Many people like to joke about when they forget something, they have "Oldtimer's Disease". Forgetting is normal - happens to young people too.

An early sign of Alzheimer's is simple forgetfulness. It can be hard to catch at first because everyone forgets things. This is not a problem, unless the forgetfulness becomes frequent and begins to interfere with day to day life.  The inability to remember is one of the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.  Not everyone that forgets where they placed their keys is having one of the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease. But when this is a chronic complaint, perhaps you should start paying attention. It is important to discuss with a physician if forgetfulness is becoming a problem.

My mother started with forgetting common words when talking - and she blamed it on 'her teeth'. She either couldn't remember a word at all or would say a completely unrelated one. I became fairly good at knowing what she was talking about and could finish sentences for her. She used to call me 'her translator'.

Another one of the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease is confusion.  Becoming confused about where a person is or what they were suppose to be doing is one of the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.  Again, this can happen to people periodically, but when it is an on going problem it should be talked about with a physician.  Often, family members are the ones that notice the continuing pattern of behaviors in a loved one.  It can be helpful to write down how many times these types of behavior are occurring to get a real sense if there is a growing problem.

The early signs of Alzheimer’s disease can seem somewhat vague and not that severe.  An additional sign is having problems with language, forgetting words and becoming disoriented.  These early signs of Alzheimer’s disease can seem like part of the natural aging process.  If there seems to be a constant battle in remembering things, feeling disoriented and feeling confused, it is time to have a physician give an opinion as the severity of the symptoms.

Early signs of Alzheimer’s disease need to be monitored and taken seriously.  Check with family members to see if the behavior noticed is being seen by others, and again talk with a physician about the symptoms.

If your parent or spouse won't go to a doctor about forgetfulness, make an appointment and take them yourself. That's what I did under the guise of helping my mother to find a female physician. My mom got real mad at me when I started talking about memory issues, but it helped to buy her time and slow the progression a bit.