The Signs

I can’t pinpoint when I first thought my Mum had a memory problem. There were a number of signs which presented themselves over a period of time. A lot of people who are concerned about their loved ones often ask me when and how I came to the realisation that my Mum had a problem. Trying to distinguish the difference between memory loss as a result of old age creeping up on us versus dementia or Alzheimer’s. Below are some examples of things to look out for but what I will highlight is that you know your loved one better than anyone and with time the signals will become very apparent as you notice the individual no longer coping with every day life as well as they used to. There is a lot to be said about your gut instinct.

One of my earliest memories was when Mum (aged approx 60 – about 5 years before her diagnosis) asked me to teach her to text using her mobile phone. I spent a whole afternoon trying to explain and guide her through the concept to no avail. I appreciate her generation do struggle with technology but we got absolutely nowhere and with hindsight it was not a generation issue it was clearly her memory being unable to grasp the task.

I noticed my Mum was no longer able to cope with her finances the way she used to. It’s got to be said she was never great in this department but bills were never paid and she started receiving late payment notices.

She would forget to return to her car in order to top up the parking metre and get fined £50 as a result. Now this could happen to any of us, however with the sting of a £50 fine you would ensure it never happened again. Mum kept letting it happen and the fines mounted up!

When she turned 60 she was able to travel on the bus for free however completion of the simple application form was too difficult without my assistance.

She got lost driving from the train station back home – this was a regular journey and she could not figure out how to get back on track without my guidance.

She was unable to follow simple instructions when for example doing telephone banking.

She kept forgetting her PIN number.

She neglected hair, dental and doctor appointments.

She would constantly repeat herself or ask the same questions over and over again.

She suddenly became overwhelmed at work. Simple routine tasks became a struggle to cope with.

After diagnosis the signs become even more apparent but I’ll save that for another chapter!