Can someone tell me if this is still stage 1 Alzheimer's or what stage it could possibly be?

I've heard from my dad. And my dad has had congestive heart failure ever since i was like in middle school and I'm 26 now. Plus it runs in the family pretty bad. I filled out a advantage program application for nurses to go to his house and check on him and stuff. They can help get him into a nursing home or living center which will help me out and take some stress off of me. I'm calling his doctor tomorrow again.

Walter, what's going on is dad alright? We are worried let us know when you can

Walter, have you heard from your dad?

I would NOT try to self medicate him! Do as GardenArtist said and get him to the ER STAT! That's necessary because you're not a medical professional.

There are two groups of Alzheimer's "stages".
One set of stages has only three stages - early, mid and late. In that group, your father could be considered stage 1, early. The other has seven stages. In this group your father would be in stage 3, mild decline.
Check these websites for the details on each of the two different groups.
http://www.alzheimers.net and http://www.alz.org/

I use the seven stage behavior descriptions to help our caregivers and health care providers to know which behaviors my husband is presenting.

Focus on the behavior and solutions to help your father transition into that behavior.

To help your father identify you when you call on the phone there are a few options.
1) Have a recent and childhood photo (best if your father is in the photo). Put the photos near the phone. Put your name on a label for the photos. May be even a brief story. "Dad and I riding our bikes in 19xx along the lakefront". If the story connects with your father use it every time you talk with him.
2) Consider using a live stream video phone session (like Skype) so your father could see you while he is talking with you. This technology would require a computer, internet and someone at your father's location to assist with the call set up.

Walter, Call your local "Area Agency On Aging" every county in US has one. They will be able to point you to resources available to you.

There is no form of dementia that is easier than another. They all take their toll on both patient and family. I also agree you should have him check for Congestive Heart Failure, it causes swelling. Please let us know how you and dad are doing. If he has not responded to your calls please call 911 .

Your dad is young - in his 50's? - to be going to a NH & there may be additional hurdles for his admission than for a more elderly person. Did you mention that dad has a felony record? If so, that may be an issue for his admission to a facility; the application may have a ? on priors and you have to answer truthfully otherwise yourself have fallout. If dad has any substance abuse issues, that too may be an issue for admissions.
Unlike those over 65, he does not have Medicare so facility has no available way to bill for medical providers initially till he gets approved for Medicaid, the facility may require a hefty deposit to admit.
If you find roadblock after roadblock in getting him into a facility, he is going to need to get admitted to a hospital and then you make social work at the hospital find a placement in a facility for him....you refuse to pick him up so they have to find a place on order for him to be discharged. Good luck in all this.

Edema of the legs, feet and ankles is indicative of CHF (congestive heart failure) when the body is unable to excrete fluids from the body. Only a neurologist can correctly diagnose dementia (as there are many types), and other medical issues can mimic dementia (i.e. Vitamin D and Vitamin B-12 deficiency, hypothyroidism, just to name a few). Each person is unique to each "stage" and presents with similar symptoms, but do not think dementia can be put into a "stage" box exactly. The brain is terrific when it works, but each brain has its own way of dealing with the ravages of this disease. Be an advocate for your father and seek out specialists who can diagnose him correctly. When you get a consensus with two of three doctors, then deal with whatever his diagnosis is, and then wait. Dementia has its own timetable. Best wishes!

Oh yes. I would call the police and ask for a wellness check to make sure he's not in distress. Or if you know a neighbor to do it too. How far away are you? I would go over if it was possible. Give the police your cell so they can reach you.

Walter, you might want to consider getting a life alert pendant and a lock box that attaches to a stud bordering the door frame. There's a combination lock inside; the 4 digit combination which your father or you choose can be given to first responders to entry if your father can't be reached.

call the police for wellness check.

Ok thanks sunnygirl1. I'm worried last time I talked to my dad was 10:45 last night. And I've called ten times already and havent gotten an answer from him.

I hope you get some answers about your dad.

There are some great information on this thread, but if I may offer a little different take on the swelling matter. Maybe someone else can chime in too. I have seen at least 6 people that I know personally, one including myself, who has seen a doctor about swelling of the hands and/or feet. They call it edema. I have Type I diabetes, but the edema was not considered a medical issue of concern. I complained about it to my GP and 2 separate Endocrinologist and none of them thought it was serious and not even worth treating. Two of these are top in their field. An senior that I know was told my her doctor that edema was not a medical problem. He sent her home. I know others who were given fluid pills, which I was eventually, or given nothing and told it wasn't a problem. These doctors are not quacks and some work out very prestigious medical schools. So, I guess sometimes the edema can be a warning sign and other times it might not.

Im calling his doctor today to get more answers

I was suggesting the hydrocephalus ( you can Google it for the symptoms) due to the edema, but then you said that there isn't any, so never mind.

It is water on the brain that can press on the brain in a way to mimic dementia symptoms, but then when the water is drained, the dementia is relieved. There have been some posts regarding it on this site. I had never heard of it before reading about it here.

Alzheimer's gets more attention because it has such a huge research company behind it. Just like breast cancer, yet there are many, many kinds of cancer.

Yesterday my dad did a DNR paper. So now I'm wondering if he knows something that I don't. He said he talks to his momma all the time which she passed away 2 years ago.

