You walked into your kitchen and can’t remember why. You stopped mid-joke because you suddenly couldn’t recall the punchline. You’re looking right at the old friend you’re meeting for lunch, but are blanking on their name.
How do you know when a mental blip is normal forgetfulness, or if it’s something to be concerned about and possibly related to cognitive decline?
The providers at Houston Neurological Institute are knowledgeable and caring, and help ease your worries by offering education around Alzheimer’s disease and evaluating you or your loved one — and if we diagnose you with Alzheimer’s, we’re here to offer the most advanced treatments.
First, it’s important to realize that some mild memory loss is a completely normal part of getting older. There are many forgetfulness issues that come with the territory as you take more trips around the sun.
These include absentmindedly misplacing your glasses, for example, or having a word or answer at the tip of your tongue and simply not being able to access it right then. These types of things are to be expected as you age, and not a cause for worry.
However, if you have problems with recall that are limiting your ability to live life normally and independently, then it’s a cause for concern.
Alzheimer’s disease affects close to six million people and is the most common type of dementia. It’s also progressive, so a person’s memory problems don’t stay the same; they get worse as time passes, to where they can’t maintain a conversation or tend to their affairs.
The Alzheimer’s symptoms that you should be alert to and prompt you to seek care from your Houston Neurological Institute provider include:
Another symptom to watch for is mood shifts that are erratic and seem to come out of nowhere.
If this symptom scenario sounds familiar, it’s time to seek care from a neurologist at Houston Neurological Institute.
Alzheimer’s disease progresses from mild to moderate, and finally, severe. The mild stage sees people's cognitive functioning suffer, and memory challenges appear. This may manifest in repetitive questioning, wandering, and taking a much longer time than normal to complete a task.
Mild Alzheimer’s symptoms include more language-related challenges and memory issues that cause people to have problems recognizing friends and loved ones.
Sadly, severe Alzheimer’s renders a person nearly unable to communicate or handle self-care.
At Houston Neurological Institute, our goal is to improve the quality of life for people living with Alzheimer’s. We may recommend prescription medication as well as vitamin supplements. We also talk to the patient’s family and offer resources for support and relief, as serving as a caregiver for someone living with Alzheimer’s is a demanding job.
We help families determine what’s safe for the patient to do and what living situation is best for them, and we look ahead and try to anticipate their future care needs.
We ensure that we accurately diagnose every patient through imaging tests, a complete physical examination, and thorough neurological testing. We also make certain that each patient’s memory challenges can’t be traced to something different, such as a vitamin deficiency or medication.
We’re here to help you or a loved one examine any increase in memory issues, and if we make an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, we provide the best care and compassionate support we can.
Contact our Pasadena or Pearland office to schedule an appointment, or book one with us online.
