Early signs of dementia

[2waterford]

I have a family member that is causing me concern, there have been a few things lately that have rang a few alarm bells, this person is only 52.

I was wondering anyone with experience of this what were the first things you noticed.

Thank you

[Feebee2]

With MIL it was being unreasonable which was out of character. This was much more so than memory loss.
Hope all goes well.

[redredshopper]

We had a work colleague who just couldn’t get a simple task and ended up being sent home, he hasn’t been back to work and has since been diagnosed with dementia. He is in mid fifties, very sad.

[FlorayG]

Early signs; not remembering things they have just been told and asking the same question again.

Being ABSOLUTELY SURE about something that actually didn't happen at all

Also being unsure what day it is (although that can be related to lifestyle, if you work a rota 5 days over 7 or night/day shifts you can forget easily where in the week you are)

[JudeB]

If you have doubts, please encourage them to go to their GP as soon as possible. This means if diagnosed they can be put on medication which can slow the rate of dementia.

[2waterford]

At the moment it's

Getting very cross over small things
Not very chatty
Lack of empathy
Not being able to keep up with a conversation if more than 1 person is involved and constantly having to back track and explain things or repeat
Arrived at a local junction in the road last week from an opposite direction and he was very confused

[vhm672]

Originally Posted by 2waterford

At the moment it's

Getting very cross over small things
Not very chatty
Lack of empathy
Not being able to keep up with a conversation if more than 1 person is involved and constantly having to back track and explain things or repeat
Arrived at a local junction in the road last week from an opposite direction and he was very confused

See more...

Having lost my Dad at Christmas to this horrible disease all of the above would worry me and is more than enough cause for a GP appointment for investigations

[Nic18076]

Originally Posted by 2waterford

At the moment it's

Getting very cross over small things
Not very chatty
Lack of empathy
Not being able to keep up with a conversation if more than 1 person is involved and constantly having to back track and explain things or repeat
Arrived at a local junction in the road last week from an opposite direction and he was very confused

See more...

I know those things must be worrying and I would definitely suggest taking the person to the doctor. The things you listed could be signs of stress and distraction and a worsening hearing problem though.

At the moment I am very stressed about my family and as a result am probably displaying a lot of your list. I am 50 by the way.

I am not trying to downplay your worry though - my own mother has Lewy Body dementia - it’s a bit like dementia with Parkinson’s like symptoms thrown in - and the sufferer hallucinates and will see things clearly that aren’t actually there. When it first showed up we were never quite sure whether we were imagining things.

[macdonald]

I went to my GP recently and told him my memory is so bad,...he asked "how long has this been going on?... I said "How long has what been going on? ...

[macdonald]

Very sorry ,its not really a laughing matter...Just had to say it!... This problem could well be depression as 50s is very young!..Depression has these symptoms..i would get an appointment with GP..