How do you know if you have Alzheimers?

Hi Brian:

I'm sorry that your Mom had Alzheimers and that you had to go through the sad and frustrating experiences of Alzheimers/Dementia.

Both of my parents had/have Azheimers/Dementia and my Dad died years ago. Not because of it but from complications of severe RA. My Mom is in a Home now with Alzheimers/Dementia and we were visiting with her yesterday. We were happy to see each other but we could see a decline in her mental state.

I recently turned 58, so I was concerned about me also because of my parents plight plus I was having symptoms that at least half of middle aged people do experience. I felt mine were more than the norm, so I asked my Dr. to refer me to a Neurologist for testing which he did. I needed to know the answer and get things rolling, if it was the case.

People in their late 40's and early 50's have been dxd. with Alzheimers/Dementia. On the other hand, forgetting a person's name, where we put the keys, going into a room and forgetting what we wanted then remembering it shortly after, can be quite normal. Our brains are aging after all. There are things that can cause us memory loss and other symptoms like medications, for example. That's why testing needs to be done by a Specialist.

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Diagnosing Alzheimer's: How Alzheimer's is diagnosed

To diagnose Alzheimer's dementia, doctors conduct tests to assess memory impairment and other thinking skills, judge functional abilities, and identify behavior changes. They also perform a series of tests to rule out other possible causes of impairment.
By Mayo Clinic Staff

To diagnose Alzheimer's dementia, doctors evaluate your signs and symptoms and conduct several tests.

An accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's dementia is an important first step to ensure you have appropriate treatment, care, family education and plans for the future.
Early signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's dementia

Early signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's dementia include:

Memory impairment, such as difficulty remembering events
Difficulty concentrating, planning or problem-solving
Problems finishing daily tasks at home or at work
Confusion with location or passage of time
Having visual or space difficulties, such as not understanding distance in driving, getting lost or misplacing items
Language problems, such as word-finding problems or reduced vocabulary in speech or writing
Using poor judgment in decisions
Withdrawal from work events or social engagements
Changes in mood, such as depression or other behavior and personality changes

Alzheimer's dementia can affect several aspects of your daily life.

When warning signs of Alzheimer's dementia appear, it's important that you get a prompt and accurate diagnosis.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/in-depth/alzheimers/art-20048075

Take Care! :)

The List is a little scary being every one of those things has happened, but during my whole life!

Big events, forgetting (10-15 years later) that I got up on stage and sung a song to my wife on our 5th wedding anniversary (we just had our 25th) creeped me out!

I guess I need to get to my doctor and have the testing done to be sure.

The straw that broke the camels back to get me to post this was a day or so ago when I saw that a guy I was chatting with on facebook lived in a town that sounded familiar very familiar but I didn't know where it was. I looked it up on a map and it made sense but the wrong sense. A little later I asked my wife and she told me where it was and it was a city I had spent a lot of time in as my ex-sister-in-law lived there and I passed through it with those memories popping up every time on a regular basis to visit my older children and grandkids regularly over the years. At least a few times a year passing through this town with fond memories of it.

To be staring at a map two days ago not knowing where and what this town was seriously creeped me out.

Brian

I also had one of those creeped me out moments that I mentioned to my GP... I couldn't remember the street number of my house... I knew the name of the street but not the number.

The good news that my GP reminded me of was the fact that I knew I could look at some of the mail two feet in front of me and get the number... And he reminded me I had told him I'm a very early morning type of person and that the forgetfulness had happened shortly before bedtime.

I've also woken up in the morning and BOOM - "BLUE" was the color of my second car...that I couldn't remember from the night before.

Don't get me started on names... My best friend has reached the point where he automatically tells me the name of the bartender on Friday night

On that note, my anxiety issues have brought on a lot of "physical" health problems that ended up being nothing. Every few years there is something else that I think is real that ends up being an anxiety issue.

Could this be another one? I know this is a question for my doctor, but well we are chatting....:D

Brian

I recently became aware of gene testing in this area!

It seems a friend of a friend had 2 parents and an uncle with Early Onset Alzheimer's and when she asked her Dr about it (at the young age of 32), she was sent to have some gene testing done. In her case, she DOES have the gene, and she was told she will definitely have Early Onset Alzheimer's.

Y'all heard about that?