‘It’s too complicated’- dementia?

[BarbaraVineFan]

My dad is very intelligent, has a PhD, worked in a professional role all his life, was a big reader. He is now 87 and in excellent physical health, but mentally is definitely a lot slower.

His refrain about almost everything (booking tickets, setting up a new toy for my DD, organising anything) is ‘it’s too complicated’ (even when I am doing something myself, if it takes more than 5 mins dad will be proclaiming ‘ that looks very complicated!’). I have also noticed that he doesn’t read instructions properly and then ends up getting in a muddle and blaming the company (‘ the instructions are far too complicated, it’s ridiculous!’) I usually end up doing things for him to avoid this, although he gets upset if he feels undermined, so I have to tread carefully!

My question is, could this be a sign of dementia? Or is it just normal cognitive decline at his age? His memory is also terrible but he is able to answer cognitive tests with no problem (no, my dad is not Donald Trump!) Any advice welcome.

What treatment is available?

'Mild cognitive decline' is a recognised state that need not lead to dementia, and includes things like poor memory and struggling with following instructions. You might try phoning an Admiral nurse on their free helpline and talking to an experienced mental health nurse about your Dad's symptoms. They would be able to suggest whether your dad needs to follow this up and how you can support him.
It might be that he remains unable to put together a flatpack or drive anywhere not on his daily routes, but doesn't get any worse- fingers crossed.

There is medication available that can reduce the symptoms. I don’t have direct experience but friends with parents who have Alzheimer’s have said it can really help.

At 87 the symptoms you are describing could be either the early stages of dementia or standard cognitive decline associated with old age. You need to take him to the GP. They can arrange for some specific tests to identify if it is dementia or old age. My dad behaves in a similar way to your description, we had him tested and it was decided it was cognitive decline associated with old age ( and him always being an impatient personality type)