Worried about my health

[robbo13]

Hi everyone. I've just joined here. I'm not sure if posting here is going to help me but I am very concerned about my mental health and so am trying to cover every option at the moment. If I can explain my condition and the various procedures I have gone through then maybe someone can shed some light on it for me.

I am a 51 year old man who is in good physical shape but I have been suffering from a condition that is gradually getting worse over time. I am concerned that this may be early onset dementia. I firstly started having these feelings about 5 years ago. I have a feeling of being completely detached from the world and have whole days and even weeks where I can barely remember what I have done. I also now seem to be having complete loss of memory of many notable things that I have done in the past. My partner will talk about something we have done together and I very rarely can remember these things even though they are special moments and occasions. I have also noticed more recently that I have absolutely no emotional feelings whatsoever for anything. Its as if my head has just switched off. Yes, I can do regular things like work practices, driving, having conversations, and even carrying out complex actions such as playing a musical instrument, but I barely have any recollection of doing these things and have to ask people if I have been OK. In all instances people have said that I have been fine. Its as if my mind is on autopilot but I can't remember those autopilot actions. I have been to see my doctor on a number of occasions, have been to a neurologist a couple of times, had CAT and MRI scans and also have had memory tests. With all meetings and tests I have been certified as being fine although the MRI scans have flagged up that I have some unspecified white spots on the brain, although I was assured by the neurologist that this was not uncommon for someone of my age. My doctor has suggested that these feelings can be caused by depression however, when I first started having these feelings I was definitely not depressed, but have actually now started suffering from depression due to any lack of understanding of what these symptoms are being caused by. In effect, depression has not triggered these symptoms. Its actually the other way around. I have explained this to my doctor and am now waiting for new memory tests but feel as if I am going around in circles.

As a result of all this I feel as if my life is in limbo as I am not being given any information about what is going on. Can anyone shed any light on these symptoms? Are they likely to be depression related or is there something more sinister at work here?

 

[chick1962]

Hi everyone. I've just joined here. I'm not sure if posting here is going to help me but I am very concerned about my mental health and so am trying to cover every option at the moment. If I can explain my condition and the various procedures I have gone through then maybe someone can shed some light on it for me.

I am a 51 year old man who is in good physical shape but I have been suffering from a condition that is gradually getting worse over time. I am concerned that this may be early onset dementia. I firstly started having these feelings about 5 years ago. I have a feeling of being completely detached from the world and have whole days and even weeks where I can barely remember what I have done. I also now seem to be having complete loss of memory of many notable things that I have done in the past. My partner will talk about something we have done together and I very rarely can remember these things even though they are special moments and occasions. I have also noticed more recently that I have absolutely no emotional feelings whatsoever for anything. Its as if my head has just switched off. Yes, I can do regular things like work practices, driving, having conversations, and even carrying out complex actions such as playing a musical instrument, but I barely have any recollection of doing these things and have to ask people if I have been OK. In all instances people have said that I have been fine. Its as if my mind is on autopilot but I can't remember those autopilot actions. I have been to see my doctor on a number of occasions, have been to a neurologist a couple of times, had CAT and MRI scans and also have had memory tests. With all meetings and tests I have been certified as being fine although the MRI scans have flagged up that I have some unspecified white spots on the brain, although I was assured by the neurologist that this was not uncommon for someone of my age. My doctor has suggested that these feelings can be caused by depression however, when I first started having these feelings I was definitely not depressed, but have actually now started suffering from depression due to any lack of understanding of what these symptoms are being caused by. In effect, depression has not triggered these symptoms. Its actually the other way around. I have explained this to my doctor and am now waiting for new memory tests but feel as if I am going around in circles.

As a result of all this I feel as if my life is in limbo as I am not being given any information about what is going on. Can anyone shed any light on these symptoms? Are they likely to be depression related or is there something more sinister at work here?

Hello, and welcome to TP . Sorry you had to find us though! Diagnosis is very difficult and lengthy as you are very young. Doctors and consultants want to make sure it's the right one as it is life changing so they take their time ! I am no expert, but a lot of your systems fit depression too and there are also a lot of other illnesses it could be contributed too! I know all this must be difficult for you but put your trust in the medical profession. I am sure someone else will be along soon on here ! In the mean time do take care


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[CollegeGirl]

Hello Robbo and welcome from me too.

I can't comment on your memory problems, but I do know from my own experience that a feeling of detachment, of being on auto-pilot, is definitely one of the signs/symptoms of depression.

That's not to say these feelings you have couldn't be a sign/symptom of something else, but they are definitely linked to depression.

I'm not sure if that will have helped! But please be reassured that you are not alone, and do keep posting as there is always somene around to listen.

 

[Adcat]

Good morning Robbo,
I second what's already been said by Chick1962 and Collegegirl.
It might be useful to print out your post and get your GP to read it. Also, take your partner when you go to your GP.
Take care and keep posting

 

[Rageddy Anne]

Robbo, how sensible of you to ask these questions and see your doctor. As others have said, you may not have any cause to be worried, but it won't hurt to flag up your concerns.

This is probably a silly question, but could you be working too hard? When did you last get a real rest, or a relaxing holiday? Just a thought. It does look as though you're on autopilot. Have you had any setbacks to deal with recently? Could this be a delayed reaction?

Best wishes, and I hope you get an insight into what's worrying you.

 

[canary]

Hi Robbo, the things you describe could be depression, or they may be something else - its difficult to tell, but they dont sound much like dementia. In addition to other things already suggested might I ask - were you in an accident about 5yrs ago?

 

[littleedie]

Hi
The symptons you describe, being detached from the world and in limbo can be symptons of depression, excellent advice to print of your post and show to gp

 

[sistermillicent]

I have had depression. I didn't believe I had it until I started to get better on antidepressants and then I wondered how on earth I hadn't believed I had it.

If they have offered you treatment for depression give it a try.

I would also suggest you go and see a counsellor, you may get to the bottom of it that way or you may find the strength to request all your medical records and piece things together yourself to see what has happened, perhaps reports have not been sent to the right people or tests have not been carried out that were suggested or the letters have not been properly read or you haven't been referred somewhere when you should have been.
The above all happened to a friend of mine, she got a diagnosis of a rare auto immune disease after suffering from it for 40 yrs.

 

[robbo13]

Thanks for the posts everyone.

I have read quite a lot on these feelings I am getting and depression does continually crop up in literature. So I can understand how people are suggesting its more likely to be that. I suppose in some ways that makes me feel a bit better as depression can be worked on. But as I mentioned, the odd thing is, these feelings of detachment did not come about through feeling low or depressed. They just started about 5 years ago but I had no physical accident or trauma back then so its a complete mystery why I started having these issues. This was why I thought that it may be something physical such as a tumour, hence the scans and trips to the neurologist, or even the start of some kind of diminishing brain capacity. Somebody suggested issues of overwork but I actually do a job where I have a fair amount of time off anyway, although when working the hours can be long.

Thanks again. I think I need to speak to my doctor again and maybe show him some of this thread as suggested.