The following 26 behaviors could be warning signs of:
• Serious, unanticipated drug interactions
• Onset of serious mental decline, e.g. Alzheimer's
• Onset of serious mental decline, e.g. Alzheimer's
In either case, any of these observed behaviors (especially multiple behaviors) should be discussed with your parent's doctor. It is important to rule out first if interactions of medications that have been prescribed by a variety of doctors are causing the abnormal behaviors of the parent.
1. Memory changes that disrupt daily life
2. Unusual difficulty in solving problems
3. Difficulties completing familiar tasks like driving, bill paying, game rules
4. Confusion with time or place
5. Difficulty understanding concepts of past or future
6. Forgetting where they are or how they got there
7. Trouble understanding visual images
8. Difficulty understanding spatial relationships like near and far
9. Delusional fantasies
10. Reading difficulty
11. Difficulty determining color
12. Passing a mirror and thinking somebody else is in the room
13. New problems with words--speaking, writing
14. Frequently losing train of thought
15. Excessively repeating themselves
16. Struggles with vocabulary
17. Calling things or people by the wrong names
18. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
2. Unusual difficulty in solving problems
3. Difficulties completing familiar tasks like driving, bill paying, game rules
4. Confusion with time or place
5. Difficulty understanding concepts of past or future
6. Forgetting where they are or how they got there
7. Trouble understanding visual images
8. Difficulty understanding spatial relationships like near and far
9. Delusional fantasies
10. Reading difficulty
11. Difficulty determining color
12. Passing a mirror and thinking somebody else is in the room
13. New problems with words--speaking, writing
14. Frequently losing train of thought
15. Excessively repeating themselves
16. Struggles with vocabulary
17. Calling things or people by the wrong names
18. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
19. Accusing trusted others of stealing
20. Decreased or poor judgment with money
21. Naive and misplaced trust in telemarketers
22. Decline in grooming habits and cleanliness
23. Withdrawal from work or social activities
24. Loss of interest in favorite sports teams and hobbies
25. Substantial changes in mood or personality--confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful, anxious
26. Easily upset when out of comfort zone
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