Am I losing it ?

IKE

IKE

Well-known Member
Location
Oklahoma....U.S.A.
About a year ago, no matter how hard I tried, I could not make my brain and hand coordinate to make the number '8' in one continuous line like I'd done ever since I started writing as a kid.....I resorted to making two circles on top of each other but then after a few months the problem went away and I could again make a '8' in one continuous line.

Now for the past couple of months the number '5' has been giving me fits, even when I concentrate hard my 5's aren't all that legible.

So what's up, am I losing it ?........should I be concerned ?
 

Do you have pain and/or stiffness in your hands or fingers? If no, then maybe you just don't do much handriting, and are out of practice?

My handwriting has never been worth a plug nickel, gotten worse over the years, of course I'm using a keyboard more than a pen or pencil. Come to think of it, my keyboarding is terrible....

My spelling used to be impeccable, but with "spell check" I don't have to exercise the spelling area of my brain.
 

No pain or stiffness in my hands.

Of course my mind jumped right to the beginnings of Dementia / Alzheimer's.......sound like a early symptom or am I possibly just making a big deal out of nothing ?

I do know how to get around the problem tho......I could just start writing Roman Numerals. :)
 
I hope not Ike, but I noticed lately that when I'm typing I will type some letters backwards in a word, then I have to go and correct it. like instead of ideal, I'll type iedal. I too instantly think of Alzheimer's since my aunt died from that affliction. I fear that more than a physical disability. I just try to get in a spoonful of coconut oil daily, etc. to help support the brain and other things like that. I don't mind getting forgetful in old age, but I always want to know who and where I am.
 
It takes a lot of concentrating; it's all in the mind.

There was a thread here a while back on coloring books and coloring. One member (Can't remember who) mentioned that her husband or friend.....whoever, suffered from Parkinsons and when he is coloring, his shaking disappears.
 
IKE said:
About a year ago, no matter how hard I tried, I could not make my brain and hand coordinate to make the number '8' in one continuous line like I'd done ever since I started writing as a kid.....I resorted to making two circles on top of each other but then after a few months the problem went away and I could again make a '8' in one continuous line.

Now for the past couple of months the number '5' has been giving me fits, even when I concentrate hard my 5's aren't all that legible.

So what's up, am I losing it ?........should I be concerned ?
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I can appreciate your concern. There is a lot of evidence between handwriting and the brain and health.

But I have never seen it described as you have with numbers except that drawing an '8' in one swoop is handwriting.

In Ontario after 80 years of age, to renew your driver's license, you have to take a written test.

They are looking for what is called cognitive recognition. The test consists of drawing a clock with all the numbers and the hands set at 10 after 11.

Then there is another test with a series of jumbled letters where you have to stroke out all the 'h's. I counted them after I finished. There were 134.

My wife had Parkinson's and one of the symptoms of Parkinsons is that the handwriting becomes smaller.

We all worry about 'losing' it and some of the worries are not warranted. From what I read. You are still sharp at your age.

I'm LXXXIV.
 
I hear ya SB.....I've said it before and I'll say it again.

I only hope that if I come down with Alzheimer's (or any other fatal disease) that I retain enough of my faculties just long enough to end my life on my terms and not become a burden or a bad memory.

I recall the neighbor lady two doors down saying that she was sorry her husband died but by the same token she was relieved that it was over because she'd had had just about all she could handle both mentally and physically caring for him (at home) with Alzhemier's.

Mama and talked about it (the neighbor lady) at the time and I told her that she wouldn't have to worry about it because if there was any possible way I would not put her through it.....knowing me she knew exactly what I was saying and we both dropped the conversation.
 
IKE said:
I hear ya SB.....I've said it before and I'll say it again.

I only hope that if I come down with Alzheimer's (or any other fatal disease) that I retain enough of my faculties just long enough to end my life on my terms and not become a burden or a bad memory.
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I feel the same way you do Ike, I just want to be aware enough to make my own decision and end my life if I felt it was needed, in my own way.
 
