How Quickly Does Alzheimer’s Disease Progress?

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Elder Care in Berkeley Heights NJ

As a family caregiver for an elderly adult it is likely that one of your biggest fears or concerns about your care journey or your parent’s aging is the possibility of Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia can Elder-Care-in-Berkeley-Heights-NJbe a frightening and humbling experience for a caregiver, and if you are at the beginning of such a journey or worry that you might be soon, educating yourself as much as possible can help you to feel more confident in your ability to give your senior the level of care that they need and deserve to help them manage their challenges, stay active and healthy, and continue to find meaning in their later years.

While you are learning as much as you can about this condition, one of the questions that is likely to come to mind is “how quickly does Alzheimer’s disease progress?” You know that this disease is progressive, meaning that it will worsen and the impact will increase over time. As a caregiver, however, you likely want to know how quickly this progression will occur so that you know what to expect and can approach it with confidence.

Unfortunately, the answer is that there is no real way to know. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, the average lifespan for an adult who receives a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is between four and eight years. Some people, however, can live 20 years or more after receiving this diagnosis. There is no reliable and conclusive way of determining how long your parent will live after they receive their diagnosis, how quickly they will progress through the disease, or what challenges they will face during this progression.

Though the experience of Alzheimer’s disease is unique to each person who develops it, the disease does progress through a series of stages that is the same for each sufferer. Working with your loved one’s doctor to monitor their current stage and predict when they might progress to the next can help you to better know what to expect and how to modify your care to give them what they need and deserve as they age.

If your aging loved one has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or their symptoms and challenges have progressed to the point that you no longer feel confident fulfilling them, now may be the ideal time for you to start elder care for them. An elderly home care services provider can be in the home with your senior to provide a highly personalized set of services tailored to not only address their individual needs, challenges, symptoms, and limitations, but also to provide the support, encouragement, and companionship that they need to maintain their independence and a high quality of life for as long as possible. Beginning this care as early in the journey with dementia as you can make a tremendous difference in your parent’s progression and how they manage their disease. Starting early enables your parent to form a meaningful relationship with the care provider that can help them to stay more compliant and cooperative later in their progression, and supports the establishment of a routine that they can rely on as their symptoms worsen and their needs increase.

 

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional elder care in Berkeley Heights, NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.

 

Sources:

http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_stages_of_alzheimers.asp

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=133

Susan Myer, RN, BSN, CCRN, CDP