Early dementia or just part of aging?

Thanks for posting, as it made me confront uncomfortable moments in experiencing.

At 77, I’m mirroring your concerns. I don’t get lost when driving , but I frequently have to remind myself what errands I’m on when I go to town.

Pretty sure I would have been deemed ADHD if a diagnosis were available in my childhood. I make lists, and then lists of which lists to prioritise. Then I take pictures of my lists, because I will forget to take them (dang, the AI word prompts are so accurate: scary).

Not getting things done is my most destructive and frustrating trait. Not new, but worsening each year. Like reading posts now, when I should be doing bookwork.

Really no one I can discuss my concerns with (no close friends or family), and I am reluctant to seek professional help. Pretty sure I worry about things that would not trouble a younger person.

Should really be a branch of geriatrics dedicated to coping with this time of everyone’s’ life. I would definitely be interested in attending classes or groups to learn how to cope better. Anonymity of the crowd… “asking for a friend.”

On the upside, I enjoy yard work, keep abreast of the news via apps like NYT and local news, listen to a wide variety of audiobooks, attend church, and belong to two service clubs.

@gloaming even as a teenager I could not hold a phone number in my dyslexic brain long enough to write it down or dial. Unless it had a pattern or prompted a tune.

@rvgranny Nice hearing from you. The older we get, the invisible we seem to become. We've moved quite a bit and made/lost many friends along the way. That's how the world is these days. I just got results from my PET Scan and am moving forward with the Leqembi infusions as soon as my doctor sets it up. I too still do everything--drive, cook, play mj, dominoes, go out to dinner and music events, but I'm not kidding myself. All the tests point to clouds in my future and I intend to proactively ward them away for as long as I can. I always keep a list of what I'm going out to get. I always leave my keys in one specific place now and I get comfort knowing where they are at any given time. I leave a small light on in my kitchen if I have something on the back burner just in case...ain't life grand?

@midnightwalker the little light on is a good idea. I almost boiled all the water off the hardboiled eggs today, when I got sidetracked by a phone call and then went out on the patio to read emails. Best wishes on your journey

@rvgranny Nice hearing from you. I am now scheduled to begin Leqembi next week so will start this new part of the journey. Slightly apprehensive but looking forward to doing "something" at least. I have a relative going through some tough times and found myself worrying and texting another relative most of yesterday...At dinner (still daylight so no light on above the stove) I left a warm burner on for about an hour after we finished dinner, forgot I had a load of wet clothes to dry until I was heading to bed and upon checking to make sure the garage door was down, found it up!!! So although I only have a 50 watt bulb light left on in my brain, I realize that I need to STOP worrying about things I have no control over. So, no more trying to figure out other people's issues ad nauseam... It's a hard pill to swallow because I think I can solve everyone's problems and now I see it only clouds what I need to keep track of. Enjoy this beautiful day and nice talking with you.

@midnightwalker Well, had my first Leqembi and getting my second one tomorrow. Big headache, chills, etc on the first one, but now I'll take /Tylenol and Benadryl first thing in the morning before I go in. Otherwise no big deal so far. Even drove home with husband watching me...One more time with him, then I'll go solo as it's only about 7 miles. Feeling good. No complaints about the infusion itself either.