The symptoms and the speed at which they develop are different for everybody. Not everybody with a diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia develops all of the symptoms mentioned below. 

The most common symptoms are

Problems with thinking/ Cognitive symptoms such as:

• Difficulty planning and organising tasks 
• Decreased ability to understand visual information 
• Memory of recent events can be affected
• Alertness fluctuates throughout the day and functional abilities vary.

Visual hallucinations or seeing something that isn’t there. It can occur in over two thirds of people with Lewy Body Dementia. They may be images of people or animals and can be emotionally neutral  but sometimes upsetting.

Stiffness of limbs, slowness of movement and tremor/shake of arm are common with people with Lewy Body Dementia. It is often one of the earliest problems people experience. We refer to these as ‘motor symptoms’.

Daytime drowsiness and naps. Nodding off frequently during the daytime is  very common with people with Lewy Body Dementia.

REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep disturbances – People with Lewy Body Dementia often experience problems with sleep whereby they may ‘act out’ dreams. This can result in calling out and/or kicking out in their sleep. This occurs in 80% of people with Lewy Body Dementia. The punching, kicking, and jumping behaviours can result in harm in extreme cases. Bed partners are frequently the target of violent dream enactment.

Confusional Arousals refer to episodes when the person appears to be partially awake. They are disorientated and may have difficulty understanding/responding to what is being said to them. They generally last a few minutes but can last longer.

This refers to how Lewy Body Dementia affects the part of our nervous system that manages blood pressure, bowel and urine control. 

Orthostatic hypotension is a drop in blood pressure that can happen to some people when they stand up. This drop in blood pressure can make you feel dizzy or lightheaded. It can even make you pass out.  Another term for orthostatic hypotension is “postural hypotension.”

Problems with urinary incontinence (loss of bladder control) can occur for some people. 

Constipation is also a common symptom.

Confusional Arousals refer to episodes when the person appears to be partially awake. They are disorientated and may have difficulty understanding/responding to what is being said to them. They generally last a few minutes but can last longer.

Other symptoms which can occur in Lewy Body Dementia 

• Insomnia/ difficulty getting to sleep. 
• Restless leg syndrome .
• Auditory hallucinations or hearing things that are not there can be a feature for some.
• Recurrent falls can be an early sign. However there are many reasons why a fall may occur.
• Mood problems can occur with people with Lewy Body Dementia.  Apathy/ loss of interest in self and others
• Paranoia/ delusions. Sometimes people with Lewy Body Dementia can have ideas and beliefs are not true.
• Speech can become disorganised
• Hyposmia- Loss of sense of smell
• Difficulty swallowing/dysphagia 
• Breaks in concentration- staring episodes.