Dementia: 12 Subtle Early Warning Signs We Missed

Doctors have a list of 10 Early Warning Signs -BUT there are subtle signs long before. Here are 12 things we missed.

[susanofferman]

My mother died in a memory care facility at age 98. Her dementia started in her late 80's after she had fallen several times and had to have blood clots removed from her brain. It's so important to be careful as you age as injuries can also lead to dementia. I regret one thing I did with her. I would tell her when she did something symptomatic, like repeating herself. I thought I was being helpful but now I know it was the wrong thing to do. Your loved ones can't help the decline. Constantly reminding them of it isn't a kindness. My best advice is to be patient with them and remember to take care of yourself as well as your loved one. It's heartbreaking to watch your loved one change into someone you don't recognize.

[dboutier]

I would add another one. My mother-in-law, my mother, and a very good friend started to lose their sense of humor. If you said something funny, they took it literal and they no longer got sarcasm. Great video. Thanks.

[signalfire]

I was a caretaker for a 102 year old man, who retained ALL his marbles to the very end. I enrolled him in a 90+ brain health study and they asked a series of questions during intake and then every 6 months afterwards. Asked 'what day of the week is it?' I just sat back and watched because I knew what was coming... 'I retired on June 26th, 1976. It was a Saturday at 6 PM and I haven't needed to know what day of the week it was since then!' Hopefully he got full credit. I'm 70, been retired for 8 years and most of the time I'm not thinking what day of the week it is either. Retired people don't have to know that stuff. Not knowing the *season* is a bit concerning, especially if it didn't just change over... word finding ability is an issue depending on how large your vocabulary was to start with - take choline (lecithin) supplements or eat more eggs - that's necessary for acetylcholine, one of the neurotransmitters necessary for speech and complex thought. A LOT of 'aging' related issues can be mitigated with diet and supplements.

[marygoodsell]

I want to offer you all encouragement! My 82 year old husband just passed away. Alzheimers for years and years. These were our happiest years, picnics, car rides, favorite tv shows. I told him, we dont have bad days, every day is a good day! All the way to the end. I wasnt ready.

[realcanadiangirl]

Now I know for sure that Google is listening to my conversations. I've never watched or searched for a video about dementia so there would be no reason for this video to come up in my YouTube feed. But I recently had a conversation wondering if my father is suffering from it.

[Truthseeker-fk]

Urinary tract infections can cause mental problems. True story.

[DisneyGalVal]

My husband is about to turn 60, and I am seeing some signs such as using the wrong word for things such as saying the cheese went bitter, instead of sour, fading out during conversations, repeating stories multiple times, completely forgetting lengthy discussions, insisting he told me things when I know for certain he did not, having a "fresh' mouth when speaking to me when I ask him questions, so many small things that are now adding up. He also has untreated severe ADHD, which has magnified his sharp-tongued behavior, impulsiveness and inability to organize and complete tasks. This underlying issue made it hard at first to recognize the changes are not related to ADHD. Having just gone through this with my own mother, and now my husband ... it's a tough thing to say the least, Not looking for sympathy, jut sharing my story with the unique circumstances we are facing, and others may as well.

[julienelson]

Thank you. You take the panic out of all of this. And panic NEVER helps.

[seashelify]

My mom died in 2002. We are still using the soap, tin foil & cling free plastic wrap 21 years later. I also donated 88 facecloths!!!

[jeanjaz]

It's not so much the actual symptoms, but the change in personality or symptoms.

It's a lot easier to see the changes looking back. My mom's personality changed slowly. She became more and more critical and judgmental. She had never been that way.
She became more and more paranoid. Thinking people were cheating her or taking her things.

My mom had been very tech savy, but she got to where she couldn't figure out stuff that wasn't even technical.

Once you know the problem is there, you don't need to convince your loved one, you don't need to try to change them back. You just love on them and make their life as easy, happy, and comfortable as possible.

[davewielhouwer]

Going under anesthesia for anyone over 60 is very tough on the brain. My gf works at a memory care unit and she said she has never seen seniors return to their baseline once they have gone under anesthesia

[lynnapplegate]

This is absolutely the best video I have ever seen about the earliest signs of dementia. Thank you for your insight into this complex disease.

