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[quote=Anonymous]My 73 year old parents live far away in another country. 
My mother is physically disabled, and relies on my father.
My father has, since the pandemic, exhibited signs of anxiety, hypochondria and an increasing avoidance of social contact, or even going outside, except when he runs out to see his doctor for various very minor skin ailments that really seem to be all in his head.
My mother has to insist that he takes her out for fresh air, and has to insist that they have a friend over for a chat. 
He spends most of his day examining his skin for eczema, or browsing on the internet, or jotting in a notebook his daily weight and everything he had for every meal.
When I Facetime, he chats with me briefly then excuses himself to go do various chores. He seems perfectly normal during our short conversations.

The problem has come to a head because he promised to travel to visit us this summer, but he is now stalling over buying plane tickets, saying he's too busy to sit down and book them. He used to travel internationally A LOT before he retired, and he used to enjoy coming to visit us and play with his grandkids. He has the money. I have offered to book him whatever he wants, but he has firmly refused that offer, and keeps saying he'll get to it. My mother is distraught, because she cannot do any of this herself, having a severe arm/hand handicap.

So now we're stuck. Does early dementia present in this way? Are there any other medical conditions that we need to rule out? What medical specialty best treats patients like this? Is there a dementia test that could reveal anything at this point? And do you think anti-anxiety medication would help him travel and see people, and possible stave off dementia in the long term?

Thank you.[/quote]

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