I am very scared guys. My mother is 71. I am 31. I love her so much, but she has noticeably gotten more forgetful. Short and long term. She is mixing up pet names and events of which pet did what, when and where. Just old pets. She can't remember who all was where or when in her memories. It would kill me to see my mother who was so smart and confident become a shell of her former self. I fear for the future and am not sure how to approach this.
>>34422556>It would kill me to see my mother who was so smart and confident become a shell of her former self. I fear for the future and am not sure how to approach this.it's probably going to happen sooner or lateru can still take care of her if you feel compelled to, it would certainly be much better than most nursing homesshe can probably live happily on her own for awhilebut before it all gets to that point, u should try to spend time with her, and try to think of anything you might regret not saying 20 years from nowhopefully other anons have better & more sympathetic advice, but those are my thoughtsgood luck to you and her, anon
you can also give her the best odds by making sure she has things to do & people to talk to right nowu don't want her to be sitting alone in a dirty house watching TV, you know?maybe try and get her to find things to do, people to spend time with, wherever other old ladies do that in your local town, maybe a church or something elseit would help keep her much healthierand yeah do a quick check of her living conditions, make sure there's nothing retarded going on
>>34422563She's got my sister and my aunt with her. She's got chickens, dogs and cats that she takes care of and a garden. She's always taking her blood pressure meds and everything.>>34422560I live States away for work and can't risk moving. This is it. This is the gig. But she's really happy where she is. She has her dream home in AR. I work in TX. I need to fly and visit her more often.
>>34422556You might be overthinking this shit OP. I am not saying she isn't forgetting the shit you said, she clearly does because you're her son, and you have known her your entire life, you are the most qualified person on the planet to know that something has changed. You might not be a qualified doctor to diagnose what that change is, but you are the most qualified to know something has changed. But you might have nothing to fear, because what you might be witnessing is just harmless senility. Being "senile". It's just age related cognitive decline, it happens to most old people dude. Senile elders become foggy brained, forgetful, confused. Forgetting dates, events, having false memories, mixing up details of key information. Not just once in a while, at least once a day, some times several times a day. The cognitive decline happens because the body grows old OP, and the brain is a part of the body. People forget that, the brain is a physical organ just like the heart or lungs or stomach or your arms or legs, it's physical. And physical things get old, they start to go frail and limp and just don't work as fast any more. That's just life, man. Doctors won't use the word "senility" or "senile" anymore. Probably because not every old person becomes scatter brained. They use the words "cognitive decline". If it gets any worse and the minute she starts forgetting faces of loved ones, then you can shit the bed. That's dementia at that point. But chances are it may not come to that. Most cases of senile shit don't advance into scary territory, they just remain forgetful of short term memories like forgetting where they left the keys, or forgetting they already told a story twice before. If she is just gonna be like that, don't feel too bad. Some of us have that shit at birth (adhd). I live exactly like that every day, and I get by fine. I can still work and manage a family. You got nothing to fear bro. But do remain observant of any changes for the worse
>>34422576>She's got my sister and my aunt with her. She's got chickens, dogs and cats that she takes care of and a garden. She's always taking her blood pressure meds and everything.ah ye, those are all very goodit still might help if she can spend time outside of the house, if it's safe, and if there are things to do, but a that age it might be too much idkit's good she has those things though, that should help a lothopefully u trust your sister & aunt if things deteriorate>I live States away for work and can't risk moving. This is it. This is the gig. But she's really happy where she is. She has her dream home in AR. I work in TX. I need to fly and visit her more often.sounds about as good as things can reasonably be, and yeah, try to visitit'll be okay anon
>>34422556>>34422602>Continued Also if she does have harmless cognitive decline, the next time you visit her you can feel better if you do some things to keep her safe. It's harmless but it can still be harmful indirectly, such as gas ovens, or electric or heat related appliances that, if she were to forget to turn off one night, could set something ablaze. When you get down there start putting down safety mechanisms in and around her house, fire alarms, check them or replace them etc. if she has lots of power outlets, check if they have surge protectors in them, and if they don't, purchase for her RCDs that plug into the outlets so then she has to plug whatever electrical appliance into those, because those have a surge protector that instantly shut everything off immediately if there's an incoming surge that could spark a fire. Remove any flammables away from stoves, like towels or fabrics, and clean the inside of that shit and make sure there's no grease build up. Be sure to tell whoever lives with her to make sure those things you got in her house remains there so she stays safe
>>34422556Use nerve growth factor anon, look rita levi montalici's nobel prize
>>34422556Much of that is harmless, but if you're concerned, get her to a GP for a physical (a good idea anyway). The GP can give basic mental tests and know whether to refer her to an Alzheimers specialist."If you can't remember where you left your keys, don't panic. If you're looking at your keys and can't remember what they are, panic."
