Could these be signs of dementia?

[Excelsior! Academy]

Opening fridge in garage to get out a large pan and coming back later to discover the door left open.

 

Removing pan from oven and forgetting to turn off oven.

 

Saying similar words, but not the ones intended.

[Ripley]

It could be.  Or not; in my case, it's due to anemia. 

 

My doctor says it's somewhat common, but often overlooked, for other ailments, too. He says when a woman tells him she's become forgetful or foggy, the first thing he runs is are iron and B12 tests, and a thyroid panel.

[Excelsior! Academy]

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[trulycrabby]

Except for the word-retrieval difficulties, this could be my teenager.

 

How old is the person you are talking about? How long has this person been displaying symptoms?

 

I have chronic anemia and (medicated) thyroid issues, and yes the anemia especially can cause foggy thinking.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I do every single one of those things.  Being tired or stressed or just trying to multi-task too much are what lead to that in myself.  

[ChristineP]

You can find a basic dementia test online.  I don't think that sounds, in and of itself, like dementia.  Does the person forget entire conversations? Can they recall the year and president?  If you give them five words, can they tell you what they are again in 1/2 hour.

 

I leave on the oven often.  It is not dementia.  It is multi tasking!

 

[Rachel TX]

Perhaps, but those are minor things that anybody can do. Actual dementia has really noticeable symptoms to be concerned about.

[Mandylubug]

I suppose I'm demented

[Farrar]

Those are things that happen with age, stress, multi-tasking, hormonal changes like in teens.  If that's all you've got, I vote no, probably not, though assuming this is an elderly person, they might need to alter their behavior to account for forgetfulness with age.

 

In the cases of dementia I've known, there was something that was clearly beyond forgetfulness.  In the case of grandmother-in-law, she began believing the TV was talking to her. :(

[Guest]

B12 shots did wonders for my dad. His diabetes meds were blocking his ability to absorb it and no amount of oral supplements or paleo diet would do any good. He was diagnosed about 2-3 years ago and once the shots kicked in, I got my father back.

[mskelly]

I was going to suggest hormonal changes.  

[G5052]

Unlikely, especially if the person is extremely busy and/or tired.  Basic forgetfulness is pretty common.

 

My parent who had dementia did things like this:

• Put the mail in the refrigerator
• Brought me her toothbrush and said that she needed help with her hair
• Thought that I was still living there, unmarried with no kids  (I've been married 20 years, she had pictures of my kids all over)
• Drove down the wrong side of a major road without realizing it
• Got lost driving a route she'd been going on for 50 years
• Couldn't follow shows on TV or read a story because she'd forget what happened 5 minutes before

When in doubt, get it checked though.

 

[Pegasus]

 

Removing pan from oven and forgetting to turn off oven.

 

 

 

Just this weekend, I put a pan into the oven and turned the oven off.  I had checked on the dish a couple times, wondering why it was taking so long to cook, before I noticed the oven was off.

 

I certainly wouldn't worry about forgetting to turn it off after removing a pan. 

[Danestress]

Those are not the kinds of things that make me think "dementia." 

 

However, I keep reading that the brain changes that eventually become recognizable as a full blown dementia probably start 20-30 years before the person would be bad enough to be diagnosed.  Most people with a family member who has fully developed dementia will tell you that in the beginning, when they tried to point out issues to family member or friends, their observations were invalidated with the, "Oh, please, everyone does that" comments. 

 

So while this really doesn't sound like the kinds of things that concern me - because all of these things are more about inattentiveness than memory loss, I think if you are concerned about someone you love, it's important to watch, talk about it, and if you continue to be concerned, to seek outside evaluation. 

[Cosmos]

I heard this distinction once:

 

Normal forgetfulness is forgetting where your key is. You misplace it, can't remember where you left it, etc.

Not normal forgetfulness is forgetting what a key is. You hold the key in your hand and don't remember how to use it.

[ThisIsTheDay]

This sounds like me, but I've been this way since becoming a mom.

[MysteryJen]

I heard this distinction once:

 

Normal forgetfulness is forgetting where your key is. You misplace it, can't remember where you left it, etc.

Not normal forgetfulness is forgetting what a key is. You hold the key in your hand and don't remember how to use it.

This.

 

When my dad started to go downhill, we passed off the language (forgetting words, skipping parts of sentences) as due to his being bilingual since age 7. In retrospect, that was really the beginning.

 

He got lost in the neighborhood he lived in for 35 years. Could not work his cellphone either to make calls or answer. He had a complete personality change and became very angry and physical. He could not recognize that his grandchildren had grown up, he thought every baby was his grandchild. By the end, he was completely unintelligible in his speech.

 

Dementia was completely beyond normal aging (things like needing a list, reminders, etc).

[Excelsior! Academy]

Except for the word-retrieval difficulties, this could be my teenager.

 

How old is the person you are talking about? How long has this person been displaying symptoms?

 

I have chronic anemia and (medicated) thyroid issues, and yes the anemia especially can cause foggy thinking.

It is me and I am 38.

 

 

I do every single one of those things. Being tired or stressed or just trying to multi-task too much are what lead to that in myself.

I am hoping it is this. Just basic mom-brain

 

 

 

I suppose I'm demented

Lol!

 

 

 

This sounds like me, but I've been this way since becoming a mom.

You are all making feel much better! Maybe I just need some iron, B vitamins and sleep.

[Liz CA]

I do every single one of those things.  Being tired or stressed or just trying to multi-task too much are what lead to that in myself.  

 

Same here. I once had to turn around on my way to work when I realized I left bread in the oven at F425...I sometimes cannot think of the exact word and I have left doors unlocked. I SURE hope it's not dementia.