Hello, new here...husband may have early dementia
 

He's 61 and seen a neuro who ordered a brain MRI which shows a small area of atrophy in the front of his brain. He had two severe concussion in his 20's.

My husband doesn't forget things, where he parks, where he puts things, people's names, etc. He's highly functional, takes care of our home, large garden, three vehicles, etc. He isn't in any way socially withdrawn, or inappropriate, and he doesn't act at all depressed.

But, he DOES have trouble with communicating...not so much forgetting words but expressing himself in complete, informative sentences. It's almost as though he's using some sort of verbal shorthand. Also, it appears that he's having similar trouble writing his thoughts and particularly numbers down.

I have noticed that he appears to be more impulsive than he used to be, i.e, the minute I mention that some little thing needs to be done, he'll immediately stop what he's doing to go do it, unless I remind him that it doesn't have to be done right this minute.

The neuro didn't make a diagnosis, despite my impressions, the MRI, and my husband's difficulty on the mental status exam. (He was able to complete questions but was slower than expected). He mentioned early dementia in passing but, again, didn't diagnose it. Our primary care doc, after reviewing everything, said that she was "baffled."

Does any of this sound familiar to anyone?

Hello foggyca and welcome to NeuroTalk.

I'm so sorry to hear that you're so worried about your husband, and not without reason. It must be hard for you knowing there's something wrong with him, but not knowing quite what. Do you have another appointment with the Neuro, or has your Primary Care doctor suggested getting another opinion? Maybe that's another option you could discuss with him/her.

May I suggest you visit our Forum for Alzheimer's Disease. We have a great group of members on the site, and hopefully one of them can you some insight. Here's the direct link, and welcome again.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum59.html

Hello foggy and Welcome to NeuroTalk. It's so scary when you see someone you care about starting to show signs of dementia. It seems like it touches so many lives. I am glad you found us and hope you will take a look around and let us know if you need help w/anything.

Please join in wherever you feel like it... wer'e a friendly bunch!.


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Hi, Foggy! :Wave-Hello: Welcome to NeuroTalk!

That is disconcerting. I hope you have good faith in your neuro and can trust his judgement. Please be sure to keep a record on a calendar, perhaps create a 1-10 type scale of your hub's daily progress. After time, it will help you establish a pattern that will be invaluable to the docs who see him. :)

Hi Foggy and welcome to NeuroTalk!

My Mom had dementia and then Alzheimer's. She was in her 70's when she developed it. What you described just doesn't sound like either to me - based on what I remember from my Mom's behavior - but I know everyone is different.

I'm wondering if it might be some damage caused by the concussions that's just surfacing or causing noticeable symptoms. I'm sure the doctors will investigate that possibility.

Cindy had a great suggestion - keeping track of everything in writing is invaluable. I do it all the time because I just don't trust my memory especially if I'm not feeling well.

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Thanks...
 

Thanks for your welcomes and input.

I think keeping a log sounds like a great idea.

I've also wondered about that little area of atrophy and how it might relate to the concussions. One occurred before I met my husband, and the other while we were dating (he fell off of a 200-foot cliff), so I have no way of knowing what his cognition was before.

Now that I'm thinking about things, I do realize that he's always had a degree of problems in the areas where he seems to be "developing" problems now. But, the degree has gradually increased to the point where I finally began to notice.

So, I'm not really sure if the problem is one he's had all along, and it's simply progressing with age, or whether it's something new.

I guess this is why our primary care doc said she was "baffled."

Hi, Foggyca! I'm just new here myself and nothing helps me feel more at home than saying Hi to another newbie.

Well, hi, Roseblue...I'm glad to be here too. Well, not exactly glad but happy to know that I'm not alone.

I have a vascular dementia, and your husband's symptoms do not resemble mine.
It could well be that his linguistic ability is somehow compromised. We are born with certain innate linguistic wiring (see N. Chomsky's writings). Do you think he gets distracted before he can finish saying or completing his thought. or does it sound like he just forgot what he wanted to say in mid-sentence. The latter sounds more like dementia, or an attention problem, but it just might be a mental, language structural problem of some kind. You could try to find a linguistic professor at a nearby university to ask for help, and he might have more insight into what is going on than an m.d.