Anonymous wrote:Im a lawyer not a doctor but my parents have dementia. Please also find a good estate attorney and get your estate paperwork in place. Will, POA, HC POA etc. don’t put anything in email to an attorney about your fear of dementia. You’re competent now and need to get that done before you possibly get worse. My parents did not and it was a nightmare getting those in place as they were sliding into dementia

I’m so sorry you are facing this with both parents. OP here. I do have all that paperwork set up already.

Anonymous wrote:I get migraines that cause me to be unable to read. I'm mid paragraph and suddenly I know that I'm supposed to know what the symbols on the page mean, but I cannot make words out of them. It passes in 5-10 minutes.

Yes, could be:

- Migraine predrome

- Vitamin or hormone issues

- Medication side effects (for instance, SSRIs, -pams, antihistamines have been linked to higher rates of dementia)

- Menopause fog?

I'd get a workup with PCP first, and maybe gyno.

Anonymous wrote:Were you off for the summer? Did you catch up on sleep and have at least a month of lower stress? Did your memory then improve?

great questions. I would say, yes, I got more sleep over the summer and was less stressed, but I still had a LOT of memory problems.

Anonymous wrote:If you know that you are searching for words, but can’t find them, you don’t have dementia. You may have other things. But if you had dementia, you wouldn’t know that there was a word you were searching for.

OP here. I watched my mother die from dementia. She died at age 73. I remember vividly her inability to recall words and how scared and frustrated it would make her. She certainly knew it was her brain failing her, and it was definitely one of the symptoms of her dementia.

Thanks to all who wrote here, I literally forgot that I posted last night, so I’m just remembering to come back now.

I have had lots of blood panels done and nothing stands out that screams “thyroid”, even though I do have lots of other symptoms of low thyroid. My PCP has just blown me off and said I am stressed. Which, sure, I am. Enormously. But I’ve been stressed for a long time and never before failed to think of the word, “spatula” or the title “Pride and Prejudice.” Which is my favorite book. I sometimes will stand still and intensely concentrate and still fail to recall the right word.

Like the teacher above, I often say things that are “adjacent” to what I really mean to say. I can’t think of a good example now but it would be akin to saying, “put your pencils down and fold your paper” but instead I’ll say “Fold your pencils down and hold your paper.” This happens dozens of times a day.

My PCP literally said, “you should see a neurologist” but did not have one to recommend , so screaming into the wind here in hope for a recommendation.

If you know that you are searching for words, but can’t find them, you don’t have dementia. You may have other things. But if you had dementia, you wouldn’t know that there was a word you were searching for.

menopause and dealing with too much chaos/people talking at once.
I'm 50, in a fast paced job, and I've been noticing this for a few years (I just hit menopause now). I've found vitamins, catching up on good quality sleep, and staying away from fast moving, multiple people talking at once situations, really helps me focus and be the smart person I always was.
I may go on HRT as well.

NP to OP: do you take an SSRI? I ask because I experienced aphasia symptoms or even word choice problems on Zoloft.

I also was peri menopausal. After menopause at age 50, I switched SSRI to Lexapro and I don’t notice these problems as much.

Hard to describe but I’d verbalize the entirely wrong word or blurt out something that would, upon first listening, would be close to what I wanted to say but not quite.


Example would be, I might tell a student to “watch your hands and then leave” when I really was trying to tell her to wash her hands and return to her seat. So frustrating and frightening. Mostly I’d notice this happening more and then a few hours later I’d get a migraine, so perhaps part of an aura

Could be a hormonal, maybe a migraine headache symptom (also hormonal), could be combination of fatigue and something else.

Do get a full physical workup to include thyroid panel.

My late parent was dx with primary progressive aphasia through a neurologist.

Get life insurance, long term disability insurance, and long term care insurance now and then pursue a diagnosis.

This was the primary symptom of my thyroid issue. It was easy to fix and I am so glad my doctor found the problem. Ask your doctor to check this as well.

Anonymous wrote:Im a lawyer not a doctor but my parents have dementia. Please also find a good estate attorney and get your estate paperwork in place. Will, POA, HC POA etc. don’t put anything in email to an attorney about your fear of dementia. You’re competent now and need to get that done before you possibly get worse. My parents did not and it was a nightmare getting those in place as they were sliding into dementia

Oh also I think menopause is the likelier issue

Anonymous wrote:These symptoms could easily be explained by depression. Depression messes with your brain in strange ways.

This PP has a feeling about this. Is she spreading mis info?


Here's an article about Covid and aphasia.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8529864/#:~:text=There%20are%20now%20growing%20reports,to%20variable%20aphasia%2Dlike%20symptoms.

And here's one about the vaccine and aphasia. From a fringe website called NIH


https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34192245/

OP, you are brave to ask these questions! Take care!

Neurosyphilis also can be a factor contributing to dementia

https://agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jgs.13571

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone recommend a great neurologist in NoVA that you have used for a full evaluation for possible memory impairment? I have been experiencing some really alarming aphasia, inability to complete sentences, even inability to do basic math at times. It’s been a fairly steady downhill for the last 10
Years (I’m early 50’s) but a really marked decline lately. I’m a teacher and talk all day and even my students are remarking on it. I’ve chalked it up to lack of sleep, stress, menopause, all kids of other mor benign and relatable causes…but I think it’s beyond that now. I need a work up and answers. I appreciate any recs if you or an elder have experience with this kid of evaluation. We

I think it is a good idea to go discuss this with your PCP, but, all of the things you mention, anxiety, menopause, etc. could absolutely be causing these symptoms. You are extremely young for early onset dementia. Try not to dwell on this until you actually see a doctor.

Anonymous wrote:OP my mom has dementia. I recently have had trouble finding words and remembering things. It's scary. I suspect menopause and (I am not an anti vaxxer) covid or covid vax contributed too. I have had four shots and would get another. But I really think covid or the vax is causing us, collectively, cognitive problems.

You just have a feeling about this?

Please stop spreading totally made up misinformation.

I'm sorry you're going through this, OP. Please consult your PCP right away and ask for a referral to a neurologist. Chances are, it's something else, so your doctor should do a full work-up and lots of tests.

My two paternal grandparents lived for years with dementia. My father is starting to lose his memory and behave strangely. I really hope I don't inherit that, but who knows?

Best of luck.