worried that my grandma might have dementia

[cobalt_dream]

hello, just joined here to ask a question really because i've been really worried about my grandma for the past few weeks.

it sounds silly but it started off with her telling me that she's seen tv shows before they come on and knows exactly what lines the characters are going to say in coronation street and emmerdale..

then the other week she couldn't find where she'd put some cake and said they were definitely not in her shopping bag and they were there ..obviously that could just be a mistake it hardly means she has dementia but it is unlike her?

then she always wakes up about 7-8 maybe 9am at the latest but last week i went over to her house and it was almost midday and she was still in bed. just said she didn't realise the time but that's really very unlike her ..never known her to be in bed so late.

also just one other thing a couple of weeks ago she seemed to be repeating herself about her tree being cut down more than was normal? hmmm.

anyway i realise this is all a bit vague but up until a couple of months ago she's seemed fine. i mean i'm almost 24 and i've known her from being a little kid and though she sometimes forgets little things/mixes up names etc that's been the case for as long as i can remember [20 years] and it's never been concerning until this year

if it helps she's just turned 83..

does this sound like dementia in anyone's experience?

anyway sorry for rambling on i've just been really worried and the awful thing is now i don't like to visit, even though she lives alone and doesn't get so many visitors i worry that i'm going to see things that are going to be hard to deal with. selfish really.

thank you anyway

 

[jenniferpa]

Does she have any health issues? High blood pressure for example? Because this was how my mother started and it wasn't until she had some major strokes that she had a brains scan and it was determined that she had had a stroke in the past which I am reasonably certain coincided with the sort of behaviour you describe. I urge you to get her to her GP and not listen to any "normal signs of aging" rubbish: I did, was reassured and didn't put into place any sort of controls vis a vis her blood pressure medication. If I had, she might have taken her meds consistently, and she might not have had her subsequent strokes. If I feel guilty about one thing re my mother it is that. If I had had a heads up, I would have ensured that there was a process in place to ensure she was properly medicated. But I was told "normal aging". And it wasn't.

Even if it isn't that she should be checked by a doctor - there are a few fixable things that could cause these symptoms.

 

[cobalt_dream]

thank you for the quick reply jennifer i'm sorry to hear about your mother's strokes. i'm not sure about my grandma. she seems reasonably fit and healthy given her age, a little frail but she does her shopping and housework okay is still fully independent. she is quite a heavy smoker though and has been since she was 15..

the thing is she is very reluctant to see the doctor for anything. a few years ago she had flu and it took so much persuading for her to see a doctor and even now she won't go for the over 65 injections in winter. i'll mention it to my mum tomorrow though and see if she can bring it up, i suppose at that age it's a good idea to get check ups from the doctor anyway really right?