There is a mother out there who does not recognize her own children. She does not even realize that she has grandchildren, possibly even great-grandchildren. She has forgotten that her husband has passed away. She spends her days wandering around aimlessly. She knows she has somewhere she needs to be, though she is unsure of where that is. All she wants to do is go home. She does not recognize the house she has lived in for the last twenty years as home. Instead her mind is stuck back on the time in her life when she just got married, and she and her husband were living in a little one bedroom apartment. She is constantly watching and waiting for her husband to come for her and take her back to her home. She does not remember what
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Every case of dementia presents with a different range of symptoms. Some symptoms may be more prevalent in one patient and not another. The most common symptoms for those diagnosed with dementia is memory loss. A common misunderstanding with memory loss is that dementia starts with the most recent memories and erases them, working its way back through the patient’s life (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2010). Dementia actually just wipes memory in a sporadic fashion. A patient does not even necessarily lose whole memories, just pieces of various memories. Dementia can also affect a person’s ability to create new short term memories, which is where the misunderstanding comes from. Memory loss is usually the first sign of Alzheimer’s dementia because the syndrome affects the hippocampus section of the brain first. The hippocampus is the memory making and learning center of the brain (Alzheimer 's Association, 2015). Dementia also often presents with what is commonly referred to as “sundowners syndrome.” Around sunset, and throughout the night, dementia patients often experience their symptoms in a more intense manner. Confusion, mood swings, trouble sleeping and various other symptoms become more prominent at this time of day. Other symptoms of dementia include the loss of the ability to focus and pay attention, disruption in speech or the loss of speech ability, apathy, confusion, and the inability to reason or impaired
Every case of dementia presents with a different range of symptoms. Some symptoms may be more prevalent in one patient and not another. The most common symptoms for those diagnosed with dementia is memory loss. A common misunderstanding with memory loss is that dementia starts with the most recent memories and erases them, working its way back through the patient’s life (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2010). Dementia actually just wipes memory in a sporadic fashion. A patient does not even necessarily lose whole memories, just pieces of various memories. Dementia can also affect a person’s ability to create new short term memories, which is where the misunderstanding comes from. Memory loss is usually the first sign of Alzheimer’s dementia because the syndrome affects the hippocampus section of the brain first. The hippocampus is the memory making and learning center of the brain (Alzheimer 's Association, 2015). Dementia also often presents with what is commonly referred to as “sundowners syndrome.” Around sunset, and throughout the night, dementia patients often experience their symptoms in a more intense manner. Confusion, mood swings, trouble sleeping and various other symptoms become more prominent at this time of day. Other symptoms of dementia include the loss of the ability to focus and pay attention, disruption in speech or the loss of speech ability, apathy, confusion, and the inability to reason or impaired