I am very concerned for my lovely husband

[Mariemcdo]

Over the last three years I have noticed changes in my husbands personality and mood. He has become a little forgetful and forgets conversations quickly meaning that he has to question me again about something that we had recently talked about.

All of a sudden he is suffering from general malaise including fatigue and constantly feeling cold. He is spending half the day in bed and I’m incredibly worried about him. The change over the last 6 months has been huge.

We have an appointment next week with a memory clinic in London.

Is extreme fatigue and feeling cold and shivery part of cognitive decline?

Hopefully we will get some clarity next week as to what’s going on. It’s breaking my heart to see this strong man looking and feeling so vulnerable. ☹️😢☹️

[ChristianElliott Partner]

Welcome to the community. Suggestion you also have the clinic also check for infections which could be causing the cold and shivering.

[BobFender]

Hi Mariemcdo, I am sorry to hear about your husband and can sympathise with you both. I also ask my wife repeatedly about up coming events she has told me about. I remember the event but not the details.

Talking with people they would not know there is anything wrong with me. I struggle with people’s names and even think one name to find myself saying another.

I have tried the doctor but the test was so easy I could hardly fail to pass it. My appointment was Friday 13th at 10 am so no prizes for knowing that when she asked what day or time it was. I checked the time and date many times in the days before. I had to write a small sentence but you don’t need your memory to know it’s raining outside or to know the name of the clinic. I have however had 3 MRI scans as part of an Alzheimer’s drug trial showing the damage to my brain. The Dr disregard that saying I had passed her test so effectively had nothing wrong.

I have the total support of my wife and feel so lucky as I’m sure your husband does too. I take Omega 3, B complex, D3, K2, Magnesium, Zinc and Lions Maine to help my brain and also do jigsaw puzzles as well as trying to play music.

Thank you for sharing your story it’s helps others not to feel so alone. Bob

[Mariemcdo in reply to BobFender]

Hello Bob

Thank you very much for your reply.

We have gone down the memory clinic route and MRI last week. At the end of the day the psychiatrist confirmed with me that my husband was suffering from short term memory lapses. We have a second meeting in January for MRI results and diagnosis.

Thank you so much for sharing your story Bob the more open we are and the more information we share the more supported and informed we will become during this challenging journey.

Please have a look at acupuncture as a supporting treatment. The Chinese have a very measured and interesting approach to memory loss.

With gratitude

[BobFender in reply to Mariemcdo]

Hi Marie,

We have acupuncture available locally and my wife tried it when she first started to show symptoms of PMR. At the time we thought her painful hips and groin were caused by too much pickle ball. But a few days after her hip pain started she developed pain in her shoulders as well. At that point we went to the doctor and she was prescribed steroids. The steroids were almost instantly successful in relieving the pain and so the acupuncture treatment did not really have time to show any benefit. Easing off of the steroids will take 66 weeks and has to be carefully controlled at a reduction rate of 1 mg a week. This very much depends on the body healing itself while the steroids are kept at a minimum dosage to hold off the pain. I can see acupuncture may still be helpful in her treatment and therefore might be beneficial to me as you suggest with my mild Alzheimer’s.

Thank you for your reply and suggestion of acupuncture for myself as I had no idea it could be used for mental treatment. I will definitely research as you suggest and let you know how things progress. All the best, Bob