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momentary disorientation, scared of Alzheimer's

I am a 54 years old male in good overall health, married for 17 years in a occasionally tense relationship with my wife but with two wonderful kids. A mild hypertension is managed well with a beta blocker (celiprolol) and olmesartan so that my blood pressure is pretty steady at around 120/80; some palpitations (PVCs and PACs) crop up after particularly stressful periods. I am a Civil Engineer with a PhD from Northwestern University and I am a faculty member at an established Greek University.

The bane of my life (or so I think) is that both parents suffered from Alzheimer's (!) although they were diagnosed after 85 years of age. Dad passed away in 2004 (88 years old), mom is now 89 with severe dementia, needs diapers, cannot talk, cannot walk without help although she still appreciates my attempts at humor and responds happy smiles.

I have been scared lifeless of sliding to dementia for the last 10 years, first seeing my dad and now my mom walk down that slippery path. I confess that this is a source of great distress for me.

Here are my present concerns. About 3 years ago, I had a weird episode of not being able to locate which of the little doors to loft (sort of a small attic, a European thing usual in apartments) contained our hot water heater (I lived in the house for 15 years, I very well know). It was as if my mind stopped for a moment. I walked around in the living room for 3 to 4 seconds in total disbelief but finally it came to me and I located the correct door.

Although there have been no intervening episodes since that time, I had a couple of similar weird momentary disorientations (for lack of a better word) lately. In the beginning of September 2014, on the night we came back to our winter apartment from our summerhouse (having been there for about three months) I caught myself looking at two cupboards in our kitchen and being unable to remember which of the two contained coffee mugs. After 2-3 seconds of disbelief, I just opened one of them and it all came back to me.

I almost forgot about it until the beginning of October (one month later) when while walking with my daughter in a nearby (pretty big) part again for a couple of seconds I looked at the nearby exit we were walking towards and could not figure out exactly where it lead. I have walked in that park dozens of time and should remember all exits perfectly well.

This time I was really scared and I got into a hypochondriac state for a couple of weeks, being almost continuously preoccupied with the possibility of having early onset Alzheimer’s. I searched the Internet, read papers, took online tests (I aced them, usually ranking in the top 5% of cognitive ability, although my short term memory is, I think the weakest of my cognitive skills).

The last episode, which made me want to post here, was four days ago: I was at the supermarket I have been shopping for the last 5 years, when for a couple of seconds I could not remember exactly where are the escalators that lead to the second floor. Although it came back to me after 2 seconds (literally), this unusual event really made me scared to death of what may be happening to me.

I would appreciate a Doctor’s take on my story as well as any feedback from fellow members.
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Avatar universal
I thought I would update this thread, considering that there have been a couple of responses.

First off, I do not believe I suffer from Afib. I do have a couple of extrasystoles a day, but periodic Holters have shown them to be PVCs and PACs. Occasionally, usually less than once a year, I do feel to be getting more of them together, sort of a flip flop feeling in the chest, but this never lasts more than a few seconds and has never been caught on Holter due to its rarity. If this is Afib, I do not know. Unfortunately, I feel every single arrhythmic beat I have, so it would be very unlikely that I suffer from longer sessions of lone Afib without realizing.

I did not have any more episodes of slight momentary disorientation similar to the ones described in my original post since last year except a minor incident today (thus my revisiting this thread). It was after the memorial service of the parents of a friend and I had been under a lot of stress for personal reasons over the last month. Here is what happened: exiting the church and getting into my car, I could not for a few seconds place the house of my friend (where we were expected after the memorial, for the traditional Greek coffee) in relationship to my location. As I drove for about five to ten seconds, I sort of viewed some more obvious landmarks, and I managed to sync the topography to my location and correct my route by taking a U-turn (at least I did that in a legal way).

I do not know whether I should be concerned about this latest incident, but I tend not to. It was clearly associated (causally or not I cannot know) with my stress of the last month, which incidentally was resolved yesterday. And I have noticed that when I undergo a period of intense stress, any symptoms hit me right after the stress is resolved, usually in terms of more palpitations.

So this is where I stand now. I have put these incidences aside without forgetting about them. If they are a very early manifestation of MCI or AD I believe they are likely to become more frequent. Still, I do tend to think that they may be more a sign of stress than dementia and indeed take some consolation in the literature that seems to concur that my probability of getting AD peaks at the age my parents did (over 80).

I am again thankful to those that have taken the time to respond to this thread. Life certainly is short and precious, a bittersweet mixture of worries, love and beautiful moments.
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Avatar universal
I hope by now you've gone to see your dr!
I'm more concerned at the present of possible
TIA's (transient ischemic attacks, or "mini-
Strokes), possibly due to B/P spikes or Afib... Re-
Gardless, your symptoms are classic and
Stroke must be ruled out. They will treat the
Source of the problem and possibly start you
On blood thinner! Good Luck! And good health!
LynneAVRx2
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Avatar universal
Many thanks for your kind response and my very best wishes to hubby and family!
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Avatar universal
These are patient forums and frankly, you cannot be competently evaluated on the internet.

That being said, go see a doctor. Lots of factors can be at play here from thyroid to vitamin D, B's or iron or lots of easy stuff that can mess with memory. So rule out the easy stuff first.

Your parents were quite a bit older when diagnosed which is sadly when the onset usually happens. It does not appear that the early onset happens in your family. Keeping socially active and doing puzzles etc. help. Sounds like you have a challenging job and an active family and that should help.

No one's brain works at 100% all the time.

My in-laws both had dementia late 70's early 80's, so my husband has similar fears so I get where you are coming from - so I get him to eat as healthy (as possible) and try to keep him active.

Take care and hope the doctor can give you some feedback, and post back after you see him/her.
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