42 and I hope I'm being paranoid.

[rickeeling]

Hi all,
First posting. My Nan had dementia for the last 7 yrs of her life, my dad is 77 and has had it for 2 yrs that we know of, but looking back it could of been a lot longer and now I am paranoid that I have v early stages at 42.
People say its an age thing the memory, but I used to be great at remembering telephone numbers, now i struggle with a 4 digit pin number.
I cantremember words for everyday things, for example i would want to say lawnmower, but would not be able to find the word and say " you know the thing you cut the grass with". I have started to stammer, which I think is a mechanism to help me pause and remember the word and most recently I've been saying the wrong word, such as " the paint is wet" when I meant to say " the paint is dry"
At the moment I am fully aware of these"mistakes" I am making, but it is starting to concern me.
Are these early signs or just the natural progression of becoming an old duffer.

Ric.

[Christin]

Hello Ric, welcome to Talking Point.

I think this is something that we all think about at times. Memory problems can be caused by many things, stress being one of them.

If you are concerned, I can only suggest that you speak to your GP. This is really important, if you are diagnosed with any form of dementia, and there are many forms, then help and often medication is available.

This to the AS webpage re Worried About Your Memory will give you some guidance.

With very best wishes to you, Ric.

[Grannie G]

No one on Talking Point will be able to make a diagnosis, the only person who can do this is your doctor.

What I can tell you is there are causes of confusion, word finding difficulties and memory loss other than dementia, the most common being stress.

Please visit your doctor. If there is anything wrong, you want it sorted as soon as possible before it gets worse.

And get back to us to tell us how you got on.

[Bodensee]

I read that Fiona Phillips had a test to see if she was carrying the AD/Dementia genes, maybe if you are really worried you could have this test as well for peace of mind. Your Gp should know what the test is and no reason why you should'nt be entitled to it if your parents have the disease.

[zeeeb]

As far as I'm aware, the process of getting a diagnosis is usually long (and often round and round in circles). And the younger you are, the more doctors seem to dismiss it as stress, anxiety, depression.

With my mum (at 57) it took her a year of testing, back and forth to doctors, mis-guesses (i wouldn't call them mis-diagnoses) and then finally the 3 brain scans and nueropsych appointment that gave her the diagnosis (CT, MRI, SPECT).

So I guess what I'm saying, is that you need to expect to go back to get a few opinions and demand further testing if you're not satisfied with the first few answers you get. At your age, it's worth while demanding more testing, and being impatient, because obviously you would want to get on any medication to slow any symptoms sooner rather than later.

Best of luck, hope you get some answer.

[Billhen1]

Hello Ric,
My wife was in her late 40s when she was diagnosed with Alzheimers. Her mother was 62 when she got it and my wife's gran had the disease also but she was old when she had it.
The doctors in my local practice said my wife was too young to have dementia and she was treated for stress and depression for some time even though I told them what I suspected.
I must advise you to go to your doctor and ask him to test you as soon as you can. Good luck and I sincerely hope all goes well for you.

[NeverGiveUp]

Do you have any other 'silly' health problems? The sort of unconnected things where your GP might start to think that you are a hypercondriac. Dry eyes? susceptable to dental cavities? Tiredness? Sillly aches & pains?

A major problem in society today is Sjogren's Syndrome (Google 'Venus Williams'), brain fog can be part of it, Sjogren's is also very widely underdiagnosed. Just to be sure, when you speak to your GP ask for a blood test for Sjogren's.

As long as you get the GP surgery to test for everything it puts your mind at rest, the worry just adds to the stress.

[zeeeb]

Do you have any other 'silly' health problems? The sort of unconnected things where your GP might start to think that you are a hypercondriac. Dry eyes? susceptable to dental cavities? Tiredness? Sillly aches & pains?

A major problem in society today is Sjogren's Syndrome (Google 'Venus Williams'), brain fog can be part of it, Sjogren's is also very widely underdiagnosed. Just to be sure, when you speak to your GP ask for a blood test for Sjogren's.

As long as you get the GP surgery to test for everything it puts your mind at rest, the worry just adds to the stress.

oh god, you've just described me!?* I'm 36!! eek

[SWMBO1950]

Hi Rickeeling

Welcome to TP and I am sorry you are finding cause to worry about your memory.

If you are really worried don't hold onto it but as others have said go and see your GP.

None of us on here are experts in the field and we offer advice purely on personal experiences. Stress can affect people in lots of ways and has a lot to answer for on many occasions!!

However it is important not to read too much into everyday things that we go through. Armchair Medics don't have all the answers, and the old phrase 'Too much knowledge is a bad thing' is so true.

Please find the courage to see your GP and I am sure he/she will be able to dispel your concerns.

