I don't know if I've said anything about this before but I feel like I'm falling in the rabbit hole and don't know what to do....
I am having periods where I can not recall anything that has gone on - for very long times. I have done this at least 4 times where I can not remember doing anything, like a couple weeks ago, I took my husband to have a procedure done at the hospital and I remember walking down to the room with him, I remember holding his hand but from the time he went back to the time we got home, I have no recollection of what happened. Another time, my mother took me to a dr's appt and I do not remember that AT ALL. This has happened several times plus I'm having trouble with thoughts, completing tasks, forgetting where I am going or stopping in the middle of a sentence - forgetting what I was saying or can't remember things that happened 5 minutes ago.
First is AD hereditary or genetic? (or are those two words the same?) My father has vascular dementia and has had several strokes. Does this increase my likelihood of having it?
I do have a neurologist appt next week, so I'm hoping they'll take my concerns seriously. I'm only 50 so I figure if something IS happening maybe they can start something to keep it from progressing quickly.
Am I right to be very concerned about this or am I just a normal 50 year old that can't remember sh*t?
But because you asked... sibling studies indicate that AD can be inherited, but you are not guaranteed to inherit it. Perfect example is my 2 living aunts ages 97 and 100 who have lived together their whole lives (except 1 year), neither ever married or had kids. Neither ever smoked or drank much. Medditerranian diets. Worked at the same company for almost the same amount of time. Ate the same food, went on the same vacations, exercised the same amount. Different personalities: one extrovert (97 yo) the other introvert (100 y0). The 97 yr-old has total dementia and the 100 yo is clear as a bell. Same parents. Same life. Different outcomes.
I had a blood clot in my brain that exhibited memory loss symptoms, don't take a chance. From experience, that can result in lots of problems, for sure.
Good answer!
Where are "headaches" mentioned? Did I miss that?
I did not want to scare the OP, but these symptoms are the same as having a stroke, (even if a mini-stroke like a TIA, transient ischemic attack);
or like you said, a blood clot or aneurysm.
It could be anything or stress, like others have said.
When the ER doctor referred a patient to his own office practice after 3 visits to the ER with acute headaches...she arrived at the appointment and stroked out just as I was taking her b/p. If he wasn't there to resuscitate her, she could not have recovered as nicely from her stroke. He went to the hospital in the ambulance with her.
No, Dementia is not hereditary. Your Dads is probably caused by his strokes. There are usually outside factors that cause Dementias. ALZ is hereditary.
But I wouldn't speculate. The Dr. will put ur thru a series of tests to find the problem.
Are you having headaches?
Of course we cannot diagnose you online. Be sure to see the neurologist at the appointment time.
However, if you have any symptoms or an acute headache before that appointment, or any "similar episode", please call 911, or have someone drive you to the E.R.
The symptoms could be a stroke, or TIA.
Best to be sure, because earlier treatment could save your life.
But you need to be sure it's not TIAs or something serious. Mine was "stress". The hardest thing to deal with and nearly impossible to get people to understand.
Good Luck!!
Yes, definitely have your doctors check it out. You mentioned your neurologist, but also ensure your primary care knows as well about your concerns. The root causes could be a number of different things and he/she would be best to make the right referrals to needed specialists after some initial tests.
You are very smart to start now... many of us will worry chronically about someone else's health but then place our heads in the sand when it comes to our own health. Best of luck!
How well are you caring for yourself?
Yes what you describe COULD be dementia of one type or another but..and I am no doctor (I like to play one in my mind and sometimes let my inner doctor escape on this site)
The fact that you KNOW that you took your husband to the hospital and he had a procedure...you KNOW you took your mother to the doctor... you KNOW that you are stopping in the middle of a sentence.
The concern would be if you did not recall you took your husband to the hospital, you did not know you took your mother to the doctor and you deny stopping in the middle of a sentence and all the other little things you forget.
You, like many on this forum are not just running your own life buy the lives of at least 2 other people. No one can keep that all straight in their head so your brain dumps out the unimportant stuff..you already took your husband to the hospital, why remember it further, you took your mom to the doctor, don't have to worry about that. And how many other thoughts are swirling around in your head while you are trying to carry on a conversation? I bet when one you think is important pops up you stop to analyze it to figure out if it is in fact important so you stop talking for a split second.
