My Dad has started dribbling

[MarathonFan]

He's 70 and has also started repeating himself. We all do it I know but he can tell you something like it's "news" twice within 60 mins?

Seems to cope well with life generally and is tutoring DS1 GCSE maths so has his wits about him in many ways. How worried should I be? Is the dribbling relevant? It happens a lot while he's talking.

See if you can persuade him to go to the doctors or ask his doctors' surgery for advice. It could be early signs of Alzeimers or Parkinsons.

It could be a neurological problem. Can you encourage home to see his GP? Might be other symptoms you aren't aware of, too. Can you ask him about it? Hard to do but better to ask him and offer your support.

Hope he's ok. My mil dribbles a bit, she has a condition called Multi System Atrophy.

Oh dear, I guess I knew he needed to see doctor really but I have a slim chance of persuading him. My mum is terrified of doctors and illness and gets very upset at the thought of anyone going to the doctors. When we were little going to the drs was almost a punishment for suspected malingering "well if you're that ill you'll have to go to the doctors". For that reason Dad rarely goes for the sake of an easy life. It's hard to explain but her reaction is very extreme and will make things difficult for him (she's otherwise lovely and very sensible!!)

They're already dealing with a seriously ill GC which is naturally causing us all a lot of trauma (Dsis' son) and because of that I don't really feel that I should add to DSis' burden by discussing it with her. She lives away so may not have noticed so much.

No idea what to do but the repeating himself thing has been happening a lot - it was only last night that I realised how bad it has become when he repeated the same news within the same conversation. When I mentioned it to DH later he said "yes and have you noticed the dribbling" which I had a bit but didn't realise it was bad enough for DH to notice too IYSWIM

Never mind your mum, dad needs to be seen ASAP. If it is an early sign of something it's far, far better to get in early with diagnosis and treatment. Any chance you could go with your dad to make sure the doctor gets the full information? Or you can phone the surgery to express concern though obviously the doctor can't discuss anything back IYSWIM?

The difficult part will be getting my dad to go, knowing what sort of "trouble" it will get him into with mum.

How would my getting in touch with his doctor help? He won't be able to tell me anything and won't know anything without speaking to dad anyway? Would the doctor contact him on my say so? I know it seems ridiculous but you can't begin to imagine the fall out that would cause!

Dribbling can happen when people lose teeth.

I really would urge your Dad to get seen. . My MIL started at 70 with all the repeating etc, wouldn't; go to the doctors until virtually forced and it was Alzheimers - which would have maybe been helped with some early treatment.

Write to your doctor, they might go round to the house and see your Dad.

Does your df have false teeth? After a time, the gum line changes and the plate may need adjusting so it fits better. That's usually the cause of dribbling or spraying spit when talking. (Sorry TMI!)

The repeating of 'news' might be an early sign of something more serious, but if he's sharp enough to tutor GCSE Maths, I'd adopt a watch and wait position for now.

I don't want to give you false reassurance, but what you've described could just be old age, not necessarily dementia. And unless there are other problems which you haven't noticed, I doubt if you'd get a diagnosis or medication on this alone.

The ability to tutor maths doesnt rule out thing like dementure etc my DGM can still teach DS piano although she cant remember what day it is or whose Prime Minister. Also could it be a mini stroke? Is he dribbling from one side in particular? How does tje rest of his face look? Is his smile symetrical or lob sided? I think a trip to docs is in order. Might be nothing but better safe than sorry.

GPs are used to concerned family members contacting them, and are often happy to call someone in for a 'routine MOT, haven't seen you in a long time' appointment. Tell them you know they can't say anything about your parents to you, and try and put together a time line of whats happened

Ah thank you Thymeout. He does have a plate. I reckon it's about 40 years old - I was with him on the golf course when he had several teeth knocked out!

I will talk to him this week.

I would try hard to persuade him to get checked. As others have said - it might well be nothing to worry about - just a badly fitting plate.

But if it is early signs of dementia then he can possibly be given something that will slow down its progress (my Dad had alzheimers and Aricept worked well for him for a few years) plus there are usually schemes to help people with memory loss form some strategies to help with everyday memory stuff.

My Dad was a physicist and mathematician, and his ability to do maths was one of the last things to go - some abilities are stored in a different part of the brain I think from the area affected in dementia, so being able to do something you are skilled in isn't necessarily proof that all is well.

Before he got alzheimer's my Dad also had a slight stroke, which made him dribble a bit, - but it was fairly obvious in his face that something had happened because his mouth drooped down on one side, but I don;tknow if it's obvious with everyone.

Definitely worth getting checked out, and although I sympathise with your mum (I worry about anyone being ill too) not seeing a doctor won't mean your Dad isn't ill, it will just mean he doesn't get treatment which might help him.