Please keep positive, I wish you luck and let us know how you get on

Hi all,
First posting. My Nan had dementia for the last 7 yrs of her life, my dad is 77 and has had it for 2 yrs that we know of, but looking back it could of been a lot longer and now I am paranoid that I have v early stages at 42.
People say its an age thing the memory, but I used to be great at remembering telephone numbers, now i struggle with a 4 digit pin number.
I cantremember words for everyday things, for example i would want to say lawnmower, but would not be able to find the word and say " you know the thing you cut the grass with". I have started to stammer, which I think is a mechanism to help me pause and remember the word and most recently I've been saying the wrong word, such as " the paint is wet" when I meant to say " the paint is dry"
At the moment I am fully aware of these"mistakes" I am making, but it is starting to concern me.
Are these early signs or just the natural progression of becoming an old duffer.

Ric.

[NeverGiveUp]

zeeeb

Sjogren's not age related although more cases in women over 50. It is a weird illness with symptoms which mirror a stressed out carer of a dementia person, not everyone with it gets the same symptoms a bit like dementia isn't the same in everyone. From what I read, brain fog can cause fears of dementia onset when it isn't dementia at all. It seems not many get the nasty symptoms. It seems it is a bit hit and miss in diagnosis. Another common symtom I forgot earlier is blocked saliva glands. If a test is positive it is dealt with by a Rheumatologist.

SWMBO1950

If i'm one of the Armchair Medics, then sorry, but take it from me, I wish I had heard of Sjogren's years ago.

[jje]

Take a deep breath.

You are right, confusion, loss of words and loss of confidence speaking can be signs of dementia BUT they can also be signs of many other things.

For example: stress, being tired, constipation, thyroid disorders, water infections, just about any other infection, hormone imbalance to name but a few...

Talk to your GP.
And ask them to do blood and urine tests. These will help find underlying causes.

Good luck. x

[amanda94]

Hi Ric

My first dip into the forum today as well. Just wanted to say that I too have worried about myself as my memory seems to have got much worse in the last couple of years but I think mine is due to hormonal changes (after my Mum in law was diagnosed) and my partner - we are just in our fifties and his Mum is 79 and her Mum also had dementia.

I think the lovely people who have already replied are spot on - be brave and go to your GP. Try to get one you find easy to talk to (I rarely go to the docs so it is hard to talk to a complete stranger). The sooner you know the sooner you can do something about it.

Sincerely good luck and let us know.
x

[Harmony]

Hi Ric, my mother had Alzheimer and when i went to see my doctor about my memory and tiredness, he prescribed anti-depressants. At the same time he noticed a slight swelling on my neck which turned out to be a nodule on my thyroid, I must have had it for years and the change is very gradual but includes memory difficulties and tiredness. After having a small op to remove the nodule and having taken thryosine for 9 months my memory appears less of a problem, although I am not sure if it is because I am less concerned about everything because of the antidepressants or because I no longer have thyroid problems! I know there are still large gaps in my short term memory and like you I often use the wrong word, so it is still a real worry but the neurologist I was referred to said all I needed to do was concentrate more, when i agreed i could see that might help but what could i do to learn to concentrate more? He didnt have an answer, nor did the previous one who simply said it was my age. I am going back to my doctor next week to ask for referral to a memory clinic. At least I have come across a charity which supports an approach called 'contented dementia', which seems counter intuitive but I am already learning about it and making sure my husband understands it just in case! Does anyone know which type of scan provides the most reliable diagnosis? Good luck Ric, I guess all we can do is keep plugging away until the specialist agrees to a scan, and in the meantime try and get on with enjoying life in the here and now.

[Winter]

Hi all,
First posting. My Nan had dementia for the last 7 yrs of her life, my dad is 77 and has had it for 2 yrs that we know of, but looking back it could of been a lot longer and now I am paranoid that I have v early stages at 42.
People say its an age thing the memory, but I used to be great at remembering telephone numbers, now i struggle with a 4 digit pin number.
I cantremember words for everyday things, for example i would want to say lawnmower, but would not be able to find the word and say " you know the thing you cut the grass with". I have started to stammer, which I think is a mechanism to help me pause and remember the word and most recently I've been saying the wrong word, such as " the paint is wet" when I meant to say " the paint is dry"
At the moment I am fully aware of these"mistakes" I am making, but it is starting to concern me.
Are these early signs or just the natural progression of becoming an old duffer.

Ric.

Hi Ric

I am new here too... I have just had my 53rd birthday, there is no history of this disease in my family that I know of, my mother is fine but I didn't know my grandparents or father.

Recently I have been getting much worse at losing words, losing things, forgetting my last thought.... I find it difficult to concentrate on driving in town. I have suffered from depression for a couple years and am on Prozac but I stopped taking it to see if it was a side effect. I just got more depressed though. Also I only recently noticed this losing words thing has gotten worse. I am also very tried much of the time and have no energy.

Other wise I am healthy in body. I am creative, and can read and do Soduko etc without a problem. (Been putting myself through all these tests....)... but I am scared.

Are there any online tests I can do? I will see my doctor when I get the energy.

Thanks all

Winter

[NeverGiveUp]

Winter

Food For the Brain web site has a test, don't know how good it is, i have completed the tests several times. It is actually quite fun, they do a followup a year later.