My grandmother died a few years ago from a dementia related accident and I am afraid I am following in her footsteps. She was 75 when she died and I am only 27 but I am forgetting things really easily and am disorganized and disoriented most of the time. I had shock treatments several years ago and she did too, at a different time. She had a mental illness and so do I. I constantly feel out of it and not connected to the world. Should I be afraid? Help.
1 Heart
Sorry you're going through this. It must be frightening to be only 27 and forgetting things. Then on top of that, your grandmother had dementia and died from it. The fact is that there are many different reasons why a person could have a poor memory, feel disoriented, and be out of touch. As you say, dementia is one reason. The shock treatments could be another. But plenty of other reasons for these symptoms too. Also, could be a combination of reasons. Probably easiest way is to see a doctor and tell them your symptoms and see what they think. (If you're comfortable seeing a doctor.). Another way would be to google "dementia symptoms" and see if you actually match the description. Or google "electric shock treatment side effects" and see if you match. Or google all of your symptoms and see if there's any one cause. Do you see a therapist? Could you ask them? Best of luck.
Thanks for the advice. I told my psychiatrist my symptoms but theres not much she can do medication wise except I told her I was also severely depressed so she upped my ant depressant. My grandmas death was tragic she got killed by a vehicle backing out of a driveway. It traumatized the whole family. I will google those terms thanks for the advice again.
@MD1992 Welcome to our little group. I am hoping you eventually find some peace with this. Perhaps as you become less depressed your memory will get better. Thank you for sharing with us. I will look forward to your updates. Peace always Veronica
The death of your grandma sounds awful. I can well imagine how traumatizing it was for your whole family. I'm so sorry.
Glad you asked your psychiatrist, and sorry she couldn't do anything but increase anti-depressant. Did that help at all? Actually, I meant can you see a regular M.D. and tell them your symptoms? Because some of your symptoms might have a physical origin. By any chance did your memory problems start after you changed a soap, shampoo, dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent, household cleanser or the like? I ask because when I brought some new (highly perfumed) soaps into my house, I had similar symptoms to what you describe. Then someone told me to get rid of them. I did so, and within a few days, my memory, orientation, etc. came back!!
Also, I hope googling those items will help.
I have always had things that are heavily scented. My detergent has been the same for years so I don't think it is that. I use perfume too that is heavily scented but Ive been using the same brands for years as well. I think my memory problems might just be feeling overwhelmed and what Ive gone through and maybe because my medications have changed so much over the years? I am on three different mood stabilizers and I have switched several times this past year due to my issues. Do you think changing my meds so much might be the root of the problem? Maybe I should ask my psychiatrist this question at our next meeting. I looked up those terms and yes, the dementia symptoms seem like the ones I a, having. However, I am not entirely sure because I am only 27 and it would be quite odd to have dementia at that age. Hmm..alot to think about. Thank you for giving me some great advice and hope to hear from you again soon!
1 Heart
@MD1992 Welcome to the group and I want to say, I don’t personally believe that because people have dementia in their families, that they are destined to have it too. I think and I am no doctor it is probably due to the stress and the med changes you have been through. Even at the youngest ages, I have not heard of anyone at your age having dementia. I guess anything is possible but I would doubt it. It seems to take allot of living to end up with dementia. My Mom has Multi Infarct dementia which is a type of Vascular Dementia. And I hate to say this about my Mom but probably if she took better care of herself, she would not have it. (yet another reason why self care is SO important). You have to do that too.
Hi again. I agree that the disorientation and memory problems could be due to stress. Also, shock treatment can cause memory loss. I googled "shock treatment memory loss," and it said that while it doesn't cause dementia, and it can cause memory loss. Also I agree with you that lots of meds changes could make you feel disoriented. So I think that's a good idea to ask your psychiatrist about that. Here's another suggestion - phone a pharmacist. They are trained in medications, and part of their job is to educate people about side effects. I think they enjoy that more than counting pills. (One time when I needed info, I decided to phone one in a U.S. state 1,000 miles away from me! Just for the fun of hearing their regional accent and manner of talking, which would be different from mine.) Tell them your symptoms, tell them your meds, when you took them, etc. etc. Best of luck.
Thank you all for your insight. I hope to gain more support and knowledge while being on this site, it probably has to do with my depression and my med changes. Again, thank you for all your help.
@MD1992 Just know we are here for each other.