I have a concern/question about me...

I am so relieved that you are following up and have the appointment. Are you menopausal? Are you under large amounts of stress? I will tell you right now that this doesn't sound like dementia, but sounds to me, anyway, like severe and profound stress reactions. No doubt the neuro will send you for MRI unless something pops out clear to him or her. That will relieve your mind a bit, I think, but this sounds for all the world like a severe situational stress reaction. I will be so wanting an update from you, and hope you will update us after your appointment. Remember that being menopausal will make any of this just that much worse. Be as specific as you are able with each incident. When it happened and under what circumstances, how long lasting, whether any memory came back later. Every patient is a mystery; remember that, and give them all the symptoms you are able to help in diagnosis. Hugs to you.

No need to jump to the AD possibility before you discount any other stress or physical issues with your doctor.

But because you asked... sibling studies indicate that AD can be inherited, but you are not guaranteed to inherit it. Perfect example is my 2 living aunts ages 97 and 100 who have lived together their whole lives (except 1 year), neither ever married or had kids. Neither ever smoked or drank much. Medditerranian diets. Worked at the same company for almost the same amount of time. Ate the same food, went on the same vacations, exercised the same amount. Different personalities: one extrovert (97 yo) the other introvert (100 y0). The 97 yr-old has total dementia and the 100 yo is clear as a bell. Same parents. Same life. Different outcomes.

Stress can do horrible things to us. You are wise to see a neurologist,, just to rule out things. It seems as though we think the worst first. Please let us know how you make out. We care.

MRI and CT scans are warranted.Perhaps a blood clot or aneurysm is showing some symptoms ... who knows, but you might want to make an appointment for those "headaches" The best generic "go to" ailment to get your GP to order that cranium into imaging, so you can get your dome evaluated without those memory tests. Scans show more things than those outdated blue , sock, bed, answers.
I had a blood clot in my brain that exhibited memory loss symptoms, don't take a chance. From experience, that can result in lots of problems, for sure.

You should also have your thyroid checked, as underactive thyroid can cause mental and emotional problems. Infections such as Lyme disease can cause severe cognitive symptoms. Have thorough testing done by a neuropsychologist or neuropsychiatrist, since the mini mental status exams done by MDs doesn't pinpoint deficits very well.

I would get myself checked out medically, but also be aware that stress causes intense and often strange reactions, including forgetfulness, difficulty functioning, and more.   I experienced this toward the end of my father's life, and thereafter.   It took a lot to return to normal, and it wasn't easy.  It still isn't.

There can be so many reasons you r having these problems. Trans Global Amnesia could be one thing. Are u under a lot of stress? You could be having what my Gson calls "absent seizures" meaning u have no idea ur having them. He knows because he has lost time.

No, Dementia is not hereditary. Your Dads is probably caused by his strokes. There are usually outside factors that cause Dementias. ALZ is hereditary.

But I wouldn't speculate. The Dr. will put ur thru a series of tests to find the problem.

Stress causes many problems. Your brain will protect itself by doing quirky things. There's only so much memory capacity in your brain. That you are forgetting things related to you and your husband suggests to me that you are stressed worrying about your parents. Do you find your thoughts wandering to your parents? Are you waking up in the middle of the night worried about your parents? Do you feel like you have a million things to do and remember for your parents because they can't do or remember it themselves? Talk to the neurologist about your stress.

Laceysterror,
Are you having headaches?

Of course we cannot diagnose you online. Be sure to see the neurologist at the appointment time.

However, if you have any symptoms or an acute headache before that appointment, or any "similar episode", please call 911, or have someone drive you to the E.R.

The symptoms could be a stroke, or TIA.

Best to be sure, because earlier treatment could save your life.

Brain fog and hormones from menopsuse will do the same thing. Still get an MRI. Just the stress of thinking it's something worse, can cause symptoms to be worse. Prayers and hope you find out what is going on. It can be scary. Your body and subconscious is trying to tell you to take care of yourself.

I went thru menapaus in the middle of a divorce and my life was a mess, became anemic. Your symptoms sound like about what I was experiencing. I have anxiety and sometimes a friend may ask me what I ate for breakfast and it takes me awhile to remember. I try to do multiple things at once and burn food. Every day I spend a great deal of time looking for something around the house I've misplaced. I've been this way all my life or else I'd really be worried. Anxiety and stress can cause all kinds of symptoms. For your peace of mind get checked out.

I was having a lot of this - plus quick sharp headaches - and was tested for Lyme. Hope it's not that. My test was positive and brain fog goes along with it. Would be driving and couldn't remember if I had done an errand or not. Other things can cause it too - like thyroid disease, adrenal gland problems, infections.

