I come from a medical family and am studying in the healthcare field myself so have worked a lot with people with dementia. Since studying I have noticed a big decline in my dad's memory/cognition and it reminds me of my dementia experiences.
Memory - he keeps his entire week planned and written out when my mum is away because she can't be there to remind him of things. He has forgotten certain significant life events like a family member having a hospital a few years ago. He gets all my friends mixed up and where and when I am meeting them.
Cognition - he is a very clever man and still can answer pretty much all the questions on TV. but has increasing difficulty with word finding and seems to process things slower / needs things repeated to him.
Mood/behaviour - he gets more easily agitated or angry with people than before, he was always a calm man. I received some bad news recently and he showed no empathy and carried on asking me unrelated questions. He tells jokes which are not appropriate to our family including innuendos and explicit language. He is very demotivated and barely leaves the house, watching Netflix all the time when he's not working. He has not been getting along with his boss at work either
Planning - he finds planning and multi tasking very challenging especially if things are slightly complicated. He also is obsessive over wearing gloves while driving.
I just don't know what to do because the doctors in my family don't seem to think anything is wrong and are just putting it down to aging but I'm sure there is more going on.
Memory - he keeps his entire week planned and written out when my mum is away because she can't be there to remind him of things. He has forgotten certain significant life events like a family member having a hospital a few years ago. He gets all my friends mixed up and where and when I am meeting them.
Cognition - he is a very clever man and still can answer pretty much all the questions on TV. but has increasing difficulty with word finding and seems to process things slower / needs things repeated to him.
Mood/behaviour - he gets more easily agitated or angry with people than before, he was always a calm man. I received some bad news recently and he showed no empathy and carried on asking me unrelated questions. He tells jokes which are not appropriate to our family including innuendos and explicit language. He is very demotivated and barely leaves the house, watching Netflix all the time when he's not working. He has not been getting along with his boss at work either
Planning - he finds planning and multi tasking very challenging especially if things are slightly complicated. He also is obsessive over wearing gloves while driving.
I just don't know what to do because the doctors in my family don't seem to think anything is wrong and are just putting it down to aging but I'm sure there is more going on.