hi readers i have just had the most disturbing conversation with a sixty one year old female friend. she has been diagnosed with early dementia. according to her MRIs she has had twelve mini strokes. her first MRI showed five white spots and her second showed the alarming twelve. apart from feeling desperately sorry for her, many of her symptoms are the same as mine. falling for no reason (not blacking out), insomnia, depression, forgetfulness and so on. her condition first became obvious when she arrived at work, sat in front of her computer but didn't now how to switch it on! eventually her employer asked her to retire. her daughters are very supportive and are doing everything in their power to keep her safe - including selling her car. they have an arrangement that if she really needs to go somewhere while they are at work, she will use Uber. there's a lot more to her story, but the point of my story here is AM I DEPRESSED or am i also suffering from early DEMENTIA? the realisation of this new possibility when comparing symptoms has driven my anxiety through the roof and i feel terrified. i have suffered three major depressions in my life - each one about ten years apart, but this one has been the worst and the longest, with absolutely no relief. i also cannot perform the simplest of computer tasks and have also forgotten how to turn my PC on. my cognition is severely impaired. am i being paranoid? has anyone else experienced this? all feedback very welcome and very much appreciated. so desperate :(
Hello
Writing this long detail letter shows you will be able to remember how to switch your computer, try to do it, possibly the anxiety stop you trying.
Hi. I had similar concerns a couple of years ago. I was forgetting things as soon as I was told them, plus sudden outbursts of irritability and anger, mood swings, problems recognising people, confusion and getting lost (I once didn’t recognise a street I’d walked up and down for over twenty years.) I was especially worried as I have a family history of dementia (also my mum had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s) and I work in a facility for people with neurological disorders, so saw plenty of people with early onset dementia. One of our residents had not long died of Pick’s disease (a rare type of dementia) at 42, and the symptoms she’d initially experienced were similar to mine.
I was referred for an assessment with the memory team, and apparently my test results were normal (as were the results of blood tests they did.) I was assured that my symptoms were due to depression, anxiety and severe stress, and since they have decreased and mostly disappeared this seems to be true.
I would definitely say, though, make sure your dementia concerns aren’t dismissed because of your age - it’s not good enough for doctors to say “Can’t be dementia, you’re too young.” They need to take them seriously and check them out, not only to start the correct treatment and care (whatever the problem turns out to be) but to give you peace of mind.
Hope this helps.
Hi IamAnna - if you have a parent with dementia, your chance of getting it is about 50%. There are a raft of new tests to determine whether you are susceptible to dementia. I would suggest that you are commiserating with your friend to the degree that you are projecting her condition onto yourself. Knowledge is power and the way to appease yourself is to get tested. The depression could also be helping you to catastrophise your own life in line with your friends’. Forgetfulness and moments of blankness are not unusual as you age.