Some unexpected early Alzheimer’s symptoms

Yes, you may be experiencing Alzheimer’s symptoms and still appear to have a fine memory. Meryl Davids Landau reports for National Geographic on some unexpected early Alzheimer’s symptoms.

If you have Alzheimer’s disease, your brain is changing more than a decade before you experience any memory issues. As researchers look more deeply into what’s happening and why, they are investigating physical and social changes that could indicate your likelihood of having dementia.

Here are five signs of possible impending dementia:

You forget to pay your bills. Or, you make more donations and spend more money than you can afford and are prone to financial scams.
You lose weight. You might be less hungry or less inclined to cook.
Your language changes slightly. You might describe things less clearly than in the past.
Your sense of smell fades.
You have mood swings and behavior changes. The onset of anxiety and clinical depression as well as irritability are possible signs of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

What can you do if you experience any of these signs?

It’s never too late to eat healthy, avoid sugary and processed foods and exercise. Manage your stress. Keep your blood pressure at a healthy level. And, speak with your physician, who might decide to evaluate you further. If you are diagnosed early with Alzheimer’s, you could be eligible for one of the new treatments.

If you have Medicare, Medicare will cover an annual wellness visit with your physician. This visit should include an assessment of your cognition through a screening questionnaire that tests your memory, language, visual perception, attention and more.

Ask someone you trust to monitor your finances and ensure you are not being scammed or spending too much money.

And, of course, make sure you have a health care proxy–someone you trust to speak for you about your health care if you are unable to speak for yourself–and a living will, which explains your treatment preferences if you are unable to speak for yourself.

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