Hello Group,

First of all let me say hi to you all, I have only been reading the group
for the past few days as our 'situation' is so new.  My godmother who is 77
has been acting rather strangely for the past few months....forgetting
things and gradually seeming more aggressive.  I simply put it down to old
age or maybe light depression.  But in the last 3 weeks things seem to be
spiralling out of control.  She has become verbally abusive and seems to
have lost interst in everything.  I simply cannot believe some of the vile
things she is saying, not only about recent times but from many, years back.
Terrible accusations that have hurt me so much and totally distort the
truth.

A couple of days ago my husband and I tried to talk to her directly about
the problem but there is no way of talking rationally to her and she insists
she is fine.  We have also noticed that her speech seems slower.  She went
to her doctor a few weeks ago to ask for some sort of tonic and apparently
has been telling the doctor all sorts of wierd stories because, according to
her, the doctor has told her to be 'fight back' and be more assertive with
the people who are supposedly mistreating her!  oh my....it feels like she
has been abducted by aliens and they have given me back some sort of
paranoic stranger.

So I am asking the group if it sounds like my Godmother is starting with
alzheimers.  Did anyone else's parent/loved one start like her?  I have
researched the Net but from what I read memory loss seems to be the usual
first symptom and although she definitely has memory loss, the personality
change seems to be much more severe than anything else.  Thanks in advance
if you have the time to answer!

Joy