Mom forgets coffee in microwave multiple times a week
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Anonymous
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Check into eargo hearing aids you can buy them on line.
Hearing loss can cause cognitive impairment. |
Anonymous
OP doesn’t have to bury her head, but nothing she said is overly alarming either. All of us with aging parents keep a sly eye on things. Forgotten coffee and misremembered Thanksgiving is not a reason to be medicated. Maybe down the road things will change. For now, watch and try not to be overly fussy about it. |
Anonymous
| Why aren't you taking her to Costco or some other place to get her a hearing test. Costco has FREE hearing tests if you are a member. If she isn't a member it is $60 a year for a membership and she can add you or you can add her. That is cheaper than paying for a hearing test somewhere else. Chances are she has a high frequency hearing loss, which many people develop as they age. I am in my early 50's and already have a mild hearing loss and just got hearing aids. It makes a huge difference. I teach and want to make sure I can hear all my students especially the quieter students and/or the students with high pitched voices. |
Anonymous
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Forgetfulness with aging is normal, and it doesn’t mean dementia, so don’t agonize. Most of what you write about your mom sounds more like grief, hearing loss, normal aging. Mom is intellectually engaged (teaching) and avoiding isolation. Those are good things.
All of that said, a thorough hearing check and a check with her doctor are in order. If there is MCI, there is so much that can be done to slow the decline, so finding out early is very helpful . One thing to always ask about as your mom is aging are hidden UTIs. This is a huge problem where elders have UTIs and don’t feel it and it can cause dementia symptoms (I don’t think that’s happening now but it’s so important and so little known I like to mention it). Bottom line, stop worrying, make some appointments and then you can deal with reality instead of what ifs. |
Anonymous
The woman wants hot coffee. And you think a mug warmer or insulated mug is dumb? |
Anonymous
Do you always miss the main point? It's not about hot coffee. |
Anonymous
She could have a hearing loss, thyroid issues or a sleep disorder. Better to get checked that wait and see. |
Anonymous
| I have a friend with similar issues. We are all concerned about her memory decline but her husband doesn't want to deal with it. Your mom is lucky to have you and your brother to keep an eye on her mental and physical health. |
Anonymous
| Very little a doctor can do. Current meds make little or no difference. |
Anonymous
That’s not true.There are medications that treat symptoms of most dementias other than vascular and FTD. There is a new medication that slows progression https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/treatments/lecanemab-leqembi already approved, and LLY has two more getting close to approval that are probably going to be even better. And there are lifestyle interventions that can be very helpful as well. Nevertheless, OP just needs to focus on what (if anything) is going on. Then her family can deal with facts. |
Anonymous
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I still stand by what I said. Little they can do.
Thank goodness they are working in it. |
Anonymous
| Forgetting coffee in the microwave is normal. Forgetting what a microwave is for is not normal. |
Anonymous
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Forgetting where she left her coffee, or even that she left her coffee somewhere, wouldn't worry me. It's a tiny event that varies every day, several times a day.
Not remembering that she spent several days with you at the beach to celebrate Thanksgiving -- that's not a good sign. It's one big event. |
Anonymous
The new medication lecanemab is $26,000 a year, the benefits are minimal and might not even be clinically significant in women at all. There is also a risk of brain bleeds and there is concerned about other side effects including brain shrinkage that scientist really aren't sure what the long term effects will be. One of the test used in the study is the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale which assesses cognitive and functional performance in six areas: memory, orientation, judgment and problem solving, community affairs, home and hobbies, and personal care. Scores range from 0 meaning no dementia to 18 meaning the most significant dementia. Low scores are better. Over the clinical trial the Mean change of CDR-SB from baseline at 18 months was 1.21 for the lecanemab group and 1.66 for the placebo groups. Both groups declined and the decline among both groups was much larger than the difference between the groups. The difference wasn't even half a point. 0 = no dementia/normal 0.5 – 4.0 = questionable 0.5 – 2.0 = questionable impairment 2.5 – 4.0 = very mild dementia 4.5 – 9.0 = mild dementia 9.5 – 15.5 = moderate dementia 16.0 – 18.0 = severe dementia Is that worth not just $26,000 a year but the time caregivers are going to have to dedicate to take their loved one every other week for an infusion the takes an hour. So the caregiver has to pick up their loved one if they aren't living with them and make sure they are ready/help them get ready, drive over to where they can get the infusion, check in and have the elderly patient check in, get the one hour infusion and drive back. All that can take half a day. There are cheaper generic pills that are almost as good. And good is relative because there really aren't any good treatments. The other issue is that for all of this minimal improvement the person with dementia/alzheimers might have their lives extended. In one study about a dementia drug called donzepil those taking the drug lived about 2 1/2 years longer than people not on the medication. I absolutely do not want to live 2 1/2 years longer if I had dementia and as a caretaker for my mother who has dementia- I don't want her to suffer for 2 1/2 more years and I certainly do not want the stress of caregiving to last 2 1/2 years longer. |
Anonymous
+1 I'm 50 and I have a terrible memory - there are a lot of things that I don't remember, like where we held this or that holiday. But you know your mom, and it could be you're latching onto these (mild sounding) examples because you are noticing something real and aren't quite sure how else to describe it yet. Honestly parents are like pets - you know in your gut when it's time to get something checked out, usually. I think the problem with memory issues is that there's really nothing to *do* - there aren't really effective meds or anything. Though an older friend of mine who does have diagnosed memory issues was told by her doc to have as many social interactions as she can (apparently it's good for your brain), do things like line dancing (exercise + memory), and eat a lot of leafy greens. |