Hi Boydette,

Like Mary said, dementia symptoms can be brought on chemically by various
meds.   I know that it took a whole battery of tests to prove that Ida
really was in early stage alzheimers, and not some other mistaken condition.
Even with all the tests there are other conditions that LOOK JUST LIKE
alzheimers and aren't.    One single test by your psychiatrist is just NOT
enough proof.

OK, now think about the possibility that it might really be (which you have
been already doing).   Yes, it is a terrible illness, but it is not a
painful one.   There are worse things one can be diagnosed with in this
lifetime.  If further testing confirmed it, there are things you would need
to do now, while you are still capable.  But you don't really know that you
have it, not from one single opinion.

My advice to you would be to GET TESTED for real.   Get a CAT scan and
thyroid test and whatever else would prove the diagnosis for real.   Don't
just take this one guy's word on it.   Another thing would be to research
very thoroughly all your medications and to see which of them has any memory
problems associated with it.

Meanwhile take your psych doc's advice, and take your vitamin B and all the
rest he said, until you know for sure what the truth is, but I wouldn't just
only go on one person's opinion who has done no other kinds of medical
testing to discover what could be causing it.   Heck, Boydette... memory
loss has been associated with taking Statin drugs for cholesterol, even!
That is a far cry from having alzheimers disease.

Meanwhile we are all praying for you here, and hoping for the best for you.

i don't think this supposed psychiatrist knows a dementia from a
hole in the ground.  it sounds to me like time to find another
psydoc.  at the very least, you need a second opinion.

and b-1 is not going to do much.

Boydette, I pray it is not as bad as you think or as the doctor said.
Gwen

Boydette,

You need a REAL workup by someone who specializes in this. It could be the
thyroid, it could be the depression, it could be a B-12 deficiency. (Don't
know anything about B-1 and what it might have to do with it.)

His advice is not bad (heaven knows with the meds you're on and family
history, you should not be drinking) but you need to know more.

Get a referral for a second opinion from your primary care physician, a
recommendation from the Alz Association for a doc who knows this stuff. As
tempting as it is to get frozen and terrified in place, you've got to move
quickly in case it is something reversible (so it can be reversed),
treatable (so the damage can be contained) or a misdiagnosis (so you can go
back to breathing.)

We're all here to help you walk through it, but none of us can do it for
you. (That's a bitch, huh?) Make some calls and let us know what you find
out.

Songbird