He hasn't been wandering off. He just forgets what he read or was told 5 minutes ago. He is having the delusions and hallucinations :( it all hit so fast it seems like. He has his good days and bad days. He told me tonight he probably wont be here for Christmas :( and of course i losr it on the phone and started crying. I just wish I knew the stage or how severe or bad it is. Thanks so much all of y'all for the support and answers. God bless y'all. I dont wanna see my dad suffer :(

Walter, the worst kind of dementia is the kind your loved one has. They are different but they are all awful.

Lewy Body does not generally involve wandering. Alzheimer's does. Maybe Alzheimer's is worse.

Lewy Body often includes hallucinations and delusions very early in the disease. In Alzheimer's they tend to occur much later, if at all. Maybe Lewy Body is worse.

Each kind of dementia has its own set of symptoms and behaviors. It is not possible to lay them out on a scale from bad to worst.

It also entirely possible to have more than one kind of dementia.

We don't get choices. It is what it is, and we deal with the symptoms our loved ones have.

My husband died of Lewy Body Dementia. I was glad he didn't wander. I was glad he didn't forget people even at the very end. Was I glad he had LBD instead of ALZ? Nope. Neither is "better" to have.

Thanks so much everyone. Im gonna see what i can get done today. Can someone answer of Alzheimer's is worse then Lewy body or vise versa.

I am sorry that you and your dad are going through this. Feel free to keep asking questions.

Dad most likely has dementia, and it is more likely to be Lewy Body than Alzheimer's, but the critical thing to focus on here is that no matter what the diagnosis is, he cannot safely live on his own, according to a doctor who has seen him recently. Don't wait to finish the Medicaid application. Many nursing homes accept residents "Medicaid pending" and once he is there they can address whatever his symptoms are.

I really think getting him somewhere safe where he can be looked after needs to come first. Can you ask the free clinic that he goes to if they have a social worker who can give you some assistance? Even just getting suggestions on suitable places to consider will help.

Your dad may be just fine in a nursing home. It would be nice if you can find one that also has a memory care unit, in case he needs that later, but don't delay his placement if that is not available.

Keep us posted on what is going on. You'll get through this, and we'd like to cheer you on.

Google Lewy body dementia. There is info out there on it. Staging dementia is a gray area since each case varies to some extent. My mom has recently had some noticeable decline in her cognitive abilities which leads us to believe she has advanced to the mid stages. Earlier on it was mostly mild forgetfulness and confusion, inability to find the words she wanted to use, unable to remember names but still knew faces, trouble following directions. Now her short term memory is basically non existent. She will ask the same thing ten times in five minutes. She can't remember what she had for breakfast an hour later, is unable to prepare anything to eat, use the phone, be left home alone, or sign her name. But she still recognizes and remembers those who are familiar to her and her long term memory remains quite good so we are still able to have meaningful conversations with her. She wants to help with household chores but isn't able to complete even simple tasks without a lot of supervision.

I don't know what that is txcamper. And my dad is 59. Im calling an advantage program to see if they can speed up his application so he can get Medicaid. Is the Lewy body type bad? Sorry for all the questions. This is new to me and I'm having to go through it alone. I guess there is know way of her telling me what stage he is in.

How old is your father? It sounds like someone needs to help him apply for Medicaid so he can go into a nursing facility. The Parkinson disease would explain the falls and the dementia (Lewy body type). There are medications they can give that make these things more tolerable. Please let us know how everything is going. It sounds like your father has had quite a rough life.

What about normal pressure hydrocephalus?

She said there not swelled up that's just something my dad said.

What did the doctor say about the edema in his feet, ankles and hands? It seems there's more going on besides a cognitive issue. And that might be the cause of what appears to be dementia. Swelling, especially in the ankles, can be uncomfortable and painful, and that could affect his mental outlook and performance.

His doctor called me and she did a cognitive test on him and he scored really low. She told me that he can't live alone anymore and needs to be put in a nursing home.

Walter, I too first thought the ankle and foot swelling was from fluid retention, but I'm not sure about fluid retention in the hands. I've only seen it once, when a relative was in chronic CHF (congestive heart failure).

But with diabetes, you have another level of potential complication.

Follow TxCamper's advice and have your Dad sign a HIPAA authorization so the clinic staff can give you information on his health. You might also try to get his medical records from prison so that you can bring them to clinics in the future - it will help them to know what his medical history has been.

There is a dementia that usually accompanies Parkinson's, that is called Lewy Bodies I think.

Is he taking medicine for the high blood pressure and the high cholesterol? Is he on any kind of diabetic friendly diet? Who is his medical POA? If it is you, you may want to go with him to the clinic and talk to the doctor. Dad will have to sign a HIPAA form saying it is okay to talk to you. See if you can get him to drink more fluids (not beer or cokes, they don't count), elevate his legs when he's sitting, lay off the processed foods for a while (lunch meat, hot dogs) and cut way down on using salt at the table. A little exercise never hurt anyone either, if he'll take a walk or even lift his legs off the recliner every once in a while. Good luck!

My dad has know insurance so he is going to a free clinic, and she told him about him having Alzheimer's. When he was in prison he was diagnosed with dementia. He is a diabetic also has Parkinson's disease. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, I'm thinking the swelling is from him retaining fluids. I wish I could get all the answers and stuff. His health is poor.