When most of us think about Alzheimer’s disease, memory loss is probably the first thing that comes to mind.
Forgetting names. Getting confused about where you are. Struggling to remember something that happened recently.
But Alzheimer’s symptoms can affect much more than memory.
Alzheimer’s disease can cause changes in reasoning, language, behaviour, personality and even the way someone understands the space around them. These symptoms can become more noticeable over time and may eventually begin affecting everyday life.
Understanding the different symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease can help you recognise when a change may be worth discussing with a healthcare professional.
What are the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease?
Alzheimer’s disease affects everyone differently. However, Alzheimer’s symptoms can generally affect five important areas:
- Memory
- Reasoning
- Language
- Behaviour and personality
- Spatial understanding
The person experiencing these changes may not always recognise them themselves. Sometimes, family members, friends and other loved ones may notice changes first.
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Here’s what to look out for.
Memory changes
Memory loss is one of the most common Alzheimer’s symptoms.
It can affect both short-term and long-term memory, making it difficult for someone to remember recent events as well as information from further back in their life.
Someone may struggle to remember:
- Names or familiar faces
- Facts and information they previously knew
- Recent conversations or events
- Where they are, even when they’re somewhere familiar
There’s an important difference between occasionally wondering where you put your phone and experiencing memory loss that starts interfering with everyday life.
We all forget things. It’s persistent or worsening changes that deserve more attention.
Changes in reasoning and decision-making
Alzheimer’s disease can also affect someone’s ability to think through a situation, make decisions or work out what they need to do next.
A person may seem unusually confused or take much longer than usual to make a choice.
Everyday activities that once felt simple may become more difficult. This can include:
- Deciding what to do next
- Following a familiar recipe
- Making plans
The occasional indecisive moment happens to everyone. A noticeable change in someone’s usual ability to reason and make decisions is different.
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Changes in language
Having a word on the tip of your tongue is frustrating, but it happens to all of us.
Alzheimer’s disease can cause more significant changes in someone’s ability to speak, read or understand language.
Someone may:
- Speak or communicate less than they used to
- Use the wrong word for something
- Find it harder to understand or follow language
- Mix languages if they speak more than one
- Return more frequently to the language they spoke while growing up
These changes can make everyday conversations more difficult and may become more noticeable as the condition progresses.
Changes in behaviour and personality
Not all Alzheimer’s symptoms are related to memory or thinking.
Alzheimer’s disease can also affect mood, behaviour and personality. Someone who previously behaved in one way may begin responding very differently to familiar people or situations.
Changes can include becoming:
- More suspicious of other people
- More agitated than usual
- More prone to significant mood changes
- Less trusting of themselves or the people around them
Some people may also experience paranoia or hallucinations.
Everyone gets irritated, upset or has a bad day occasionally. What makes these changes different is when they are noticeably more intense, sudden or unusual compared with the person’s normal behaviour.
Changes in spatial understanding
This is one of the Alzheimer’s symptoms people may be less familiar with.
Spatial understanding is essentially your ability to understand where your body and other objects are in relation to one another.
Changes in this ability can make someone feel less coordinated or make everyday movements more difficult.
For example, someone may:
- Bump into furniture more often
- Struggle to judge how close an object is
- Find picking something up more difficult
- Struggle with precise hand movements, such as tying their shoes or typing on a keyboard
These symptoms can have many possible causes, so experiencing one doesn’t automatically mean someone has Alzheimer’s disease.
How Alzheimer’s symptoms can change over time
Alzheimer’s symptoms is progressive, which means symptoms generally become more noticeable over time.
That doesn’t mean every forgotten name, difficult decision or change in mood is a sign of Alzheimer’s.
What matters is recognising when something has changed from what is normal for you or someone you know, particularly when those changes persist, worsen or begin interfering with everyday life.
When should you speak to a doctor?
If you’re concerned about Alzheimer’s symptoms in yourself or someone you love, speak to a healthcare professional.
Memory loss, changes in behaviour, difficulty communicating and problems with reasoning can have different causes. A healthcare professional can assess what is happening and advise you on the appropriate next steps.
You don’t need to wait until symptoms become severe before asking questions. If something feels different or you’ve noticed an ongoing change in someone you care about, getting medical advice can be an important next step.
Preparing for unexpected healthcare costs
When you’re dealing with a health concern, understanding what’s happening is already enough to think about. An unexpected medical bill can add another worry you weren’t prepared for.
Having medical aid doesn’t always mean every eligible healthcare expense will be paid in full. A healthcare provider may charge more than the amount your medical scheme pays, which can leave you with a medical expense shortfall to cover yourself.
That’s where Oneplan Gap Cover can help.
Oneplan Gap Cover works alongside your medical aid to help cover qualifying medical expense shortfalls according to your chosen plan, benefits and policy terms.*
Because you can’t predict every health concern or medical expense that may come your way. But you can make sure you understand your cover before you need to use it.
Explore Oneplan Gap Cover and see how it could help cover the gaps left by your medical aid.
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