My 82-year-old mom is really pretty remarkable, but not what she used to be — of course. She seems to be able to manage her own affairs (with the occasional assist), her health is good with the exception of an irritating hammertoe, and she just moved from her large house to a condominium complex which is not assisted living, but is populated by primarily folks 60ish and up. So, all in all, I consider myself very lucky.
I have noticed that she’s not as mentally quick as she was (to be expected), and she tends to repeat stories. She’s a bit of a compulsive talker, so it may partially be just filling dead air. The thing that’s more concerning to me is she is more subject to being influenced by others than she used to be; she’s generally quite opinionated, so that seems odd. She’s also needier than she was; calls several times a day, that sort of thing.
I live nearby, and try to keep an eye on her, but what I’m wondering about is how you can tell what’s normal brain aging and what’s the onset of dementia. I don’t think we’re there yet, but I’m hoping to get some ideas about what to watch for.
Thanks much!
My mom lived in a 55 and up apartment, too. It was a great place. They had bingo and went on monthly bus trips. There was also a Nurse Practitioner who came once a month and was in contact with the resident’s doctors. Find out if your mom’s condo has anything like this and see if she wants to get involved.
Observe her behavior without being obvious or asking her a lot of questions. And, stay in touch with her doctor.
Go to online Alz.org it is loaded with information & you can call them toll free and talk to some there about your concerns and they will guide you and send you a list of symptoms.
This is what I did & they were a big help.
Good Luck to you and your mom.
Missing words, repeating herself over and over, losing her train of thought-she covers pretty well for those who don't know her, but for me, it's obvious.
Not much to be done, really. Until she cannot dress, feed or perform her daily living needs, she just needs to be kept safe (she is) and looked after. Living in my brother's home is fine for her. She's 88 and likely will live 10 more years.
Even if/when she becomes seriously embroiled in the dementia world, I don't think we'd ever get brother to agree to have her placed in a NH.
So even though your Mom is still functioning well, it might be good to get a baseline test with her regular doctor.
I'm most concerned about what you say about her being easily influenced. Has her cognitive ability been formally assessed at all, even just by her PCP?
Otherwise I’d only noticed a couple of odd comments now and again. Things you just brush off. In retrospect I shouldn’t have. Using incorrect words. Smoke instead of fog even when just corrected, seeing a shadow in the road in front of her house and wondering if the city is going to charge her to fill it.
Complaining about the neighbors noise and it sounds like they are tunneling towards my house!
Make sure POA and will etc are all done.
My mom has Parkinson's so I knew that dementia was in our future. After awhile of noticing some of the little symptoms, she had a significant downturn. Her doctor and I couldn't pin it on anything physical or her meds, so I asked for a cognitive assessment. The results were startling ... late stage Alzheimer's disease; she'd managed to hide it very well. The diagnosis explained a lot of what I had written off as part-dementia and part-she's a challenging patient. It's easy to disregard the little things as "she tired", old age and such.
Your mom may be difficult when you bring it up because (1) she's been such a vibrant woman and (2) mental decline carries a huge stigma for people her age. But, don't either of you sweep it under the rug. There are meds and therapies that slow the progression of the illness IF it is caught early. The discussion will be hard, but you'll both be better for it
There is a short test you can try with her if you are both agreeing to it. Give her three words and ask her to repeat them to you and then remember them. Then ask her to draw a clock and put a time like 7:15 on it. (Make sure there is not an actual clock in view during the test.). Encourage her to draw a complete clock with all the numbers and the two hands. After the clock is done ask her to tell you the three words. The best result would be if she remembers all three words. If the clock is missing numbers, numbers are repeated, numbers are out of order, the hands don't
give the correct time, all of these can indicate a potential
problem. Look online to see examples of poor clock drawing. My
relative's doctor did the clock test with her and I was shocked at
how badly she did. Please note, the earlier dementia is treated, the better the treatment works. Ideally have her evaluated by a neuropsychology or neurologist.