[mlbs]

My husband and I were talking about his late mother and how she couldn't throw anything away. We wondered if part of the issue, aside from the dementia, was that she had grown up in extremely difficult poverty during the Depression. "Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without." Those sorts of survival skills don't go away. It was sad to watch her decline.

[kariemason]

An early sign I saw in my mom that made me think she was at the beginning stage of Alzheimer's, happened several years ago. My mom was driving us to Thanksgiving dinner at my sister's house.
A cat ran out in front of the car and she struck and killed it. She was an avid animal lover and she especially loved (and owned) cats. I said, oh no! You just hit a cat! She said, well, he shouldn't have run out in front of me, and she just kept driving! I was so shocked! Their personality changes! She would never had acted so callous and she would have pulled over to try to find the owner of the cat by knocking on doors. I was so upset by this. I knew that something was really wrong with her, and I suspected dementia/Alzheimer's. I was right. It is such a very sad disease! May she rest in peace.

[southlove]

Do not ignore the red flags. Do not try to rationalize the out of character behavior. I learned too late. If I had not been in denial I could have done better by my mother. Just something to consider.

[srsnelson]

It’s amazing how similar the symptoms are in people with dementia. Three people in my family have had it and this video is spot on! You must become intrusive when their living conditions have deteriorated to the point of being unsafe and they refuse to make the necessary changes. You get blamed for their neglect and then you get blamed when you have to move them out of their home which they want YOU to maintain. For the mother who seeks attention, you can’t possibly satisfy her 24/7. She becomes the black hole of emotional needs. She won’t let you sleep at night. She won’t let you leave your house without hunting you down, calling your friends to find you. If you hire caregivers to help, she sends them to look for you to ask for YOUR help. You begin to think dementia is contagious because you feel you are on the brink of insanity. I don’t want to devote the rest of my shortened life to helping work the TV remote and scrubbing a back in the shower of someone capable of bathing herself. It’s not a lack of empathy. It’s self-preservation! I have other people in my life I must help take care of. There’s only so much one human being can take. I thought bringing them home to familiar surroundings and family would help, but it didn’t. They need simplified surroundings with a minimum of stuff. If family members upset them, they will do better in assisted living among strangers. I just hope I will be able to afford it if I am ever in the same condition. The person I am now doesn’t want to do the same thing to my children.

[leelee]

I was the first one to pick up on the fact that my sister "wasn't right". I lived a long distance from her but we talked on the phone nearly every day. We were both keen gardeners and used to talk about our latest aquisitions. She completely lost interest and every time I talked about plants she'd say I can't be bothered. She got early onset and is now in the last stage of dementia.

[janeshipley]

there’s one thing i’d have your viewers know - being confused after a hospitalization or after moving does not necessarily, by itself, indicate dementia. it happens to older people, and after some time they recover from it. so look at the whole picture. thanks for an informative video.

[deborahpeeples]

Hi Deborah,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences. Three time family caregiver and retired nurse here. "Been there, done that" equips you in a special way to teach.
May I suggest you do a session on the differences and similarities among dementia, delireum and depression?
Regarding remarks about your being too harsh or loud, etc. Do think about slowing down a bit as many caregivers, esp spousal caregivers, are dealing with age related issues themselves. It takes a little longer for us to hear and process things.
Re the abruptness, I'd bet a dollar that that's a cultural thing. Speech in the South is usually slower, softer and lower pitched than in the North. I've heard Southern patients accuse Northern nurses/drs/etc of being rude when in fact it was just a pattern of speech.
Keep up the good work, friend. Information is power. Good on you for sharing!!!👍💕

[Camster-bxbs]

Denial is a powerful emotion. We ignore those early red flags because we don’t want to see them & have to connect the dots. It’s so difficult to actually come to the full realization that something is seriously wrong. It can be devastating, especially if your loved one is relatively young. My fiancé was a very active & athletic 57 when I had him diagnosed. I’m so sorry you’ve had 3 in your family affected by this horrible disease.