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My 73 year old mom forgets and misplaces things and accuses her husband of cheating. Dr says memory is good according to her. Dr. Prescribed her meds for anxiety and depression but she refuses to take them with concerns of side effects. I believe she has early signs of dementia.

Thyroid can do a number on people. It affects hormones. My SIL had hers removed and went a little nuts. She accused my sweet brother of all kinds of things. Maybe talk to her Endocrinologist to see if what your seeing is normal. She may need her medication adjusted. If thatvis not the problem, have her see a Neurologist.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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Request a more formalized and complete exam now. Ask your doctor for a neuro-psyc evaluation for your mother. Tell him that he will need to do this in a way that she is less likely simply to refuse, that is that he will call her and speak with her regarding an appointment he wants her to keep. If she STILL won't go, there's little you can do until there is some sort of crisis that indicates incompetency.

Do know that a diagnosis is of little help in moving forward if you are not currently her POA. It would insure you could no longer be assigned as POA for her. You would be quite helpless to intervene without help of APS.

Do also understand that normal aging and the anxiety thereof can mimic dementia. Go to YouTube and look up SLUMS and MoCa testing. They will show you certain question and answer tests you can "play with" with your mother on your own, and give you more an idea where she is "at".

Good luck.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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I think you should try to have a calm discussion about the behaviors you and her husband are seeing and explain that it may be a UTI, since in elderly women they are very common and often only present with neurological symptoms. Tell her you'll go with her to support her and help ask questions.

Before the exam pass a note or discretely talk to the nurse to request a thorough exam because dementia is mainly diagnosed by discounting all other medical causes, like a thyroid problem, over- or under- medicating, dehydration, diabetes, other infections, stroke, tumor, etc. If these are all discounted then request the doc order a follow-up visit for cognitive and memory testing.
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Reply to Geaton777
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KrystalB Oct 17, 2025
This has been going on for a year now and has progressively been getting worse. She does not have a UTI, had thyroid surgery, and does not have diabetes. She has been losing weight because she is so stressed and she has no appetite, My sister and I had a conversation with her about her health and she stated her mental health is not good and her marriage is in shambles. She is going to marriage counseling, but refuses to address mental health option with prescriptions. I am stuck on what options to pursue.
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