Surgery--Again

Around here, you not only gotta prove you were born, if you die there's a certificate to prove you're really dead, too. If they ask for mine, I probably look like I'll soon be needing it.

The pastport with the little chip in it is very complete.

In the US, the onesingle ID card , if it is not the driver's card, is the passport card, with a microchip and used in general for transport to Canada and Mexico.

You need a birth certificate before you can enter the first grade in order to prove your age. You do need a death certificate before you can be either buried or cremated.

I know. But for all that we've a registration office in our town's/city's administration.

Recently I've been concerned that I have early onset Alzheimer's. (I've always been precocious.) I'm not talking about forgetfulness. I'm talking about confusion and disorientation over familiar things. I have an appointment with the neurologists in a few weeks.

There were two incidents that scared me half to death. Today I realized that I can't remember one of them. Burst out laughing. Still laughing. Remembering Bette Davis's famous line, "Getting old ain't for sissies." I write a lot of stuff down. Gonna have to write down incidents as well as to-do's.

BTW, I think that the picture on my nondriver's driver's license may be more accurate than I like to think. I went to the bank. People went out of their way to hold the door for me. I must look like death warmed over.

Do the cab drivers give you a reduced rate for your fare?

Birth and death certificates may be needed in the US for a variety things, after you're dead. One concerns the cashing of matured US savings bonds, and will depend on whose name(s) are on the bonds, especially if you 've inherited the bonds. It can be a real hassle contacting different States in the US for this information.

I remember I had to at one time get a copy of my grandmother's birth certificate and she died at age 100 years in a State other than Massachusetts.

I do hope not. Your brain is YOU.

I don't know what to tell ya. I'm guessing that the neurologists will give me tests.

I agree. My brain is ME. Of course, your brain is You.

Listening.

Thinking, that could be from meds..

Sometimes when we have health issues, we feel less alert. Getting confused happens to everybody, young and old. Feeling fuzzy headed or misplacing objects or walking into a room only to forget why you did is normal. Walking out to the mailbox and forgetting which house is yours is dementia. My mother was very young (58) when she was diagnosed with Altzheimers, youngest member of the family so far to be diagnosed. Because the pattern of plac differs in each individual, there is no way to predict how symptoms will manifest. My mother lost her ability to form coherent sentences first, but her mom, my grandmother forgot hygiene first. They were only 15 years apart but they both got sick at the same time. We all worry about Altzheimers, in my family we tend to obsess about it. Roberta, it's a good thing to get checked out, but try not to freak out until you've been examined. My gut feeling is that the forgetfulness is not unusual and is probably due more to meds and dehydration. I get tired if I forget to eat, and fresh fruit is better than a nap to refresh. Try to relax Boidie, if you had Altzheimers, you wouldn't have been able to draft the last post.

osso, I too have considered meds. I'm on some new ones.

glitter, I'm not worried about forgetfulness. I'm worried about confusion and disorientation. I appreciate your post. My mother had Alheimer's. My grandmother had senile dementia. I know what these horrors look like, although I agree that they manifest themselves in different ways in different people.

I got scared. Not because I was forgetful.

I consider the possibility that stress can also cause terrible problems. It may be that.

What am I worried about now? If they give me the same cognitive neurological test they gave me the last time, it won't be valid because I remember a lot of the questions. I'll have to tell them that.

Am I a pain in the ass or what? It's a gift.

What she said.

The other day I found mom trying to clean the flat screen TV with spray insulation foam for windows. The can was blue and it said hWindows on it so it must have been mistaken for a bottle of windex. Luckily she couldn't figure out how to make the sprayer work and asked for help with it.

I'm voting for it being from meds, working under pressure and fretting so much you aren't sleeping well.

A good long weekend of lumping is probably what you need.

I appreciate all the positive support. Big time.

My mother was capable and coherent in the early stages of Alzheimer's. She could have written the message at the beginning.

I'm scared. Of all the things I've been through, this would be, by far, the worst.

I do understand, but (no medical degrees) I truly think your symptoms are hydration, meds, or insufficient vitamins (for me it's pineapple, yogurt, or water). Be good to yourself and take care. All the best, GB

Roberta, my cousin wrote on facebook the same fear.

He has a large family history, but whilst we fear what is passed onto us, it's not always the case. Tiredness, lack of vitamins lots of things can make you "think" you are following suit.

I can't imagine your fear, as I am one that honestly is fearless what ever in life and what ever it throws me, I'm ready. But, I can feel.. Very much so. Live, laugh, .... I forget things at 50 Lots of times.. Write things down but sometimes even our thoughts are so on-going and then there is here, that we forget things that are not important, because we are focusing on the things that are.

Be positive always x

Roberta, I simply cannot believe you have Alzheimer's - you are always sharp as a new pin! We all get confused and disoriented at times - especially when we're tired, overworked or stressed. I always think of my brain as being like a computer - over the years it has been filled with so much data that it's amazing it hasn't crashed a long time ago!

Not easy to defrag it either. I think wiser people than me have already posted on this subject, but I just had to add my comments to theirs. Don't worry about it - that will only make it worse. Try Yoga or something to help you calm down and relax - or whatever does it for you. Some sort of mental defrag. And fruit and plenty of fluids seem a good idea - certainly can't do any harm.

Bless you, Roberta - you will be fine!

Short? I'll bet that you don't have to shorten PETITE PANTS like I do. Another couple of years, and I will probably qualify for "little people" status.

When I was a kid, I used to think that old people were short because they didn't have the vitamins that we have. Phooey!

Wait, wait...if you remember those questions then isn't that proof you don't have Alzheimer's?