In the early stage of Alzheimer 's, an individual may not remember previous events. They might forget what you told them, cannot learn new things, has trouble concentrating, and take longer time doing daily routines like: getting dress, making up the bed, and brushing their teeth. During this stage, an individual can still discuss what is happening, may still be able to drive, and can still hold a job. The longest stage is the middle stage. It is two to ten years after diagnosis. When an individual enters the middle stage, they may have trouble recognizing family members, occasional muscle twitches, weight gain or loss, difficulty organizing thoughts, and inability to find words. In the middle stage, families have to supervise the individual for forty plus hours. The last stage is the most difficult. The individual will need help bathing, dressing, eating, and toileting. They might try to put everything in their mouth or touch anything. Even though the individual is eating good, they can still lose lots of weight. This is the most difficult stage for family and friends, because they have to choose rather to put the individual in a nursing home or keeping them at home (Living with Alzheimer 's). While these stages are taking place, they would go and see their neurologist to find out what could happen …show more content…
These medications are to treat symptoms in early to moderate stages. which are in class of drugs called Cholinesterase Inhibitors. Only three Cholinesterase Inhibitors are commonly given: Aricept, Exelon, and Reminyl. The first drug in this class, Cognex, was approved in 1993 but is rarely prescribed because side effects that include possible liver damage. Namenda was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2003. It treats the moderate to severe Alzheimer 's disease. Namenda is a receptor antagonist that block the effects associated with abnormal transmission of glutamate, which is associated with learning and memory. Moderate to serve stages stretch out for years and can be hard for the individual and nurse. Loss of function and independence, including the ability to hold conversations, bathe, or dress oneself is very devastating. The prescribed drugs are designed to prevent Acetylcholine, which is the breakdown of a chemical messenger in the brain that is important for memory and other thinking skills. The medications keep levels of the chemical messenger high, even though the cells that make the messenger are disintegrating. Most of the people that take Cholinesterase Inhibitors experience improvement in cognitive symptoms (Living with Alzheimer