7 Stages of Dementia Before Death
Dementia is a long-term illness, allowing patients to live for many years after diagnosis. This unique feature leads to a distinctive terminal period due to the unpredictable course of dementia. In addition, patients with advanced dementia have difficulty managing pain, emotions, desires, or needs. This complicates matters for the caregiver, who is pressured to handle the needs of his or her dependent.
Dementia has stages through which your loved one progresses, showing you how near they are to the end stages if you are a carer.
What do the 7 stages of dementia mean?
Dementia progresses in a way that depends on the individual and progresses at different rates; therefore, knowing the progression at any stage is crucial.
Stage 1 : No Cognitive Decline
According to the assessment criteria for dementia, which is used in the present study, during stage 1, the patients can go about their daily activities as any other physically fit person and do not present memory loss, confusion, or evidence of any cognitive impairment. Nevertheless, in the initial onset of dementia, it is observed that damage to the brain first begins to occur as neurons in the brain begin to fail or disconnect with other neurons and begin to die.
Stage 2 : Age Associated Memory Impairment
In stage 2, a person will develop short-term memory loss, whereby he or she may sometimes forget where objects are kept or fail to recall the names and faces of people he or she knew well in the past. At this stage, one might not notice these symptoms as interfering with one’s job or interaction with other people, or even recognize signs during a clinical interview with a physician or mental health professional.
Stage 3 :Mild Cognitive Impairment
In stage 3, the patient and those close to them can observe that the level of cognitive deficits is worsening. Various symptoms may include:
- Becoming confused while walking or driving
- Losing almost all the instances that were read
- Losing words, not remembering the names of close ones
- Losing important items
- Poor performance at work
- Verbal repetition
- Problems with tasks and challenging situations
Stage 4 : Mild Dementia
Persons in stage 4, whenever involved in a clinical interview, will reveal a lower level of functioning and minimize exposure to complex tasks to avoid becoming anxious and expressing their helplessness. Symptoms in stage 4 may include:
- Social withdrawal
- Emotional moodiness
- There is no information about the so-called recent or even current affairs
- Erasing their past, and perhaps it would be more important their last few years when they were active in political life
- Trouble with routine tasks
- Denial of symptoms
Stage 5 : Moderate Dementia
According to the disease stage, many patients are diagnosed with dementia when they have reached the last stage, which is stage 5. Stage 5 takes 2- 4 years, and from stage 5 onwards, the patient requires moderate to total dependency.
Other symptoms include:
- This is marked by forgetting important details like house and phone numbers
- They may be able to remember their name and the names of their children and spouses, but have difficulty remembering the names of their grandchildren
- Losing track of time, not being able to differentiate between day and night, days of the week, date, or season
- Decreased ability to reason and impaired problem-solving skills
Stage 6 : Moderately Severe Dementia
The improvement of the cognitive function of patients with Alzheimer’s starts to deteriorate in stage 6, and they cannot manage to carry out their daily activities independently. Stage 6 is the longest development process and takes approximately 4-8 years. In addition to all the previous symptoms identified, the patient will progress to the following symptoms:
- Need help to bathe, dress, feed, make use of the toilet, and get other forms of personal help
- Failing to identify family or friends
- Urinary and fecal incontinence
- Sleeping difficulty
- Such behaviors include aggression as well as anxiety
Personality changes may include:
- Symptoms include anxiety and seeing or hearing things that are not real, like speaking to themselves or believing that their caregivers are trying to harm them
- Other repetitive behaviors like washing hands or performing a certain task repeatedly
Stage 7 : Severe Dementia
The final stage, or 7th stage, of dementia is also acknowledged as the terminal stage. In this stage, the patient has satisfied all the above steps and cannot offer do-it-yourself care.
Patients will gradually:
- Suffer from disability or cannot communicate their needs or wishes.
- According to these cognitive changes, their functional status will deteriorate.
- The patient will no longer be able to walk because something in their mind cannot retrieve the necessary information.
- The patient will eventually require total care for all activities of daily living: washing, dressing, feeding, elimination, and other independent personal needs such as grooming.
- The final stage, depending on the age and health condition of the person, may last approximately one to two years.
How to care for a loved one with dementia
Caregivers have a variety of ways to provide support to a loved one through the progression of dementia:
- Attempt to engage users in positive and purposeful interactions while employing best practices in communication intervention.
- Think about other approaches and therapies used in dementia care.
- Develop a dementia management plan.
- You may want to become a member of a caregiver support group.
- Search for available memory care homes.
Another benefit of accepting reality is that as you grasp what is expected of you and your loved one, you will feel like you have the power to look forward to the best of this time together.
If the above concept of handling dementia diagnosis without support seems overwhelming to you, A Place for Mom is here for you. Browse our comprehensive database of caregiver guides, which consists of over three hundred articles on dementia treatments and such topics as memory care facilities.
Hospice for Dementia Patients
Hospice may be the answer for patients with advanced dementia, be it early-stage or late-stage dementia. To be eligible for this service, a person must have a life-limiting illness and be expected to live for no more than six months, according to a doctor. According to Medicare, a patient diagnosed with dementia may be eligible for hospice care if:
- The physician concludes that the patient’s mortality is six months if not treated or if the disease runs its usual course.
Patient scores 7a or greater on the FAST scale, which includes:
- This patient cannot walk at all and requires the help of a walking aid
- Suffers from paralysis to suit his or her own needs without any help
- Help is needed to wash using water and soap
- Incontinence of bowel and bladder
- No consistent, meaningful communication
- The patient must develop another condition that impacts his/her life expectancy.
When the patient is diagnosed with dementia, it will be essential to choose a hospice facility that offers dementia-centered care, as this will mean that they will receive quality services. Some questions you can ask include:
- Is Medicare certification current in your program?
- Does your staff have sufficient training in caring for patients with dementia?
- Are there specialized services to enhance the comfort of a patient with a diagnosis of dementia?
- Do you provide services to the family and the caretaker of the patient?
If you or a loved one feels that hospice might be necessary at some point, you can take the hospice eligibility quiz and receive a distinctive analysis of whether hospice would be suitable for your circumstances.