Alzheimer’s disease Essay

Alzheimer’s disease is the number one form of dementia in the United States today. The more this disease progresses the worse it gets because there is no cure for it at this time. Most people do not show signs or symptoms of this disease or even get diagnosed until about age sixty-five. There is also no known cause for this disease and mostly people want to link Alzheimer’s to being hereditary. Mr. Speed will require secondary care especially in this case because Mr. Speed is barely in the early stages of the disease. When his disease progresses even more and is in the final stages, which can be five to ten years from now, maybe sooner, he will then require tertiary care. For more information regarding Alzheimer’s you can visit the Alzheimer’s Association website at http://www.alz.org/. This website will allow you to enter Mr. Speed’s zip code and can refer him to walk in centers in his area. He can also take some quizzes and answer some questions o n the site that can give him a better idea of what stage of dementia he has this way he is prepared when he decides to attend the walk-in clinic. Taking the first steps toward treatment can be hard but can be worked through with support from family members and his wife. Mrs. Speed is concerned with the progression of her husband’s Alzheimer’s and is requesting answers on if her husband can be alone for long periods of time and if he is still responsible enough to take his own medications. Please let them know at this time that he may continue his daily routines and ask Mrs. Speed to contact our facility if he begins to be forgetful and cannot perform normal tasks. Also let her know there will be slight changes in his moods and behaviors but they shouldn’t be anything to drastic. Forgetfulness and not being able to perform regular daily tasks will happen but should progress over a five to ten year period. They can expect these changes and should also consider attending the walk in clinic as soon as  possible. If Mr. Speed is willing to face all of the facts he will be helping himself as well as his wife get through this difficult time. These clinics will help him to deal with his issues and allow them to vent as well as learn coping strategies. He can attend by himself or with his wife present as well. They will also help him to plan for the future whether he would like to stay home or be placed in a nursing home.