Older people acting strange do not always have dementia!

[EarlessToothlessVagabond]

It kind of annoys me that this is ALWAYS suggested on threads where anyone over the age of 50-60 who is behaving in an unfortunate or irritating manner. Someone always pops up and says 'dementia?' It seems a lazy and ageist way to explain any 'difficult' behaviour.

I find this interesting in that for so many years children and teenagers have been diagnosed with SN/LD.

Does this mean that they have
1/ been diagnosed incorrectly
2/ they get to 18 and they disappear
3/ there is more acceptance of MH issues

Or

4/ some people are just nasty and people want to look for an excuse for poor behaviour

One of my favourite hobbies is to go to Marks & Sparks and then stand in the doorway wondering what it was that I come in for.

Nicecuppatea

I'll be 50 soon, and have a child starting the infants ...

We're definitely not all really old 😀

"Over 50??!
50 is the new 30.. some of us have PRIMARY age kids. As a pp said, the erratic behaviour is a mixture of my unpleasant personality and exhaustion. Come back in 25 years with the age related diagnoses please."

About young onset dementia. Dementia is 'young onset' when it affects people of working age, usually between 30 and 65 years old. It is also referred to as 'early onset' or 'working-age' dementia.

sorry to tell you that yes, early onset dementia does occur before a dignified age of 80+

Of course it does Out2Pasture but it's rare .

maybe but if you factor in that subtle signs are often noticed as behavioral change for years before the official diagnosis you might see it's not that rare. and certainly not rare enough that it should be discounted totally in 40+ year olds who display odd reasoning skills.

Having worked in dementia care for many years I can think of three people with early onset dementia two were in their forties and one was in their fifties I think they all had Picks disease iirc it was tragic of course but the vast majority of our patients were in their 80,s

I suspect those with early onset can be managed with home support and family intervention for quite some time before facility care.

50--60, eh? That's Keanu Reeves, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, David Duchovny, Robert Downey Jr and (next year) Hugh Jackman. Doddery old men, all! How do they remember their lines?

I do think it's a bit ageist to assume dementia. It is by no means an inevitable part of ageing. My MIL has Alzheimer's, and things were clearly brewing for some time before they became acute, but people in the supermarket would never have known and she was always difficult snyway

Have seen Johnny Depp being interviewed recently....? He's been incoherent for years.

Point taken, Saucy, point taken.

Hmm. I've just Googled and apparently there are 850,000 people living with dementia in the U.K. That's well over 1 in 10

There are over 67 million people in the UK. Do you want to maybe try that percentage again?

Am I being dim or would 850,000 = 1 in 10 mean that there are 8.5 million people in the UK?
Pretty sure there's more than that in London alone!

Saucy you've got your percentage wrong there...

Dementia doesn't necessarily mean difficult behavior. For many, it is a slipping away of memory but with the personality remaining essentially the same.

I agree, Seneca , my MIL had OCD-like traits, hoarding, forgetfulness, confusion, slight paranoia... but was no more quarrelsome or difficult than before (though she was already a bit difficult!), though yes, it may affect some that way. She is the same age (within days) of Mary Berry.

Imagine yourself as a fit healthy 70- something. You've dropped the grandkids at school, done the crossword, been to exercise class, done some gardening, then at Tesco some younger person complains you've taken their place in the queue. You beg to differ. You're called an "old biddy" and said person then takes to an internet forum to complain at your cheek (as they see it) and lots of strangers, who weren't even there nod sagely and say "dementia".

I think it's disgraceful and ageist.

Hmm. I've just Googled and apparently there are 850,000 people living with dementia in the U.K. That's well over 1 in 10

er, are you sure

I work in care predominantly with elderly people. I would not consider 50-60 as old at all! And hands down the most challenging residents are the ones without dementia! I've grown a thick skin now aged 27 but when I started 5 years ago I was reduced to tears a few times by people without dementia!
I've only ever come across 3 service users with early onset and 1 in my personal life.
I have come across many ageist people and comments though!

Seems to be part of a current cultural fashion to pathologise everything and have a 'reason'.

Like 'spirited children' becoming a thing.

No upper age limit on abject selfishness. No real cure for it either. Or being an arsehole.

I guess a lot of people are shocked and/or upset when their surviving parent seems to go off the rails as they see it.

My Dad has had an, 'I'll do as I please' attitude since my mum died. I put it down to him being let off the lead, so to speak. His-crazy-just about-out-of-control-life.

His decisions have left the family open mouthed and we don't know the half of it. We've had to save him from himself on more that one occasion. As far as he's concerned everything is cool and you can talk to him.

He was practically bragging that he didn't have dementia of any kind as his GP had referred him to a psychiatrist for tests which came back negative. As far as he's concerned the medical profession are on his side. We've no way of verifying when or even if these tests took place.

He fell over in the street. A well meaning stranger called an ambulance and off to hospital he went. Did he mention it to the family once he'd been discharged ? Nope. Of course not. Didn't want any questions you see.......

Turns out he self discharged, 'cause they were giving me grief'. Meaning the medical staff, I assume. Um, which meant what ? They were commenting on your drinking ? Your lifestyle ? What ? So, the medical profession isn't always on your side then.

On another occasion whilst in hospital, he reckons he wasn't told what was wrong and a letter regarding what happened will be sent to his GP. Yeah, ok. Whatever you say.

However, I do like the MN diagnosis scale ! SN or MH or Dementia.

Just to clarify I used the age range 50-60 to shoe how ageist notions start, not because I personally believe it to be 'old' ! I have seen threads regarding the behaviour of 50- somethings being ascribed to dementia!

Should I be worried? I just turned 46 2 days ago and I've always been odd. Now looking at DD suspiciously in case she decides to have me shut away