Beyond dementia

Hello everyone! Beautiful day today…62 degrees. I had a fairly productive day today. Emailed my neurologist to ask a few questions about my last appointment. I hesitated because I didn’t take notes at my last appointment. I can’t take notes that make sense anymore so I need to take someone with me, which I didn’t to this last appointment. Oh…so that’s why I hesitated emailing him because maybe he already answered my questions. Oh well.

im not sure when to give up driving. I read that when you get lost. So far that hasn’t happened. But I have been driving and couldn’t remember where I’m going.

if anyone out there has been diagnosed and given up driving, I’d love to hear from you. Or if your loved one with dementia has given up driving…how did that come about?

hello everyone. I’ve been thinking about how my road to dementia started. At least the things Ive noticed over the last 3 or so years. The very first thing I thought was odd, was I was following my friend out of a room. I was saying something to her, and my talking stopped cold. No words came out. My mind was literally blank. I looked to my right and there was a “table” . But I didn’t know the word. I kept staring at the object knowing I needed the name of this object, but nothing came out. I went home still trying to come up with the word. I woke up in the middle of the night…and it finally came to me..the word was table. That kind of thing..word finding..difficulty continued more and more frequently. Fast forward to today..it now happens every day. Some days I chose not to speak to anyone because it’s frustrating. The other sign that began happening more and more was forgetting in general. I forget people’s names every day. My way of dealing with it is not calling anyone by name. I lost my sense of smell over a year ago. It really hit home when I walked into my friend’s house on Thanksgiving day…where she had been cooking for hours…and I realized I couldn’t smell anything. I do have a sense of taste though. These are the things I’ve been thinking about today. What am I grateful for? My cat Oliver. My apartment. Having good friends. I have a lot to be grateful for. Talk soon

So being on this dementia journey, also having both my parents go through it, I have done a lot of reading both about Alzheimer’s as well as other types of dementia. Since I started to suspect something was going on with my cognition, I began reading books by people who are in the early stage of dementia. There’s some good books out there. My idea is…I would like to interview people who have been diagnosed and compile them in a book. I’m thinking of an interview format. What do you think? Any ideas on how I can go about it? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Have a good evening.

hello. I had a good day. Stayed home all day and am babysitting this little dog. She a cute little pup. Her name is Penelope. I have a 7 year old cat who I’ve had for 4 years and he is showing no interest in the dog. Penelope can even curl up on my lap and Oliver doesn’t show any sign of jealousy.

ive had my usual memory gaps, but when I can just stay home and not feel pressured, I don’t let the gaps get to me.

I hope all of you have had a good day. Talk later.

geez…did I tell you I never know what day it is? Well my last post from last night I wrote it was November 7th. Now it’s 3:33am the 7th of November. Well maybe knowing what day it is isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

i look at my phone calendar multiple times a day to see what I have to do. When I’m home, in the morning I make a list of what needs to be done. That helps me so much.

So I paid too much rent this month…like who does that? My landlord called and she wanted to know why I did that. I told her I got confused. Then she went on talking about I can’t remember what and I told her” I don’t know what your telling me, it’s part of my disability” she was quiet and said” I’ll call you and tell you what to pay each month” . That’s the first time I ever admitted to someone, that isn’t a good friend, that I am completely lost by what they are saying. I’m glad she heard me and stopped talking about whatever she was talking about.

have a good day. I just checked…it’s Friday.

i think I have the date right…I lose what day it is often. So how is everyone. I came up with a solution about waking up in the morning and not knowing what day it is and what I have to accomplish. I have a wall next to my bed and I’m going to get a dry erase board and every night I’m going to write on there what day it is and what I have to do. That way, I don’t have to lie there in bed confused and upset at being confused.

so that is a solution I’m working on. Any other ideas?

I hope everyone is well out there. I had another confusing day. Today I got a call from the landlord saying I paid too much rent. I started to say no I didn’t, but then I realized I probably did mess it up. Does anyone diagnosed with dementia understand where I’m coming from? You start to realize you make a lot of mistakes, you forget a lot which leaves you feeling confused…sorry..I got off topic. So I asked my landlord ” how much is rent and how much did I pay?” So she told me. Then she went into an explanation about utilities and I don’t even know what all. So she’s giving me a credit for next month. Then, later in the morning I get an email with an attachment from my friend, who on Friday, went with me to see an attorney I want to hire about some things. So I invited my friend, Danielle, to take notes and ask any questions she can think of. Well reading this attachment there were somethings I remember being discussed at the meeting, but there was major things that I’m wondering …was I even at this meeting?…I trust Danielle, she very thorough and thoughtful. So it just showed me how 1..I can’t do this all by myself and2 I need to trust my ” helpers” along this journey.

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It’s Monday, November, 2, 2025 and I have been thinking about starting this blog before, but today seemed to be a good day to embark on this journey with other dementia travelers.

So I’ve been diagnosed with mild dementia. I’m no stranger to it. My dad had it, my mom had it and I was a caregiver for clients with dementia for 12 years. I’ve seen all stages. It’s a hell of a disease. I’m starting this blog particularly for people who think they may have dementia, as well as those who have been diagnosed. I’m hoping we can all come together to offer our support, strength, and kindness to one another.

ill go first. I’m seeking advice on how to tell friends about my diagnosis. My concern is that I will be rejected and my friends will disappear when I need them the most. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks. Carol