Signs of Dementia

The early signs of dementia are subtle and vague, and may not be immediately obvious. They say signs of dementia are often mistakenly viewed as part of the normal aging process. Lack of health screening programs may mean early signs of dementia are missed, or attributed to other aspects of learning disability, and opportunities for potentially useful health and social care interventions are lost.

Memory loss is a very broad term that can mean any deficit in memory function. Memory loss is a common health complaint particularly in the elderly. The most vulnerable parts of the brain are those used for memory and for planning, organising and judgement, social skills and balance. At first, memory loss and trouble thinking clearly may bother the person who has dementia. Dementia affects a person's memory and concentration, and this in turn affects their judgement. Other symptoms include personality change, memory disturbance, slurred speech, impaired judgement and psychiatric problems.

Dementia causes many problems for the person who has it and for that person's family. If your family member has some of the signs of dementia, try to get him or her to go see a doctor. Physicians may begin a dementia workup or exam when the patient's family brings concerns about symptoms or behavioral signs to their attention. Keep in mind, examination of a will and terms of a living will are in order at this time. Also see to the execution of a power of attorney.

Remember What?

Mom has been having more periods of confusion as well as the failure to recall nouns in everyday conversation. Time and days are becoming more illusive for her also. This morning I brought up the subject again of having the doctor go ahead and order the MRI and other tests that may help in a diagnosis.

In a previous post, I reported on brief testing done at the memory clinic of our local hospital. At that time, the doctor reading the results felt enough concern that he suggested the full battery of tests to understand what was happening to her and, if it was Alzheimer's, possibly slow things down with the proper medication. At first, Mom was receptive to the idea. Then, because a friend suggested they take a "memory class", she wanted to fore go the tests until a later time, if at all.

Well, the class never happened and I think the time for testing has come. Her regular doctor's appointment is the first week in July. When I eased into the subject this morning, she was agreeable and said yes, she would do anything. I don't want to force her...some people may not want to know their future. Especially if that future includes memory loss.

Mother and I will be away for two weeks before her doctor's appointment, having the time of her life, I hope. We'll be seeing old friends, relatives and familiar places for what will surely be the last time in my mother's life. Traveling is becoming a hardship for her, but I feel this may well be the last gift of this type I can give her that she will enjoy...and hopefully, remember.

Way To Go, Mom!

We know that exercising the brain is said to be a good way to slow dementia and memory loss in general. It makes sense that reading and working puzzles and learning something new could be effective in keeping our brains in good working order.

I think I mentioned in the past that my mother has loved to play scrabble for years. And she was a whiz too! When she moved close to me, I located a scrabble group and she played with them for several months. She was age 83 then and the oldest of the players. But she kept up with the group and enjoyed playing until they started making some changes to the rules.

My sister had given her an older laptop computer and I put the scrabble game on it. She was learning to enjoy it, although it is definitely different playing a computer opponent than a human one! Then for various reasons, she stopped using it for a while.

Now, after a year or so, she is ready to play "Maven" (the computer) again. She is well aware that exercise of different kinds has been prescribed to help with her memory loss. And she is the one who asked me to help her with start up and how to play again. I've written out the instructions from start to shutdown and spent some time today explaining the ins and outs of the computer to her. I don't expect her to catch on immediately, but I must say, I'm awfully proud of her. Almost 85 and learning new skills to play a game that will help her in so many ways. Way to go, Mom!