My Mom does. Even when it first started, she would say that there's something wrong. Now she simply says that her mind is not working as it should.
I've noticed my own cognitive decline. Things that were child's play, no longer is. I used to be a human spell checker, I didn't do typos. Now many times I look at what I type and it's gibberish. Math has become a foreign language to me. When I say math, I don't mean arithmetic like what's 7% of 100. I'm still faster than those 20 something kid's at that. I mean things like number theory with all the squiggly lines.
My mom was seeing & saying things that were not at all normal. We had to “trick” her to get her to a specialist. It was a Dr. who specialized in this area and he told my mom, “I know you’re sitting there thinking that I don’t know what in #@** I’m talking about, but I’m here to help you.” She was given a diagnosis of Lewy Body dementia (after a 3D MRI he added vascular dementia). Mom did say for weeks he didn’t know what he was talking about & wasn’t going to take the Aricept. She lived alone & was still driving. She wouldn’t believe us when we told her things, some things you REALLY can’t play along with them on! Mom, ants are NOT covering your tv! (I tried to “kill” them but she still saw them) was one of the “minor” things.
Some time after all that I was exasperated over something she was believing/wanting to do. I didn’t yell at her but I was short. She quietly said to me, “You know sometimes my mind doesn’t work right.” I hugged her & simply said I knew. In my case, my brother & I needed to have the authority of a Dr. & him telling her that she had this disease. She needed help & didn’t believe the two of us.
Nowadays, most of us Senior Citizens are familiar with dementia just like everything else we might “get” as we age and as our bodies change and begin to fail us. And none of us wants to admit to it. We try to fool ourselves into believing that nothing is wrong. We tell ourselves “It’s just old age creeping up on us.”
My mother knew something was wrong even though she never really talked about it. She kind of even laughed it off. But I know that inside she was scared and angry that her body was betraying her. She survived breast cancer in her 80’s, but there was no fighting dementia. In a clear-minded moment, sne once told me. “When I look in the mirror, I don’t recognize myself.” That broke my heart.
My mom does and it’s horrible. Put her through a depression worse than the dementia. Not sure what her doctor told her( my dad was in charge of her appointments) but I think If they have Alzheimer’s they shouldn’t be told.
I agree. I never used the word Dementia to mom. There really was no point. We called it forgetful. She knew there was something wrong, and wondered if she had brought it on herself by not exercising or something. I just told her some people get forgetful of some things when they’ve had such a full life, and reassured her that I’d be there to help her. She’d ask if there was something to take to help her memory, and I’d tell her she’s on it. “Good grief” she’d laugh. So yes, at the outset some people know. Then later it doesn’t matter.
I've noticed my own cognitive decline. Things that were child's play, no longer is. I used to be a human spell checker, I didn't do typos. Now many times I look at what I type and it's gibberish. Math has become a foreign language to me. When I say math, I don't mean arithmetic like what's 7% of 100. I'm still faster than those 20 something kid's at that. I mean things like number theory with all the squiggly lines.
Some time after all that I was exasperated over something she was believing/wanting to do. I didn’t yell at her but I was short. She quietly said to me, “You know sometimes my mind doesn’t work right.” I hugged her & simply said I knew. In my case, my brother & I needed to have the authority of a Dr. & him telling her that she had this disease. She needed help & didn’t believe the two of us.
My mother knew something was wrong even though she never really talked about it. She kind of even laughed it off. But I know that inside she was scared and angry that her body was betraying her. She survived breast cancer in her 80’s, but there was no fighting dementia. In a clear-minded moment, sne once told me. “When I look in the mirror, I don’t recognize myself.” That broke my heart.