I have had the same problem and after being thoroughly checked out, turned out it is always due to stress. My brain simply shuts down when I am overwhelmed. 63 years old and I am just now learning to say 'no' and to take care of me, first.

But you need to be sure it's not TIAs or something serious. Mine was "stress". The hardest thing to deal with and nearly impossible to get people to understand.

Good Luck!!

Sometimes lack of sleep, fatigue, exhaustion and stress - can cause what you explained. As others have said - obviously be medically checked out first. Don't assume anything. We take such good care of our charges, that we don't have time for ourselves.

Sometimes I feel so exhausted that I can not recall all the chores I did that day...& I still say everyday that Im going to start getting organized, & going through all the clutter..papers, clothes not needed, etc. I just don’t seem to have enough hours in the day for everything I have to do. I’m caregiver for my 92 yo mother w dementia. Everything sometimes seems like a blur. I’m just on robot mode. But get yourself checked out to satisfy yourself.

It’s great passing 50, isn’t it?! :)

Yes, definitely have your doctors check it out. You mentioned your neurologist, but also ensure your primary care knows as well about your concerns. The root causes could be a number of different things and he/she would be best to make the right referrals to needed specialists after some initial tests.

You are very smart to start now... many of us will worry chronically about someone else's health but then place our heads in the sand when it comes to our own health. Best of luck!

You are caring for your father, you are caring for your mother..
How well are you caring for yourself?
Yes what you describe COULD be dementia of one type or another but..and I am no doctor (I like to play one in my mind and sometimes let my inner doctor escape on this site)
The fact that you KNOW that you took your husband to the hospital and he had a procedure...you KNOW you took your mother to the doctor... you KNOW that you are stopping in the middle of a sentence.
The concern would be if you did not recall you took your husband to the hospital, you did not know you took your mother to the doctor and you deny stopping in the middle of a sentence and all the other little things you forget.
You, like many on this forum are not just running your own life buy the lives of at least 2 other people. No one can keep that all straight in their head so your brain dumps out the unimportant stuff..you already took your husband to the hospital, why remember it further, you took your mom to the doctor, don't have to worry about that. And how many other thoughts are swirling around in your head while you are trying to carry on a conversation? I bet when one you think is important pops up you stop to analyze it to figure out if it is in fact important so you stop talking for a split second.
AD is both Hereditary / genetic and it can also just pop up. At 50 this would be a diagnosis of Early Onset.
Now to bring up a few points...and this is no matter what the Neurologist finds.
You should consult with an Elder Law attorney and get all YOUR paperwork in order Will, Trusts(if needed), POA's write down all the information that your family will need what your Wishes are. (There is a booklet called 5 Wishes and it outlines a lot of this) this will make it easy for your entire family should something happen to you. ..and anything can happen to anyone of us at any time...
And when was the last time you took some time for yourself? When was the last time you took a vacation away form caring for mom, dad? Might be time to plan a little get away. Caregiver Burnout is REAL.
Learn how to delegate some of the tasks you have been doing. If you have to hire someone to help you do some of the things you have been doing. And when I say hire..your parents pay for the help not you.

It's time for you to see a Nutritionist as well as a Neurologist.

Poor nutrition will lead to dementia.

You also need a good blood test to find any nutrient deficiencies. Many vitamin deficiencies can cause the problems you are experiencing.

Some are just part of aging, but it's good you are becoming aware now, before it's too late.

It is so awesome that you have the insight to reach out and ask the questions. I'm 55 so here are my thoughts:
1) could be early onset dementia
2) you are not too young to have had a stroke or other cardiovascular event including heart attack, and women's symptoms are different
2) could be related to menopause / hormonal changes
3) could be related to another health condition or medication so you need a complete physical with your primary care including blood work
4) could be stress

Please let us know what the diagnosis was. These things do feel scary when they start to happen.

Agree completely with Jean1808 but would also add epilepsy into the list of things to ask to have investigated.
You don't say if you are on any medication but some antidepressants can cause this effect so that may be one to consider.
Do get yourself given a full medical to rule things in or out, and best wishes for a good outcome xx

You need a complete medical evaluation to rule out early-onset dementia, an occult stroke, etc. No, it's not normal that at only 50 that you are having such memory issues. (I'm an RN.)

There is a distinct possibility you have some hormonal or health related changes happening that are causing your focus issues.
There are natural and healthful ways to reverse it if that is the case. consult your physician, but do a little research before accepting a prescription.

Definitely see your neurologist next week, sounds exactly like when my mum had mini strokes. Don't freak out, mini strokes are way way better than normal stroke. It's been 8mths since then & she's back to her normal self. She couldn't remember things, got lost in mid sentence, couldn't remember a appointment I took her to, & was going through a lot of stress at the Time and I thought she was getting Alzheimer's.....I began to think the worst....but
Nope I was way off. It was mini strokes and they allow you to return to normal after 6mths. Might be a good idea if you take a aspirin once a day until you see neurologist. So glad you are seeing neurologist. Stress can also give similarities to what you described. Much love sent your way.

