Losing the plot?

Pollyj
Please don’t worry ,I think we all sometimes get confused/muddled especially when we have lots going on & many things to think about.I too have anxiety issues & I just think we worry about everything .I’m 68 & often have days when I feel in a muddle & can’t think what I’m doing but it’s not every day or all the time.My husband can’t understand why I can’t multi-task anymore but I can’t & have to do one thing at a time.We all lead such busy lives these days & sometimes I think we try to do too much.

I was becoming very worried myself with forgetting things. I’ve watched a film right through to the last scene, then realised I’ve seen it before. Same with books, I keep reading The Hunger Games! My Mum had Alzheimer’s so I suppose I’m looking for signs, but reading the posts here has given me hope that what I’m experiencing is normal (whatever that is)

Witzend my Mum maintained almost to the end that she cooked a Sunday roast every week.

One of the earliest symptoms looking back after she'd been diagnosed was that she'd stopped reading books, she no longer had the concentration. She'd sit and turn the pages in a magazine.

She knew she'd been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, but said she couldn't see why as she was just a bit forgetful which was normal at her age (80s). It never bothered her and she accepted any help offered, she got really lazy!

My favourite things to forget are did I put my deodorant on? (carry one in my handbag just in case) and did I switch my curling tongs off? (use a hot brush instead now which is noisy like a hairdryer).

When I was younger it wasn't the dog I forgot but the baby. I left him in the pram outside the shop and was nearly home when I realised and my husband at the time said what baby when I told him to mind where he was going to sit because of the baby. So there you go. Love this thread.

Not being able to find your car in the multi story because you borrowed your sons car that day or suggesting putting your parcels back to the car before going for lunch to be reminded you came in the bus that day. Latter one was 14 years ago when I’d got my first bus pass. I’m still going strong although I never take the bus anywhere now

I put a post it note on the kitchen counter last night to remind me which sandwich I am to make for lunch. I'm not losing it, I figure I just get all floosy.

Apparently if you think you recognise the symptoms or signs of dementia, you don’t have dementia. You just have your mind full of other things - the builders, for example.

I’ve always had a terrible memory, especially for names. Nowadays the names of things escape me too, but it’s helped my vocabulary no end coming up with other ways of expressing myself. The missing name always comes back when I stop trying to find it.

Because of my bad memory I started keeping a journal when I turned 60. I only write it up two or three times a week, not daily. Should I be concerned that I can’t remember what we did yesterday? Should I be more concerned that DH can’t remember either? It can often take a while for us to slowly work out where we were 24 hours previously!

As others have said, I think as you get older many of us do become more forgetful or cannot think of words we need or places we've been. A friend was quite concerned and went to her GP who said the above was normal but dementia is looking at, say, a knife and fork and not knowing what it is or what to do with it.

Pollyj only you know how much this is out of character for you, and honestly if you do want reassurance nobody on this site can give it to you - yes we can all say, oh we do that too, and yes the mind makes mistakes when it is overwhelmed with information, but the sensible thing is to see the GP and take a very simple memory test. If you really do have a memory problem, you will regret looking for online advice from a population of us who are all becoming forgetful to some extent. I say this as someone who has nursed for many years a parent with dementia and I never saw it coming. If I could have aired my concerns with my GP about my mother in the very early days I might have been able to do more for her.

Never mind forgetting the dog, I once left my new first baby in Boots, having completely forgotten that I had her! It was for less than 10 min, though.

Back to actual dementia, however - I agree 100% with what pps have said about insight.

The first time I knew my mother really did have dementia, it wasn’t just an old-age thing (having been through it already with FiL I’d been trying to kid myself ?) was when she phoned her bank about something - she’d always been very clued up about finances - and could not remember, literally the instant she’d put the phone down, what they’d said.

Normally any such incident would have had her in a terrible tizz, but she forgot it just as quickly.
And so it went on. She never understood or accepted that she had dementia (not that we kept trying to remind her - it would have been pointless) because she simply could never remember that she couldn’t remember anything.
If that makes sense!
Even when she could no longer even make herself a cup of tea, she still thought she was managing everything fine.

I'm the same pollyj, don't worry to much about it, seriously. I often have conversations with people and I know actually what I want to say, but my mouth and brain don't seem to want to communicate together!

Fear not! I was talking to a friend who was extremely worried because he'd tried to plug his phone charger in (which he's had for some time) but couldn't work out why it wouldn't fit into the plug. His daughter came in, pulled up the top pin on the plug ..... Hey presto, charger works!
I was preparing dinner later that evening. Got collander out of cupboard ..... Pulled out glass bowl with it which smashed on floor. Put colander on side, cleared up mess, decided to top up my wine glass, got bottle out of fridge and proceeded to pour wine into collander! Do not try this, IT DOES NOT WORK!! I am not usually this careless, especially when alcohol is involved. ?

