"For Mary and for Dave"
Advice and Support for Carers of loved ones living with dementia in South Warwickshire
"Voluntarily working alongside medical professionals and national charities we offer additional support to families and dementia carers locally - Through our own personal experience of caring for a loved one living with dementia we both completely understand the many challenging emotions and difficulties"
Paul and Heather Dowler - Tysoe Warwickshire
What is dementia?
The word ‘dementia’ describes a group of symptoms that
includes memory loss, difficulties with thinking, problem-solving
or language, and often changes in mood, perception
or behaviour. These changes are usually small to start with,
but for someone with dementia, they become bad enough
to affect daily life.
Dementia is not a natural part of ageing. It is caused when a
disease damages nerve cells in the brain. Nerve cells carry
messages between different parts of the brain, and to other
parts of the body. As more nerve cells are damaged, the brain
becomes less able to work properly.
Dementia can be caused by many different diseases. These
diseases affect the brain in different ways, resulting in different
types of dementia. The most common type is Alzheimer’s
disease. The next most common is vascular dementia.
A person’s symptoms depend on the disease that is causing
the dementia and which parts of their brain are affected.
Symptoms
Each person experiences dementia in their own way. Different
types of dementia affect people differently, especially in the
early stages.
However, there are some common
symptoms of dementia.
These include:
Memory loss – for example, problems recalling things that
happened recently.
Difficulty concentrating, planning or organising – for
example, struggling to make decisions, solve problems or
follow a series of steps (such as cooking a meal).
Problems with language and communication – for
example, difficulties following a conversation or finding the
right word for something.
Misunderstanding what is being seen – for example,
problems judging distances (such as on stairs) or perceiving
the edges of objects, or misinterpreting patterns or reflections.
Being confused about time or place – for example, losing
track of the time or date, or becoming confused about where
they are.
Mood changes or difficulty controlling emotions –
for example, becoming unusually anxious, irritable, sad
or frightened, losing interest in things, or experiencing
personality changes.
With some types of dementia, the person may have difficulty
knowing what is real and what isn’t. They may see or hear
things that are not really there (hallucinations) or strongly
believe things that are not true (delusions).
Progression and the later
stages of dementia
Dementia is progressive, which means symptoms may be
relatively mild at first, but they get worse over time.
How quickly this happens varies from person
to person and is normally very difficult to predict.
As dementia progresses, the person may start to behave in ways that seem unusual or out of character.
This might include asking the same question over and over, pacing around, or becoming
restless or agitated. This can be distressing or challenging for the
person and those close to them.
It also becomes harder for a person to eat, drink and stay active
as dementia progresses. This may lead to muscle weakness and
weight loss, which can make a person more frail.
Many people also have other health conditions that become
more difficult to manage because of their dementia. This means
these conditions get worse quicker.
Changes in sleep patterns are also very common in the later
stages. The person may sleep more and more during the day
and have problems going to sleep at night.