HI, I had something similar happen to me when I was just in my 40's. I couldn't sleep, no short term memory, couldn't hold conversations because I couldn't finish sentences because I couldn't remember the beginning of the sentence. Then my Mother who had had it, suggested I get tested for sleep apnea. After a night of wearing wires at their sleep center, I was sent home and the next day, far sooner than is usual, I had 3 people trying to get a hold of me because my results were so concerning. My doc explained it to me; when you sleep and everything is fine, your oxygen level is in the 90's, starts killing brain cells in the 80'... mine was 59.. so sleeping was killing me.. first day on a cpack (spelt wrong) and I slept 14 hours and only my bladder woke me then. I was over weight so had bypass surgery with the cpack machine, my life is right again.
I know nothing about the development of dementia or anything like that, other than being the primary caregiver for my mother in law, who has it but I would hope that you have sleep apnea because there's a fix for it. And just to clarify, non overweight people can have it too.
Hope this helps, can't hurt to have it checked.

According to my mother’s cardiologist Mini strokes aren’t necessarily inherited. I just asked him it since her mom had them and my mother has vascular dementia.

It sounds like you have a lot on your plate though. If your neurologist appointment is fine, could you be depressed? One of my daughters’ has Major depression and basically recalls little to nothing about those time periods, can not concentrate ( ie minor car accidents) or remember pretty much anything at the time either

You know what they say about Alzheimer's, if you think you have it you don't. Stress/anxiety is the most likely cause of your problem followed by a sleep disorder. Could be a host of other things too.

Vascular dementia occurs most often in people with other cardiac risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and high cholesterol. Get all these checked out. Nobody knows for sure if AD has a genetic component. If you can't remember what the doctor said take notes next time.

It's far more likely to be stress.

Vascular dementia is usually the result of heart disease. Genetics may make you more vulnerable to developing certain complications from certain factors, but you wouldn't develop vascular dementia without some underlying cause of which you would become aware beforehand.

But I don't think it matters. If you're anything like I was during peak caregiving periods, I expect your heart is going pit-a-pat almost all the time, you're probably holding your breath, your attention span seems to have turned negative and you have moments when you can't remember your own name, let alone anyone else's. And being in this state on its own will do you a power of no-good.

I hope your neurologist most certainly will take your concerns seriously, whether or not you turn out to be of any interest to that specialty, and will give you good advice.

Meanwhile, don't forget there are at least two halves to functional memory (there are a lot more aspects but I'm making a point here) - information in, and information out. If you're overwhelmed, it isn't necessarily that you've lost those memories - maybe at the time you weren't able to pay attention so you couldn't process the information, or maybe you can't focus or concentrate now and so you can't retrieve the information but it'll all come back to you later. Or both, of course.

The key thing is to seek advice on how to look after yourself, and well done to you for making a start. Please come back and let us know how it went.

Have you been tested AND evaluated for Lyme? I had these same experiences before finally being diagnosed which in itself is not always easy (I had had it for a minimum of 10 years before it got so bad and I was diagnosed according to a specialist later).

You are doing the right thing by getting checked out by doctors.

I had similar symptoms in my late 40’s. It scared the bejesus out of me. I was forgetting conversations, forgetting what I was doing while preparing dinner.

I went to my GP and broke down in tears. I was incredibly afraid that I was losing my marbles. The first thing he did was reassure me that people with dementia do not recognize there is a problem.

After blood work it was determined that I have B12 anemia. I was started on pills and the lab work was repeated a week or two later to check if I would need it by injection. I did not.

Menopause can also wreck havoc on women as hormone levels drop and we learn to live with different body chemistry.

please report back the results of your appointment.

It could be your thyroid. Hypothyroidism has symptoms of major brain fog. Seek out a functional medicine doctor over your mainstream primary physician. They’ll find the root cause and have different standards for thyroid testing. I had symptoms of thyroid disfunction for years (cold all the time, anxiety and major brain fog) and my primary care doctor got pissy with me for continually asking her to retest my thyroid when she said my tests were always normal. Which was pointless anyways since the way their testing standards work they don’t read warning levels of thyroid hormones which tell you your headed towards a thyroid disaster. I finally found a doctor not in my insurance network to do the thyroid testing and I came up as positive for Hashimoto's disease. I’m much better after diet changes and an array of nutritional supplements. My brain is now clear and sharp. Beat of luck to you and I hope you find some answers. Lots of great ideas posted.