Forgetting Words

 

I didn’t know where to begin. All I knew was this was my week to share about my mild cognitive impairment (MCI) for those of you who have it or wonder if you do. It’s estimated that approximately one out of ten of us have it.

Ìt came to my awareness when I struggled to think of a word. Most of the information I’ve read about cognitive decline says, “unable to find the right word.” Heck, the right word? I couldn’t find any word for the object, concept or whatever I was trying for say.

Actually, I don’t know when having problems “finding the right word” began because roughly 40 years ago I brought up the issue with my physician. He described how the same thing happened to him. He always seemed to have the same problem I did.

Don’t get me wrong, Arnie was a brilliant man who took time with, and a genuine interest in, each of his patients AND he helped me in a number of ways.

Anyhoo, the few words I missed at that time might have been normal.

A good 30 or so years later, missing words began to embarrass me more. Plus frustrate me and, in my opinion, made me look stupid. It was no longer a joke. What was happening to me? To my brain?

This lapse in memory lead me to a neurologist.

No, that wasn’t quite it. Because of my complaints about my tremors, I was referred to a neurologist. (Where was Arnie when I needed him?) I was afraid I had Parkinson’s disease.

After numerous tests, I left there with a diagnosis of MCI, not Parkinson’s. The doctor explained that with some people, MCI evolved into dementia like Alzheimer’s; other people stayed the same for life.

So…mine grew worse. Two years ago, I was diagnosed by another doc who also said I had mild cognitive impairment.

Now what? My symptoms have grown more severe: more often forgetting recent events; decreased visuospatial abilities; diminished attention span and significant struggles to follow conversations or plots.

I always say, “Whenever I stop being able to tie my shoelaces, I’ll worry.”

Now I can tie them two out of three times.

 

Please remember, you are not alone.

Till next Monday or in the chat…

Judi

“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.”         Henry David Thoreau