Senior Moments
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Is It a Senior Moment or Alzheimer’s?
Seniors, and their families are always concerned: Is it a “senior moment” or is it the beginnings of Alzheimer’s. As we get older we have more and more "senior moments". Some of our loss of memory is real and some is imagined. Once you get to thinking about the things you can't remember it seems this happens more often than when you were younger and this is true. People with mild cognitive impairment often have mild memory difficulties but usually no other sign of Alzheimer's.
Memory loss in most cases is not serious. It's just aggravating. Of course many of us worry that having difficulty remembering something might be the beginning of Alzheimer's. A very small percentage of seniors over 65 have Alzheimer's, but this percentage increases to almost 30% once you reach 85 according to the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Forgetfulness is often a normal part of aging. Misplacing reading glasses, forgetting names or having a lot of “senior moments” is nothing more than an annoyance for many aging adults. However, this is not the case of everyone. If your loved one’s forgetfulness is compounded with such things as complications completing mundane tasks, problem solving, understanding spatial relationships or change in mood and behavior then it may be a more serious form of memory impairment. If you suspect that someone you love is suffering from a form of dementia, contact your primary care physician for a screening. Medication is available to help with the symptoms and may slow the progression of the disease.
Memory loss in most cases is not serious. It's just aggravating. Of course many of us worry that having difficulty remembering something might be the beginning of Alzheimer's. A very small percentage of seniors over 65 have Alzheimer's, but this percentage increases to almost 30% once you reach 85 according to the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Forgetfulness is often a normal part of aging. Misplacing reading glasses, forgetting names or having a lot of “senior moments” is nothing more than an annoyance for many aging adults. However, this is not the case of everyone. If your loved one’s forgetfulness is compounded with such things as complications completing mundane tasks, problem solving, understanding spatial relationships or change in mood and behavior then it may be a more serious form of memory impairment. If you suspect that someone you love is suffering from a form of dementia, contact your primary care physician for a screening. Medication is available to help with the symptoms and may slow the progression of the disease.
How to help remember
There are lots of things you can do to help you remember. You should start making lists. If you start writing things down it will help you remember them and, of course if you can remember where you put your list…this helps too.
Keeping a calendar or day by day is great for not missing appointments, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Put your "stuff" in exactly the same place all the time. This way you are much more likely to find it. This is particularly true with respect to glasses, keys, wallet, TV remote, etc. A place for everything and everything in its place should be your motto.
One of the most frustrating senior moments is not being able to remember names. The restaurant you want to go to for dinner, your cousin's little boy, the name of the city your friend Joe lives in. A little "crib" of names and places helps a lot. In almost all cases you will think of what you have been trying to remember in time. When you do, write it down in your "crib" as you will probably need to once again call this name up in a day or two or a week or two.
Keeping a calendar or day by day is great for not missing appointments, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Put your "stuff" in exactly the same place all the time. This way you are much more likely to find it. This is particularly true with respect to glasses, keys, wallet, TV remote, etc. A place for everything and everything in its place should be your motto.
One of the most frustrating senior moments is not being able to remember names. The restaurant you want to go to for dinner, your cousin's little boy, the name of the city your friend Joe lives in. A little "crib" of names and places helps a lot. In almost all cases you will think of what you have been trying to remember in time. When you do, write it down in your "crib" as you will probably need to once again call this name up in a day or two or a week or two.