You will face many changes…

Taking care of a person with Alzheimer's will bring many changes in your life, for which you may or may not be prepared.

The first and most important step you can take to help both yourself and your relative is to learn as much as possible about the disease and to make a realistic plan for the future.

Settle financial, legal, and property issues in a timely manner. Alzheimer's patients live an average of 9 months to 19 years from the onset of symptoms. Although it is impossible to accurately predict the symptoms of the disease in any different case, there is a lot of information that will help you in what to expect. In the first stage a person can live relatively independently. However, you should be on the lookout for possible signs of deterioration. Safety is a big issue, even if the person seems to be living without problems. Some of the first symptoms of the disease can cause accidents, such as a fire in the kitchen, driving accidents or even the risk of losing the patient. You need to keep an eye on all the security issues at home and outside: you may need to take on some issues, not only bill payments.

Worsening of symptoms

As time goes on, the patient will need more and more care. Invite all family members who have the ability or obligation to participate in patient care and discuss the problem. It is very helpful to have a written care plan that includes people who can help. Even if in practice the fact that you have secured the participation of others changes or is circumvented, it emphasizes the importance of some free time for you who have the daily care of the patient. The task of caring for an Alzheimer's patient is heavy and stressful. If you do not take care to rest and spend some time for personal needs, your physical and mental health is at risk.

As the illness worsens, the patient may begin to exhibit strange and often inappropriate behavior, to the point that it makes you wonder if this is the person you knew. Always remember that outbursts of irrational anger and aggression are not intended to irritate or threaten you, but are a manifestation of the disease, the result of the destruction of brain cells. Fortunately, most of the times you can predict the cause of these manifestations of aggression and inappropriate behavior and adapt to the environment. If the manifestations of aggression are frequent and become uncontrollable, your doctor can help you by giving the patient certain medications. But be careful, never give medications without medical supervision.