Hi, I've posted a couple of times here. My dad has had memory issues for about 6 years, with things having worsened especially in the last year. Dads paranoia about people stealing things, namely his neighbour is getting worse. He has contacted police numerous times about this. I've explained the situation to them, so they understand.
I attended with dad to his doctor couple of weeks ago to get the results of blood tests etc. 6 months ago he would not have let me go near his doctor, but he put up no argument. In fact, secretly I think he was happy for me to be there as the impression I got was that his doctor was a bit intimidating which I now wholeheartedly agree with. Dads bloods all came back clear, liver function, cholesterol etc. Even though dad smokes cigars and drinks, he appears to be in good health in that way.
Doctor suggested a referral to the memory clinic and told dad he could not be forced and could say no. Well of course dad was going to say NO! Def not going to change his mind about that. For the last few months dad is sleeping quite a bit and has a poor appetite. This week he was in bed from Sat evening almost right through till Tues evening, hardly eating anything at all. Says he didn't feel well, but couldn't describe how he felt. I brought him dinners down on Sunday evening which he says are still in the fridge, he just doesn't feel like eating. He has been saying for about 6 months he has no appetite. His weight is ok, but I suspect it might be the nightly tipples stopping him from loosing too much. He goes to bed about 10pm after sleeping half the day. He was always a night owl and sat up till 2/3 in the morning. He needs new shoes, but seems to have lost the ability to actually go out and buy a pair, so that's my weekend mission. It is the sleeping and lack of appetite that is concerning me. Is this just a symptom of dementia? Seems I am not going to get a diagnosis anytime soon, so will have to muddle along for now. Also his personal hygiene isn't great. He said to me last week he hadn't washed for 3/4 days and was his face dirty. I had a giggle into myself, but its not really funny. His trousers have holes, even though he has new ones in the drawer, he wears the scruffiest things. Again another symptom?
I attended with dad to his doctor couple of weeks ago to get the results of blood tests etc. 6 months ago he would not have let me go near his doctor, but he put up no argument. In fact, secretly I think he was happy for me to be there as the impression I got was that his doctor was a bit intimidating which I now wholeheartedly agree with. Dads bloods all came back clear, liver function, cholesterol etc. Even though dad smokes cigars and drinks, he appears to be in good health in that way.
Doctor suggested a referral to the memory clinic and told dad he could not be forced and could say no. Well of course dad was going to say NO! Def not going to change his mind about that. For the last few months dad is sleeping quite a bit and has a poor appetite. This week he was in bed from Sat evening almost right through till Tues evening, hardly eating anything at all. Says he didn't feel well, but couldn't describe how he felt. I brought him dinners down on Sunday evening which he says are still in the fridge, he just doesn't feel like eating. He has been saying for about 6 months he has no appetite. His weight is ok, but I suspect it might be the nightly tipples stopping him from loosing too much. He goes to bed about 10pm after sleeping half the day. He was always a night owl and sat up till 2/3 in the morning. He needs new shoes, but seems to have lost the ability to actually go out and buy a pair, so that's my weekend mission. It is the sleeping and lack of appetite that is concerning me. Is this just a symptom of dementia? Seems I am not going to get a diagnosis anytime soon, so will have to muddle along for now. Also his personal hygiene isn't great. He said to me last week he hadn't washed for 3/4 days and was his face dirty. I had a giggle into myself, but its not really funny. His trousers have holes, even though he has new ones in the drawer, he wears the scruffiest things. Again another symptom?