No Ike ----you are not losing it. I have similar problem. I have no pain in either hand but my fingers lack the dexterity they once had. Using a simple finger nail clipper requires patience and real effort on my part. Signing my checks isn't the same either.
 
SB.....it's been at least twelve years ago but a fella that lived across the street and four houses down (I didn't know him more than to wave in passing) and in his early 50's found out that he had terminal cancer with only a limited time to live.

Shortly after finding out and after his wife went to work one morning he went out in the backyard sat in a lawn chair and shot himself. We assume that he went out in the backyard for her to keep from making a mess inside the house......sad but yet sweet that he would think of her in his last moments.
 
Yea, Dementia / Alzheimer's is hard to not have, in the back of your mind, even for some in younger age brackets.

A co-worker in his mid-fifties used to 'dog' me, about little things that I would forget. Not being one to let a guy dig at

me, I told him that I don't take note of, and remember things that I don't feel important.

Turns out, his wife picks at him for not remembering things, so he's sensitive about the forgetful thing.

It happens, and getting older, it happens more.

I heard someone recently say, "forgetting where you parked your car is not a "sign"; forgetting that you even drove your

car is a sign that yo need to make an appointment with your physician.
 
Some medical professionals believe, that even the sharpest tacks among us, forget a certain amount as we age, due to the fact our brains continue to collect and process information as long as we remain cognitively aware. Fuller brains discard more information.
 
IKE said:
SB.....it's been at least twelve years ago but a fella that lived across the street and four houses down (I didn't know him more than to wave in passing) and in his early 50's found out that he had terminal cancer with only a limited time to live.

Shortly after finding out and after his wife went to work one morning he went out in the backyard sat in a lawn chair and shot himself. We assume that he went out in the backyard for her to keep from making a mess inside the house......sad but yet sweet that he would think of her in his last moments.
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That must've been a shock for her, it was good that he went outdoors though. I'd try something that was not so messy if I could. We still have a book Final Exit that used to be my mother in law's, she bought it when she was old and sickly and thought about ending her life. Luckily she didn't have to resort to that. Assisted suicide should be legal in all states IMO, so there's an option for some people that may be less intense for themselves and their loved ones.
 
no you aint losin it. I have typed all my adult life and many of my jobs required that skill but in these later years my typing is bad. I also play video games and that keeps my mind sane and sound however the body has gone to hell
 
It appears that the general consensus is that I'm making too big of a deal out of not being able to make a real spiffy looking #5......thanks, I appreciate everyone's input.
 
SeaBreeze said:
That must've been a shock for her, it was good that he went outdoors though. I'd try something that was not so messy if I could. We still have a book Final Exit that used to be my mother in law's, she bought it when she was old and sickly and thought about ending her life. Luckily she didn't have to resort to that. Assisted suicide should be legal in all states IMO, so there's an option for some people that may be less intense for themselves and their loved ones.
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I agree we should all be able to have our pill or injector pen that would allow us to make our final exit when we feel the time is right for us.

I have read the book that you mention and I would be more terrified of doing things incorrectly and actually extending my live in some sort of invalid state.
 
I agree you're not losing it probably more physical due to getting older than mental, relax and don't give it too much thought
 
Aunt Bea said:
I agree we should all be able to have our pill or injector pen that would allow us to make our final exit when we feel the time is right for us.

I have read the book that you mention and I would be more terrified of doing things incorrectly and actually extending my live in some sort of invalid state.
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Aunt Bea, I couldn't agree more that we should all be able to have a dignified final way out available to us. It makes me sad and angry that my state hasn't yet come to that conclusion. The matter is still being fought out in courts, but I strongly believe we should all have the choice and the means to end our suffering humanely if we choose to do so. Here, we have professional do gooders strongly opposing the idea. I wonder how many of them have witnessed a loved one in the final ravages of cancer.
 


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