What were the first dementia signs you noticed?

My husband if very reactive to corrections. I often just keep quiet unless it’s an important matter.

My husband would ask me the name of his relative that i may have met once. Also refused to play board games with friends. He began saying things are familiar like a movie that was just released, or he’s been somewhere that i know is impossible. For me the saddest is watching him look for anyway to fill his time each day, like picking up and counting pinecones in the yard. He has a very difficult time relaxing.

My wife played the church organ for 47 years! One sunday she made a few mistakes, something she rarely did. She just said "I can't do this any more." To me that was the first sign. Others soon followed.

We were having a party and an old friend who hadn’t seen my husband for several years suddenly took me aside and said that Jim wasn’t the same and we needed to go for a checkup. When we did, he couldn’t draw a clock🙁 and it went down hill from there

My husband does the "it's familiar" thing, too. Like when we were in Lexington for a doctor's appointment, we passed a guy panhandling and he said he remembered that guy being there before. We hadn't been to Lexington for a few months. Other times he claims he recognizes a car that is driving toward us, that he's seen it before. Of course, it's possible he really did, but since people seldom remember something so unimportant, I doubt it.

He also invents stories about things he saw that I know never happened, but he's convinced they did. I see it as him trying to fill the holes in his memory with something. He also goes outside (when it's not covered in snow and ice like it is now) and picks up twigs. He doesn't count them, though, just throws them out of the way.

I've purchased a number of jigsaw puzzles for people with dementia, with pieces ranging from 16 - 100 pieces. very husband started with the 16 pieces, then worked his way up. He works on them for long periods of time and becomes very involved doing them. He's even figured out a few shortcuts.
He still does the dishes, and when I can, I give him safe jobs he can manage to keep him busy. He also spends a lot of time resting/napping, which the brain needs.
Weather permitting, we walk most days, for half an hour.

Very similar indeed. Tonight hes going to a bible study group that he really misses since we changed Churches to be closer to home. I wish he was not driving at night but doctors say hes fine to drive. I do state my worry but since theres been no accidents he disregards me.
Hugs

Is he seeing a geriatric specialist or cognitive neurologist? If not, you might want to consider it.

Thank you for sharing! I still have some small puzzles here I think. I’ll have to check the kid cupboard.