Cord,
I hope it all works out for the best and it isnt Alzheimers. It can be a very demanding road to follow if it is. I watched my grandmother, my dad, his two brothers and one sister go this route. It seems to start with forgeting and not reconizing people, but when they can't find their way home, it is getting serious. I never had first hand knowledge of the beginings, just the progression. But dont jump to conclusions!! Find out from the clinic what the problem is, then map a road to follow. You think that you cant deal with it, but you love him enough to be concerned now and you will do what you have to do in order to care for him! It is the natural order for us to give back what our parents gave us and then some..
I hope it turns out to be just a diet or vitamin defecency..

Good luck and keep us posted..

Dick

Sorry to hear about what your going through. My grandmother is suffering from dimensia right now. She has been taking medications for it but she is progressively getting worse. Hopefully its early enough you can get him on medication and at least slow up the process. Good luck with it. If you need anything, let me know.

I also went through Alzheimer's with my father from begining to end. I have learned a lot and and you can e-mail me or call anytime and I will share my experiences. Don't assume it is Alzheimer's yet but do what you can to get him examined.

[email protected]

Roby

I forgot but wanted to mention his reasons for not wanting to go may be because he may be in fear of having a problem. You can approach him in a matter such as like "I will do this for you if you see the doctor". That is what I had to do.

Roby

Tim, sorry to hear about your dad. Best of luck,
Mark and Amy

Thanks for all the support guys! Right now it's just a wait and see. With patient confidality and all, I'll never know if it's something significant or not. My dad would have to tell me. The nurse did promise to call me back if she wasn't able to get him in. Thank god for small towns.

Cord I would think the nurse or the doc should talk to you on his condition.On patient confidality I would think it would not apply to the you being the son.Good luck with your dad . I am sure the docs can fix him up.
Rob

I had an appointment with my doc today. I was going over some family history and the topic of the new patient confidentiality laws came up. Apparently the docs are in a really tough spot. The fines are not covered under their malpractice insurance and he said that it was 10-15k per occurance! He said they could be cited for even a misdirected fax! Confidentiality is a wonderful thing, but has it gone too far?

Cord,

Try to communicate with the hospital, clinic, Dr. Office and especially the nurse. Small towns are generally less conventional than Metropolitan Cities. Robyw1 statement holds alot of truth. There are several medical conditions which can lead to the short term memory loss you have referred to. When the certain organs are not functioning optimaly waste products produced may not be evacuated from the body properly, such as your bladder or kidneys. The body identifies with this waste as a toxin and can cause some of the symptoms you are describing. My point is, that there are several coditions that may be causing this memory lapse. Stay in touch with and communicate with all involved, including your father. Don't think negatively a be be prpared to see it thru...regardless!

We will be thinking of you both.

Julie