Man diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at 41 shares subtle signs he initially faced
A man who was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's disease at the age of 41 has shared some of the early signs he experienced.
Alzheimer's is a brain disorder that causes memory loss, confusion, and changes in behaviour. It's the most common cause of dementia in older people.
While there is no cure for the disease, experts have been able to identify some of the key indicators, including a recent study which suggests that people who take significantly longer to start the dream phase of sleep - a period of sleep that is known as rapid eye movement (REM) - may be experiencing an early symptom of the disease.
Meanwhile, a 74-year-old former neurologist was able to diagnose himself with the disease after spotting a specific symptom when he was 55 - losing his sense of smell.
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Alzheimer's can be a heartbreaking disease, as we have tragically seen with the news of Gene Hackman recently but for Fraser, a 41-year-old father from Australia, it was also a real shock to be diagnosed so young, given that it's most common in people over the age of 65.
He has opened up in a recent YouTube video about his diagnosis and some of the challenges he was facing at an early age, which encouraged him to seek out medical help.
He said: "So I got diagnosed eight months ago, and I think my symptoms probably started about two/two-and-a-half years before that.
"It's funny because I don't remember what my symptoms really were initially, all I remember was having some pretty big memory flaws, I remember I was sitting down to watch a movie once and my partner's gone, 'yeah, we watched that like a month ago'.
"Anyway, I watched the whole movie, and the ending was still a complete surprise. I had no memory of watching it whatsoever, and I didn't watch many movies either at the time. So it was a bit concerning."
He continued: "It's funny though because I don't know if I've had symptoms like that again ever since - I'm not sure if that's even my Alzheimer's. I have no idea. It's just something where it was like, 'Oh, God, that's a bit concerning'. I just remembered having sort of more, bigger memory issues like that as being the problem.
"At some point, though, I started having some issues with my cognition more generally, and I think that was more getting closer to the diagnosis, where I noticed that.
"It wasn't until even probably just a few months before the diagnosis I noticed that I was having issues with just thinking, being able to think deeply. I find that I have more sort of surface level thinking, more shallow thinking."
One of the most concerning incidents for Fraser was when he left the house to search for his daughter late at night because she wasn't answering her phone, despite her telling him earlier in the day that she would be at the cinema.
Fraser said: "I remember once, this is early on, I remember my daughter had told me numerous times throughout the day that she'd go to the movies that night and it would be sort of quite late with a friend, and it came to night time, and I started freaking out, thinking, 'where's my daughter?', I was generally freaking out.
"I was driving to the nearby town trying to see from other friends, if they were with, if she was with, if they've heard from her. And it got to a point where I was about to ring the police, I was that concerned.
"I'd been trying to call her, trying to phone message, trying to message her, and just not getting through to her at all. So yeah, really freaking out. And then she ends up calling me, saying, like, 'Hey, Dad, I've just been in the movies. Remember, I told you?'."
Fraser now has a system in place with his teen daughters where they text him to let him know their plans to hopefully avoid a repeat of that scary incident.
Early Onset Alzheimer's can affect people as young as in their 30s or 40s, and while there is no cure, an early diagnosis can improve quality of life.
According to the NHS, around one in every 13 people with Alzheimer's disease are under the age of 65.
If you've been affected by dementia or Alzheimer's and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact the Alzheimer’s Society via 0333 150 3456 or visit their website for more information.
James Moorhouse