AD is both Hereditary / genetic and it can also just pop up. At 50 this would be a diagnosis of Early Onset.
Now to bring up a few points...and this is no matter what the Neurologist finds.
You should consult with an Elder Law attorney and get all YOUR paperwork in order Will, Trusts(if needed), POA's write down all the information that your family will need what your Wishes are. (There is a booklet called 5 Wishes and it outlines a lot of this) this will make it easy for your entire family should something happen to you. ..and anything can happen to anyone of us at any time...
And when was the last time you took some time for yourself? When was the last time you took a vacation away form caring for mom, dad? Might be time to plan a little get away. Caregiver Burnout is REAL.
Learn how to delegate some of the tasks you have been doing. If you have to hire someone to help you do some of the things you have been doing. And when I say hire..your parents pay for the help not you.
Poor nutrition will lead to dementia.
You also need a good blood test to find any nutrient deficiencies. Many vitamin deficiencies can cause the problems you are experiencing.
Some are just part of aging, but it's good you are becoming aware now, before it's too late.
1) could be early onset dementia
2) you are not too young to have had a stroke or other cardiovascular event including heart attack, and women's symptoms are different
2) could be related to menopause / hormonal changes
3) could be related to another health condition or medication so you need a complete physical with your primary care including blood work
4) could be stress
Please let us know what the diagnosis was. These things do feel scary when they start to happen.
You don't say if you are on any medication but some antidepressants can cause this effect so that may be one to consider.
Do get yourself given a full medical to rule things in or out, and best wishes for a good outcome xx
There are natural and healthful ways to reverse it if that is the case. consult your physician, but do a little research before accepting a prescription.
Nope I was way off. It was mini strokes and they allow you to return to normal after 6mths. Might be a good idea if you take a aspirin once a day until you see neurologist. So glad you are seeing neurologist. Stress can also give similarities to what you described. Much love sent your way.
I know nothing about the development of dementia or anything like that, other than being the primary caregiver for my mother in law, who has it but I would hope that you have sleep apnea because there's a fix for it. And just to clarify, non overweight people can have it too.
Hope this helps, can't hurt to have it checked.
It sounds like you have a lot on your plate though. If your neurologist appointment is fine, could you be depressed? One of my daughters’ has Major depression and basically recalls little to nothing about those time periods, can not concentrate ( ie minor car accidents) or remember pretty much anything at the time either
Vascular dementia occurs most often in people with other cardiac risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and high cholesterol. Get all these checked out. Nobody knows for sure if AD has a genetic component. If you can't remember what the doctor said take notes next time.
Vascular dementia is usually the result of heart disease. Genetics may make you more vulnerable to developing certain complications from certain factors, but you wouldn't develop vascular dementia without some underlying cause of which you would become aware beforehand.
But I don't think it matters. If you're anything like I was during peak caregiving periods, I expect your heart is going pit-a-pat almost all the time, you're probably holding your breath, your attention span seems to have turned negative and you have moments when you can't remember your own name, let alone anyone else's. And being in this state on its own will do you a power of no-good.
I hope your neurologist most certainly will take your concerns seriously, whether or not you turn out to be of any interest to that specialty, and will give you good advice.
Meanwhile, don't forget there are at least two halves to functional memory (there are a lot more aspects but I'm making a point here) - information in, and information out. If you're overwhelmed, it isn't necessarily that you've lost those memories - maybe at the time you weren't able to pay attention so you couldn't process the information, or maybe you can't focus or concentrate now and so you can't retrieve the information but it'll all come back to you later. Or both, of course.
The key thing is to seek advice on how to look after yourself, and well done to you for making a start. Please come back and let us know how it went.
I had similar symptoms in my late 40’s. It scared the bejesus out of me. I was forgetting conversations, forgetting what I was doing while preparing dinner.
I went to my GP and broke down in tears. I was incredibly afraid that I was losing my marbles. The first thing he did was reassure me that people with dementia do not recognize there is a problem.
After blood work it was determined that I have B12 anemia. I was started on pills and the lab work was repeated a week or two later to check if I would need it by injection. I did not.
Menopause can also wreck havoc on women as hormone levels drop and we learn to live with different body chemistry.
please report back the results of your appointment.