Dementia

I think that when people get to their mid-60s short-term memory does start to decrease in efficiency - it does not necessarily mean that they will go on to suffer a dementia illness.

I would be very rich by now if I had £1 for every time I go upstairs and cannot remember what I went there for - I always go to the loo in case that was what it was.

The Alzheimers Disease Society has a brain training section on their website - worth a look.

My sister an I are the same,our father and all of his brothers had dementia and it's quite scary. Came out the supermarket one day and couldn't even remember driving my car into the carpark,leave alone remember where I parked. Thankfully DD was with me,it was quite worrying.

I struggle with TV series as I cant remember what happened in the last episode. Its the same with a novel- when I pick it up I have to read the ladt few pages again to remind me.
A friend has just come back from holiday and I asked her about it. She gave me a blow by blow account of where they had been each day and what they did. Now I couldnt do that. I would have to get out my diary to go through the days.
And I forget the names of places, and more embarrassingly I forget peoples names too.
At what point should one become concerned? I will look up the Alzheimers website, thanks for the tip.

I suspect if you know you you are forgetting things, then it is unlikely to be dementia. One of the key signs of dementia (from my experience) is the loss of self-awareness.

I can't altogether agree with that M0nica, the first signs of my H's Alzheimer's was a very poor memory which he was very aware of. His short term memory combined with acute anxiety are his main symptoms now. His memory span is about 5 minutes with some things, he is still aware of his problem.

One of the problems is that being anxious can have a detrimental effect on memory - so please try not to worry about this. If you are worried maybe you should talk to your doctor about it.

I agree annsixty that often there is insight into the problem, particularly at the beginning.

When my mother was in her sixties, she got off a bus near Carlisle town centre and walked in completely the wrong direction. It wasn't until she was at the football ground that she realised where she was! She had to catch another bus back as it was much to far to walk. She worried about this incident, but lived to be 89 without any sign of dementia. We all do silly things sometimes, but it doesn't necessarily mean the onset of dementia.

MOnica - my neighbour, who works with Dementia patients, told me exactly the same thing. If you know you're being forgetful it's not dementia. Phew!

My mother had dementia...the most difficult and saddest part was when she was aware that her memory was going and her brain not functioning properly. She spent a lot of time apologising to us that her brain wasn't working. So I think with some forms of dementia, you are very aware of lessening function. Latterly I think not but as communication can go, it is difficult to tell what awareness is left. A sad and cruel illness.

hildajenniJ Your mother probably had an episode of transient global amnesia. I, and a friend, each had an episode of this in our 60s.

In my case, one moment I was driving around the Oxford By-pass to a flat I owned, the next thing I remember is gradually 'coming to' on a road I didn't immediately recognise but was a long slip road onto the M40. I had come off at the roundabout for the flat, gone right round back onto the by-pass in the other direction, driven along it, successfully negotiated the very busy Headington roundabout and headed to the M40. I was so shaken by the episode I told no-one and did nothing, resolving to visit the doctor if it happened again. The whole episode lasted about 20 minutes.

Then a friend had a similar event but it lasted about 10 hours and his wife insisted he saw his GP, who diagnosed it as a TGA. I understand TGA episodes are very rare and if you have more than one it isn't TGA. Like your mother, neither I nor my friend have ever had a recurrence and my TGA was over 10 years ago.

I've always had an appalling memory - especially for names. I felt quite pleased when my friends began to catch up with me, watching them bluster and try to cover up for lapses - then I stated to get worse. Friends, family and DH have noticed. Our nurse practioner po-hoed my concerns and said there was no need to worry, I didn't need any tests. I'm not sure what can be done anyway. It is a worry isn't it.

My dad definitely knew he was getting dementia. I remember him being very fristrated because he couldn't remember something. He bunched his hand into a fist and began hitting his head with it, saying, "there's nothing in here only bloody cotton wool !!!
A few months after that he had no idea who I was.
I do wonder if it is genetic at all.