Know early signs to fight it

Sheela Shastri* and her husband Sumit Shastri* had never had a problem understanding each other. They stuck by each other’s side through a married life spanning more than three decades.

But recently, Sumit’s behaviour had become Sheela’s biggest worry — he was irritable, he couldn’t tell the difference between the toilet and the bathroom, he insisted on going for an evening stroll even if it was pouring outside.

“Sheela’s biggest complaint was that her husband would urinate in the bathroom instead of the toilet. She used to think that he did that on purpose and would at times shout at him,” says Dr Soumya Hegde, consultant psychiatrist, Nightingale’s Centre for Ageing and Alzheimer’s. “Her husband was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. It was only due to Sumit’s early diagnosis that his wife can now cope with the situation,” says the doctor.

A degenerative brain disorder, Alzheimer’s is certainly not curable, but it can be dealt with better if people start recognising the early signs of the disease. “All of us expect our elders to start forgetting things as they grow old.

However, memory loss associated with age should not be confused with memory loss due to Alzheimer’s,” says Dr Hegde. “For instance, if an old person in the family forgets about the milk on the gas and recalls it later, one can say that his memory loss is associated with age. However, if he forgets about it and has no recollection of the incident altogether — it is likely that it is Alzheimer’s.”

Apart from memory loss, symptoms such as impairment in decision-making, loss of sense of time and distance and difficulty in planning could also be associated with the initial stages of dementia.

“The inability to recognise a face generally creeps in in the later stages,” says Dr Hegde. “Early diagnosis and early medical intervention helps the patient as well as his family members. The family often finds it impossible to cope with behavioural changes in an Alzheimer’s patient as they can’t understand the situation. They must consult a doctor before things become worse.”

Dr Hegde also says often it is the caregivers’ inability to understand the patient’s mind which leads to behavioural trouble. “Psycho therapy in the initial stages of Alzheimer’s can better the situation for both the sufferer and the caregiver,” says Dr Hegde.

Priyamvada, part of the organising committee of Sandhya Kiran, a day-care centre for Alzheimer’s patients in Shanthi Nagar, says, “Patients with Alzheimer’s need a lot of attention and care all the time.

They fear things around them and one needs patience to deal with them. A day-care centre is a good option as we are trained in dealing with these senior citizens and don’t take their behaviour personally either. In my opinion, no matter what one says to console the family members, it is very difficult for them to deal with the patient’s behaviour and not take it personally.”

Raj B*, whose mother is an Alzheimer’s patient, says, “There have been times when I have felt low because my mother refused to recognise me. Even though I know about her medical condition, I can’t help feeling depressed.”

Despite the rising awareness of dementia in the country, the disease still has a lot of stigma attached to it, say doctors. People find it hard to accept that a family member, especially a close one, is suffering from the dreaded disease.

In 2005, it was estimated that in Bangalore alone, there are more than 32,000 Alzheimer’s patients, “it must have almost doubled by now”, says Dr Radha Murthy, founder of the Nightingales Medical Trust and head of the Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI), Bangalore chapter.

“Apart from providing medical care at the doorstep, we have a comprehensive centre for Alzheimer’s patients in Kasturi Nagar. The centre provides day-care facilities, respite care (for a few days or months) and long-term care to Alzheimer’s patients,” says Dr Murthy, adding that the family-based support system is one of the most effective ways of battling this disease, especially in this country.

For any queries related to Alzheimer’s, you can call 9342730936/ 9342730959.