My 92 year old mother has problems remembering things. But, after talking for a while it always comes back. The doctor says its old age. So I was wondering if it could be dementia? Thanks for any info you can give me.
Thanks to all who answered. They were all very conforting. I know now she is most likely fine mentally. Please keep us in your thoughts as we deal with her physcail problems.
Dementia is a broad category of diseases/disorders that involve impairments in the brain. There are something like 50 distinct kinds of dementia. The one most people are familiar with is Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The current estimate is that 60% of those with dementia have AD. But nerie86 is right. An accurate diagnosis can only be made on autopsy and most people who die with dementia do not have an autopsy performed, so any percentages and statistics we have are somewhat guesswork.
In any case, we know that tons of elders have dementia. Many of them have AD and others have Vascular Dementia, Dementia with Lewy Bodies, Parkinson's with Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia, and a host of less common types.
Not every elder who forgets things has dementia, especially if they fairly quickly remember. One description I've read is if you forget where you put your car keys, that is nothing to worry about. If you forget what car keys are used for, that is a greater cause for concern.
If your mom is functioning well in spite of her forgetfulness, chalk it up to old age. If she forgets to shut the burners off or leaves the oatmeal on the stove until it is a cinder stuck to the pan, if she has accidents because she forgets where the bathroom is ... well then you may have to take some safety measures no matter what the cause of her forgetfulness is.
If other symptoms that Christina mentions start appearing, keep track of them and make another visit to the doctor.
Everyone forgets things for different reasons. Most of us can live with that. When they start hallucinating, becoming aggressive, their biological clock gets screwed up: awake and screaming all night, wanting to sleep all day; asking about people who have passed, believing someone has stolen their jewelry, etc. those are huge signs. There are many different symptoms and they can usually be diagnosed, but they are all part of the brain malfunctioning. A good test is asking them what year and or month is it, who's the president, what city and state do they live in, when is her birthday, number and names of children, etc. if they can't answer a couple of them but don't seem to be too concerned about it ( denial) usually they are on the road. Good luck. At 92 and she is forgetting things, not too bad:) xo
My answer, after reading about the subject in this site is: ALZ is a form of dementia. I just found out this week when talking with a nurse at my husband's NH, that there are so many types of dementia that they only can be diagnosed after the autopsy.
In any case, we know that tons of elders have dementia. Many of them have AD and others have Vascular Dementia, Dementia with Lewy Bodies, Parkinson's with Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia, and a host of less common types.
Not every elder who forgets things has dementia, especially if they fairly quickly remember. One description I've read is if you forget where you put your car keys, that is nothing to worry about. If you forget what car keys are used for, that is a greater cause for concern.
If your mom is functioning well in spite of her forgetfulness, chalk it up to old age. If she forgets to shut the burners off or leaves the oatmeal on the stove until it is a cinder stuck to the pan, if she has accidents because she forgets where the bathroom is ... well then you may have to take some safety measures no matter what the cause of her forgetfulness is.
If other symptoms that Christina mentions start appearing, keep track of them and make another visit to the doctor.