My mom is 70. Is this a typical age for someone to have dementia/Alzheimer's symptoms? We have a neurologist appt. in Feb.

My loved one first showed signs of Alzheimer’s at age 59.

Early..Early onset for dementia is someone between 30 and 60 at diagnosis.
Mid 60's I would not call that early onset and for sure not in the 70's.
Now what you are describing a few years back might have been early signs that she was good at covering up. I have read that people with dementia have covered and worked around symptoms for sometimes 10 years before they can no longer hide signs of mental decline.
A good exam and follow up exams are important. If possible work with not just a Neurologist but also a Neuropsychologist together they can come up with pretty accurate diagnosis.
It is also very important to get an ACCURATE diagnosis. Some dementias are more difficult to treat than others and with some there are medications that should NOT be taken. So don't take "It's Alzheimer's" as the diagnosis. Rule out things like Lewy Body Dementia, Vascular Dementia and a whole host of others.
Between now and the appointment sit down with a notebook and write down EVERY little thing that you can think of that you may have overlooked in the past. I have said dementia is like one of those pictures that once you get up close it is made up of thousands of individual pictures. Or like a puzzle each piece alone means nothing but when you put them all together you see the whole picture.

I am relieved you will get a neuro psyc eval. This would be early onset for dementia,but that doesn't mean for a second that this is not what this is. It also sounds more like a mental disorder. You really need expert advice, and it sounds as though you will be getting it; I hope you will update us.

It does seem young, but it is not all that unusual. There is early onset dementia/ALZ that can even come on in the 50s, probably more likely in their 60s. My FIL had it in his early/mid 60s. Now, that seemed crazy young.

Good for you for taking her to a neuro. You should get some actual answers. Which I am working on getting for my mom too. She's 78 and has been declining for years, both cognitively and physically. It's a mess.

Ask as many questions as you need to and there are many people here that are willing and able to offer excellent suggestions and support.

Good luck.

My 68-year old cousin was just formally diagnosed with ALZ after discounting any other medical cause for her cognitive symptoms. She had dropped a lot of weight and it turned out her worsening memory/confusion was causing her to not take her thyroid medication properly. Once that was corrected (and now overseen by family) she stopped losing weight but her cognition didn't improve all that much. They of course discounted a tumor, and any other non-dementia cause and then she had a full neuro psych eval. It is a heartbreaking diagnosis for our family.

My best friend's mom was diagnosed at 58, some others I'm aware of even younger. May you receive peace in your heart as you move through this with her.

P.S. For your own mental well being please know that dementia/ALZ is inherited but you do NOT automatically inherit the gene.

From Alz.org

“Most individuals with the disease are 65 and older. After age 65, the risk of Alzheimer's doubles every five years. After age 85, the risk reaches nearly one-third.”

It is good that you are taking her to a specialist and that you are researching before the appointment.