetfulness, that you normally would not associate with Alzheimer’s Disease. These are the symptoms that should concern you more than forgetting to bring home the milk.

1. Personality Change — changes in mood and temperament; mood swings

Someone who always displayed a calm, reasonable demeanor suddenly becomes agitated, quick to anger, and difficult to reason with.

Conversely, someone who was the volatile type —possessing an easily triggered temper; always ready for an argument; never backed down from their opinion, suddenly becomes quiet, withdrawn, unwilling to engage in conversation.

This symptom often leads to the misdiagnoses of stress, “midlife crisis”, depression, and in the case of women — menopause. In spousal situations, the personality changes in temperament and mood are often so severe that they may lead to divorce.

In Sid’s case, we definitely blamed job stress on his symptoms, to the point that he changed jobs to one we thought would be less stressful. After a year at the new job, he was fired because he was unable to learn it. That’s when we finally went to a neurologist.

2. Difficulty Understanding Directions — This is often first noticed at the workplace. An accounts manager who is used to multitasking — Following directions on a variety of tasks; developing projects; managing groups of workers; designing and presenting presentations, suddenly is unable to understand the directions to complete and present one project.

Although I knew Sid was having difficulty at work, it was an incident at home that alerted me that something was very wrong. I gave him the empty laundry basket and said, “Please take the basket downstairs, empty the dryer, and bring the clothes back upstairs. He stood at the top of the stairs with the laundry basket at his feet. He looked at the basket, picked it up, put it back down, looked at me, looked at the basket again, and asked, “What should I do?” My heart sank.

3. Excessive Talking — The inability to end a conversation. They keep talking, with no “shut off” valve, to the surprise, consternation, and eye rolls of those with whom they are conversing. This leads to loss of friendships as people begin to distance themselves from the non-stop talker.

At this early point, Sid was still able to understand that he was exhibiting some problems. Therefore, we were able to discuss his “verbal diarrhea”, and he was amenable to a covert hand gesture from me that signaled it was time to stop talking. We still had no idea what was wrong with him.

4. Loss of Inhibition and Social Filter — As we mature, we learn to control our inhibitions in order to spare the feelings of those around us. We may THINK our friend has gained too much weight, is wearing an ugly tie, has an unflattering new hairstyle, but we would generally keep those opinions to ourselves. When someone loses their filter, they blurt out demeaning, insulting remarks at will. As is the case with #3, this can lead to loss of friendships both socially and in the workplace.

One of the most painful parts of this period was when my husband, who had always been my chief cheerleader and told me daily that he loved me, and thought (however misguided) that I was one of the smartest women on earth, suddenly turned mean. He would demean and insult me, often in front of others. Even after I learned that Alzheimer’s Disease was causing this hurtful behavior, the pain and heartbreak were palpable. It is a stage that does pass as the disease progresses.

5. Word Finding/ Substitution Difficulties — We all have times when a word is “on the tip of our tongue”, but we can’t bring it forth. In Early Alzheimer’s Disease, it is more frequent, accompanied by word substitution. For example, when pointing to their watch, a person with this early symptom might call it a whistle.

This was one early symptom my husband did not display.

When changes in mood, temperament, and personality, as well as loss of filters occur, they can place untenable stress on a marriage. It is often the cause of many divorces. One of my most common statements, when I spoke to spouses struggling with these early symptoms was, “Call a neurologist before you call a divorce lawyer.”

If you notice any of these symptoms in a loved one, please make an appointment with an accredited Memory Disorders Clinic in your area. If one is not available, research and find a neurologist that specializes in Memory Disorders.

This is the first in a series of articles I will be writing about Alzheimer’s Disease. My articles are based on experience, research, and fact, not ridiculous, unfounded claims of Alzheimer’s prevention and cures. They are meant to educate and arm you with the best valid information about Alzheimer’s Disease that is currently available.

Early diagnosis is VITAL in providing the best quality of life for both patient and caregiver. There is a plethora of support groups, activity centers, informative seminars, programs, and ideas to help you through this arduous journey. You cannot, should not have to, and do not have to, go it alone. My next article will explain the resources available, how to find them, and how to make the best use of them.

As I have mentioned, this article is based upon my own experience and knowledge, but here is a link to a resource that backs up my information.

For comprehensive information on Alzheimer’s Disease, click here for my website.

For informative, personal blogs journaling my experience in the Alzheimer War, click here.