Is there a big change at age 70?

[Itsgotmethinking]

Mum almost 71, have noticed a change in her quite recently. She’s always been quite dizzy, she’s happy to admit this, but recently I’m noticing different things and feel a bit worried. She just doesn’t seem as with it at all, we were talking today for quite a while about seeing the sunset, it got quite confusing and then it turned out she meant the moon and had kept saying sunset not moon. She was also saying how it was one hour before to be at the airport, when she’s known for years it’s two hours. My sister mentioned it to me too.
My mum still gets some menopause symptoms but doesn’t take full hrt due to having had breast cancer, she said she often gets a foggy head, could it be just this? She seems aware of it, but I don’t want to highlight it and worry/embarrass her.
My dad is 75 and not like this at all, should I be worried 😔

I had no idea you could still get menopause symptoms at that age.

Would she be willing to see her GP to discuss?

I wouldn't be worried but I would like to get it checked were this my mum.

Good luck x

@cheeseandketchupsandwich I know, I’ve said that to her, she says without occasional hrt (she doesn’t take it daily) she gets hot flushes again, low mood, a foggier head and so on

Could it just be the natural loss of some sharpness with ageing?

My mum is nearly 77 and takes occasional hrt tablets.
She's definitely always been dizzy, as am I, but my sister and I have noticed she isn't as sharp, and often uses the wrong word for something.
I think it's natural ageing and am not unduly worried. I think if it got much worse I would, but if it stays as it is, I'd just put it down to age.

Lots of my family have lived far beyond 70, just had a few turn 90. My DM has been diagnosed with Vascular Dementia but she's 88.

I would urge her to go to the GP, especially if the hot flushes are at night as night swears could be a sign of certain illnesses.

I would be concerned about the hot flushes. My mom had night sweats into her 80's and then got bowel cancer, MacMillan nurse said the sweats were part of the cancer,

Perhaps she should see her GP about the ongoing hot flushes

I sailed through my menopause so have no experience of night sweats or hot flushes so don't know the difference

Thanks everyone, she went to the Drs about the occasional hot sweats a while ago and it’s hormonal, it all starts again when she stops taking the hrt. I’m not concerned about that, it’s the dizziness/mixing things up

If she's getting dizzy then yeah she needs to speak to a doctor if she hasn't already

Worth getting her checked out with her GP- could be b12,thyroid lots of things cause brain fog

My mum is 78 and still mentally sharp but physically slowing down which she finds very frustrating

@patchworkpal Sorry, I mean she’s always been dizzy as in a bit ditsy. She does say she gets a foggy head though, but again, that’s when she stops the hrt

My mum is 76 and thinks it is cute/adorable to say wrong words. Or words she's made up. She is trying to act like my grandma, who was adorable, but my mum isn't and can't pull it off. A possibly.

Do you mean dizzy or ditsy? Dizziness can be caused by low blood pressure which can also cause cognitive impairment. Low sodium can cause confusion. There's any number of things that can cause cognitive issues. She really needs to see her GP for testing.

When she saw the GO about the hot flushes, did she tell them all of her symptoms? Did the GP do any tests?

Don't want to worry you but night sweats and confusion were my DF's main symptoms of blood cancer.

*GP

From the NHS website: As you get older, and particularly after the age of 60, the risks of HRT may start to outweigh the benefits.
This is because you'll usually find that menopause symptoms improve as you get older, so you're less likely to need HRT to help with symptoms. Meanwhile the risk of breast cancer increases the longer you take combined HRT.

I'd say your mum doesn't need HRT. I'd be concerned about some form of dementia, and I'd urge her to see her GP.

Really? Confusion doesn't appear in the list of symptoms for blood cancer. My mum has a form of blood cancer and it presented very differently. I hope your dad is doing ok.

No she shouldn’t be like this at 70 unless there is an underlying reason. Perhaps a check up at the GP for the confusion/forgetfulness is needed separate from the hormonal stuff.

My parents always said there was a massive difference between 70 and 80... not before 70.

I’d ask the gp to run some blood tests first. Thyroid problems can cause all those issues. Definitely get it looked at further, my DM got diagnosed with dementia at 68

The average 71 year old in reasonably good health should not be showing a significant cognitive decline. That is unusual. A little forgetfulness? Sure. Slowing down somewhat? To be expected. But not a noticeable cognitive decline.

I wouldn't jump to conclusions about dementia just yet. Some common health conditions and vitamin deficiencies can cause "cloudy" thinking in older adults. Sounds like time for a GP visit and a medication review. Make sure the doctor is aware of any meds your mother takes (including over-the-counter drugs). Older adults metabolize drugs differently (even alcohol!) and mental confusion can be a side effect.

Well, my health is shite at 69 so I'm not offering any benchmarks of how one "should" be at 70! It's important to note, though, that the very wide range of health states becomes more polarised from around the mid-60s. Some people in their 80s are way fitter, more alert and have more endurance than me. And plenty of others my age have already had their first serious stroke, heart attack, or joint replacements.

Pay no attention to how she "should" be, only to symptoms that bother her or hamper her life. If any of those can be fixed, go for it.

Menopause symptoms can, indeed, continue throughout post-menopausal life. I'm doggedly trying to be put back on HRT because I want to see if it will improve my brain fog and depression (I'm already on antidepressants, but succumb to waves of what feels suspiciously like PMT). I get hot flushes, too, though not badly enough to seek medication just for that.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21837-postmenopause#symptoms-and-causes

Everyone ages differently. My dad, who died at 88, was always as sharp as a tack whereas my mum, now 85, has some short term memory loss.

Mixing up words like sunset and moon can be symptoms of tia (transient ischaemic attack). She might actually think she said the word moon. There's other possible causes and could be normal, but any sudden change, I'd get checked out to be on the safe side.

Depression can also cause dementia like symptoms in elderly people.

I would ask the GP to run a check or refer to a memory clinic for dementia having recently read a true life book of a lady who developed dementia aged mid 50's

She said it was very similar to experiencing brain fog in the menopause.