To Dianne and anyone else feeling the same...
Diane,
Just in response to your question about your forgetfulness...
I have to say, its very possible that it is just the stress and strain of your situation as I went through some bad periods of forgetfulness where I would do things like forget the name of a person I worked with everyday while I was talking to them.
One time I actually couldn't remember where I was when I went to the toilet, didn't know what building I was in and what I would see when I opened the door to leave!
I also often had what I called a 'slipping sensation' in my head where it was almost if I blacked out or got dizzy for just 2 seconds or so.
Last year I developed piercing shooting pains in my head that would wake me up in the middle of the night and have me in agony that no painkiller could get rid of...
My hormones also have been crazy over the last 6yrs or so.
BUT all of these things have finally passed it seems, my last headache was August last year and lately I've had no other worrying symptoms either.
Its all very frustrating because everyone (including yourself) thinks you are obsessive and just worrying too much about the possibility of getting this disease, but the stress of the situation and the additional stress that occurs when you find yourself being forgetful etc makes feeling normal almost impossible. Its a vicious circle...many people will tell you to stop stressing, calm down and then the symptoms will go away, but there is no escaping the stress. AND..sometimes you need the stress, relaxing can often mean risking falling apart!!
So I won't belittle you and tell you to calm down and stop stressing, but I will tell you that unless there is evidence of the disease running in your family, there is a very high chance that you like I was, are just suffering from a body and mind that is over exhausted.
I advise seeing a doctor if you are truly concerned, but be aware that there is a good chance that unless you have obvious external symptoms they might suggest you could be depressed,... duh who wouldn't be?!
Some people find in this situation that anti-depressants do help them so you could try that...they might not help either though. They won't help you unless you are actually suffering from a depression caused by an imbalance in your brain's happy chemicals which could be the case as excessive stress can cause this. But if you are like me...its not the brain chemicals that are the problem it is just the completely sad and seemingly never-ending situation you are in.
So all I can say is just try to keep your chin-up, and remember my favourite saying, this too in time will pass.
The odds are in your favour that you will not get this disease.