Oh help, Dad just failed the “draw a clock” test

[Zapx]

The numbers mostly looked okay, but it had “segments” so it kind of looked like a pizza, and the minute hand was in the wrong place.

He was there because we’d noticed little things that were a bit weird, that were a lot of the time to do with spelling. He’s always been great with words, loves crosswords etc so when he couldn’t spell things it was a bit of a red flag. (He gets mixed up between beach / beech etc) He’s got lost a couple of times too which is unlike him.

Difficult not to panic really, but trying to be practical. They were thinking of moving nearer me so that will hopefully happen sooner rather than later. Anyone got any “best practices” ideas for supplements/diet etc that would help him? He’s only in his 60s.

He needs to go and see his GP.

You say he was 'there'

Where is 'there', at an appointment for assessment?

As I get older I find when I read back what Ive written that the ends of words are hanging off, I might use of instead of off, they're their and there get muddled up, hear and here, I often write difficult instead of different, things like that

I type things out phonetically now, the words look unrecognisable and I think, what is that word Im trying to type.

I put it down to peri menopause to be honest

He needs to get a referral from his GP to the memory clinic for a brain scan and to do some cognitive tests. The memory clinic was a great source of support and information for our family so we could plan better for family life. Admiral nurses and Age concern were great too.

You really need to get him to his GP. I thought my Dad was showing signs of dementia, and it turned out to be a lot more sinister. You need to know what you're dealing with before you can make plans/take actions. Email or phone his GP and they'll get him in for an assessment.

Ah so sorry all, he was at a memory clinic appt where he failed it. Sorry! My post didn’t make much sense. Got referred there from his gp after he had delirium from a really bad infection earlier in the year. I just didn’t expect him to do so badly? Came as a massive shock.

Sorry to read your update OP. It sounds like a real shock for you all.
Is your DF still working/driving? Do they know which type of dementia he might have? The Memory Clinic should be able to signpost you to local services which could help support your DPs through diagnosis and follow up. Admiral nurses were helpful with us too.

Im sorry, it is so frightening when your very capable family member suddenly changes like this.

Has he got a diagnosis now? Has he had any advice from the memory clinic?

Are there big lifestyle changes he could consider making - stopping smoking, lower salt diet, losing weight, taking prescribed medication? Those things are worth doing but honestly - give yourselves time to process it all.

Get poa in place as soon as you can if you haven’t already.

That is tough news at such a relatively young age. If diagnosed push for access to disease modifying drugs due to be approved this year.

I don't think that's peri menopause.

I agree.

@soupfiend I think you should get this checked out.

I'm so sorry.

Please consider getting his hearing checked if there are even slight problems. This can help with dementia so much.

Ask about medication and persevere through the initial side effects. They slow down onset.

Don't pretend it's not happening and prepare for the future now.

this x100

very important- if you leave it till he doesn't have capacity it is a real nightmare

Agree wrt POA.

Get it done ASAP.

If they are planning on moving then do it now. Don’t leave it until he ‘needs’ to because that will be too late. He will need time to settle into a new home and as he loses capacity that becomes harder to do.

My mum went a bit bonkers after she had a hip operation. She didn't even have a general anaesthetic but had an epidural. She is in her 90s and you would have sworn she had dementia after the operation, it went on for several weeks. In fact even three months later she wasn't quite right and didn't recognise her home etc.

It's good that you're putting everything in place and I think it's great that they are moving near to you but maybe speak to your doctor about the chance of him not having dementia at all but recovering very slowly from his previous illness.

He's already got lost a few times, so he won't settle into a new place.

I'm sorry, it is horrible when this starts happening to a parent, you just hope it isn't really happening.
As well as going through the normal route of getting support offered by the NHS, if you are open to looking at diet/lifestyle changes then I would recommend looking up the neurologist Dale Bredesen. He has written a couple of books on his research about what can believes causes alzheimers. There is also a facebook group called the Bredesen Protocol Support Group and some people on the group that say they've seen turn around or a halt in decline. Your Dad would need to be willing to make lifestyle changes though and many older people just aren't willing to do that.

Has the GP given him a really thorough health screen? How is his hearing?

My mum is in her 80s and for a while there you would swear she had advanced dementia. She actually had cancer and was completely deaf. Once she had medical treatment and hearing aids it’s like she’s turned the clock back.

He may still have dementia but getting underlying health problems sorted, hearing aids if needed, having a medication review, these things can assist with his functioning.

I’m so sorry, @Zapx
There is a supplement called ”Neuriva” that I’ve seen advertised on US tv, but I don’t know how effective it is or it would help your dad. It does have lots of favorable ratings.
It’s available on Amazon.

@determinedtomakethiswork thank you, he is definitely still “improving” from that episode, but the effects look to definitely be lingering. I think the memory clinic appt was a really useful baseline, but maybe it’d be helpful to redo it at some point to see what changes there may have been?

@DreamTheMoors thanks so much, will look it up.

Hopefully will have POA by the end of the month. His hearing is pretty awful but he refuses to even countenance getting a hearing aid 🤦‍♀️

at one point in my career i had to administer the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test (MOCA) which includes the draw the clock.
so i could draw the clock BUT despite being in my prime and well read could NOT spell "world" backwards AND with teens and no small kids got 2 out of 3 animals wrong :( drew a blank at the camel (although i knew it was a desert animal, and called the rhino a hippo).

OP I'm not sure about whether this would be any good but @soupfiend I have dyslexia so on my computer I have, 'text help read and write' it highlights homonyms (amongst other things) so there, their, they're.

Hopefully will have POA by the end of the month. His hearing is pretty awful but he refuses to even countenance getting a hearing aid 🤦‍♀️

Over the past year or so I've read quite a few articles on how very important it is to sort out any hearing problems to help prevent dementia. A neurologist on Radio 4 giving advice said at the end 'and most importantly sort out any hearing problems'.

This. It is absolutely vital to have this in place as soon as possible. It will make your life easier when the time comes to invoke it.