The best one was a few weeks ago though. I was off out and my daughter was in bed so I said to her I’ll lock the door and push your keys back through the letterbox. Ok she said but aren’t you taking your keys?
Yes of course I said. Well why don’t you just simply lock the door after you??? Oh er yes I could do that I said! ??‍♀️

Looking for glasses which are on my head. Wondering where my phone is while actually on it. Trying to turn tv over with phone. But here’s my latest ...turned radio on yesterday only to find it had somehow gone off the station I usually listen to which is radio 2. So instead of fussing around with the tuner I had the brilliant idea of playing radio 2 on my phone and then matched up the song on the radio..sorted! Or so I thought. Put the radio on again this morning only to find radio wales playing... I’m getting worried now thinking how is my radio changing itself??? I’m alone in the house as my daughter is in New York with the school so who is messing about with my radio channels???
So once again I grab my phone and match the song up with radio 2... only it wasn’t radio 2 it was radio Wales which I hadn’t switched back from when I was listening to the match last weekend ??‍♀️Mystery solved!

I'm 39 and guilty of most of the above. I have Fibromyalgia though and loose words in my brain fog- it's so frustrating. I can describe the word I'm missing but for the life of me I can't locate the word I want.
Lack of good quality sleep, pain, pain meds, anxiety, distraction, feeling run down or tired can make it much worse.
I think if you know you are doing it then I personally wouldn't worry. Ask your family if they have concerns about your cognitive function - if they do, then it's time for the GP.
Good luck x

Hetty58, I'm amazed you don't feel embarrassed mentioning you tied up your dog outside a shop & then, even worse, forgetting to take the poor thing home! Read BlazingaGranny's post carefully - I endorse everything she said. You were extremely lucky to find your dog was still there. Are you not aware of the dog snatchers? They can make a lot of money on eBay with a quick sale & they are all over the country I'm afraid, in towns & countryside. PLEASE, don't do this again - your dog is safer at home, even if it means you can't stay out so long.

I had breakfast twice today. 'nuff said.

One of the consultants on the dementia ward I worked in had it spot on......it’s not a problem if you get to the cash point and have forgotten your PIN number. It’s more of a worry however, if you get to the cash point with your card and have no clue what to do with it or why.
Everyday forgetfulness is a part of life, exacerbated often by stress, fatigue, worry, medication etc etc.
When it becomes more of a concern is when folk are unable to process conversations/instructions , forget how to use routine home items , be unable to follow a plot on the tv or in a book, plus many more things, .any of these may then lead to the person beginning to isolate to protect themselves.
Even then however, this could only be a temporary condition of mild cognitive impairment, which doesn’t always progress.
Don’t panic but see your GP if you and your nearest and dearest notice a pattern.

I was so worried I took a DNA test which told me I don't carry the Alzheimer gene. That was reassuring but I still am very forgetful.
I try to look on the positive side. e.g. I can watch films and read books all over again without remembering the plot.?

Gosh I could have written this post myself. We have just come back from holiday and put it down to a bit of jet lag as both my husband and myself seem to be mixing up words now and again. The other day while waiting for a parcel he talked about waiting for the bin man instead. Yesterday I adked him to mash the mashed potatoes???. We both know we have said the wrong thing but put it down to being retired and not as mentally active as we used to be. I'm also a great believer that some information I don't retain is because it's not really important, so easily forgotten. Again I can't always remember names, faces yes but eventually the name comes but just not as quick as it used to. I think it's just part of the aging process and anxiety also plays a part. I've been saying to my friends lately I'm not going ga ga am I.

Pollyj I'm 60, and I do things like that. I think it's when we've got a lot to think about, or when something is going to happen - in your case, the workmen - and our usual routine is changed.

I wouldn't think you've got dementia.

Having my mum at the moment in end stage dementia and my brother in law newly diagnosed I can honestly say they never realised at first they were doing anything wrong, it was us that noticed. So if you've noticed it the chances are it's just normal memory problems that we all have as we age. The first signs we had with my mum was repeating things that she had no memory of having already said. Then she got confused how to use things ( microwave etc). I can ask my husband a couple of times over an hour what time he's going to work ( he does shifts), I just put it down to tiredness and not listening fully due to thinking other things at the same time. Anxiety also makes your brain go into hyperdrive which stops you thinking clearly. I think you're ok ?

It happens when you are tired or stressed ,too much on your mind . Sometimes the mind goes into overload and it sounds like you are very busy at the moment , you still have your marbles they are just busy sifting through your schedule .