Early dementia

[Anonymous]

For those with parents with dementia, what were some of the earliest signs of it?

[Anonymous]

My mom was always organized and on top of things, always prepared for any situation. She started forgetting little things here and there. For example, she forgot to pack dress shoes for a wedding, or I'd ask her to hold something for me and she'd put it on her purse and then forget that I'd given it to her, even insist that I hadn't given it to her. Not huge red flags but out of character for her and I honestly knew that was the beginning despite my mom assuring me/joking that everyone gets forgetful as they age. She also got quieter in social situations. I wonder now if it was because it was hard for her to follow along with the conversations.

[Anonymous]

Doing weird things, memory loss.

[Anonymous]

Forgetfulness can be normal aging. Watch for difficulty concentrating, confusion that is to the point of disorientation, language sorting problems, dramatic swings in executive function, personality, mood, increased overall frailty. And always always insist on a UTI screen right away. UTI in elderly people can manifest as dementia and the person doesn’t feel any of the usual symptoms.

[Anonymous]

Picking crumbs off the floor and eating them, increased emotions, falling for telephone scams, stopping paying bills, weight loss/anorexia. Starting abusing her husband.

there’s a study that shows a decline in credit scores years prior to diagnosis of dementia.

[Anonymous]

Watch for the spouse covering up concerning changes in behavior. My FIL became alarmed when MIL got lost driving locally and he had to come rescue her but didn’t share this story until months later and after she finally got a diagnosis of cognitive decline/likely Alzheimer’s . Apparently her getting lost was the impetus for getting her to the doctor.

Looking back though - she became even more flighty - more giggly but with a marked personality change - she was always verbose but suddenly became a great listener.

Something else I recalled in retrospect (two years ago) - she no longer communicated via text, abandoned Facebook and I realized I hadn’t seen anything she’d written in a long time (no gift tags, cards, notes, checks - all suddenly FIL handwriting). Came across a shopping list she’d attempted and it was sad-misspellings and crossed out words.

[Anonymous]

PP 12:37:

Also sad- stayed at their vacation house this summer. My ILs had just been there ahead of us and MIL made a point to say she decorated for us. She put out Christmas and Thanksgiving decor. She’s lost sense of time and seasons.

Also short term memory loss. FIL recently packed her bags for an overnight trip (she’d never have allowed this - she’s very particular about her appearance) and then went to another room in the house. Returned a few minutes later and she had unpacked everything and returned items back to her closet.

[Anonymous]

Marked personality change. Someone who is normally sweet and mild mannered regularly loses patience and perhaps becomes cranky and disagreeable and angry.

Or the opposite where a chatty person goes quiet or uses as few words as possible or even gives one word answers like yes or no.

With my parent it was almost a tic with nervous giggles (compensating for increasing lack of fluency and word finding struggles) instead of pauses or even using filler words.

[Anonymous]

My dad always used self-deprecating humor and goofiness to cover up when he was feeling insecure. I think he masked his early dementia with this. The doctors all thought he was fine because he was very charismatic during his appointments. It was frustrating because I knew he was off, but no one believed me until it got to the point he couldn't mask anymore. Not much would have changed, TBH, but I think we could have taken the keys away sooner.

At first we thought he was losing his hearing. Always asking "What?" "Huh?" "Repeat that?" Turns out he was losing comprehension. He could hear just fine, but he couldn't understand what was being said.

[Anonymous]

Making mistakes when paying the bills.

Having problems cooking a meal even something as simple as burgers.

[Anonymous]

My Mother wrote my son a birthday check for One Million Dollars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mom was always organized and on top of things, always prepared for any situation. She started forgetting little things here and there. For example, she forgot to pack dress shoes for a wedding, or I'd ask her to hold something for me and she'd put it on her purse and then forget that I'd given it to her, even insist that I hadn't given it to her. Not huge red flags but out of character for her and I honestly knew that was the beginning despite my mom assuring me/joking that everyone gets forgetful as they age. She also got quieter in social situations. I wonder now if it was because it was hard for her to follow along with the conversations.

How old and how did this progress into a dx?

[Anonymous]

-Getting lost driving a route he had done for decades. Getting lost finding a bathroom at a restaurant they go to every Saturday.
-Needing new info repeated a lot-asking same question multiple times in convo
-abnormal gate…A bit of a shuffle

[Anonymous]

Sorry I meant gait not gate

[Anonymous]

Constantly leaving important things behind like a wallet after paying, a cell phone after talking, car keys after driving, etc. Not remembering dates or details even despite several reminders and not writing them down to help remember. Getting lost in familiar areas.