Parental Issues Again

I haven't blogged about my parents for a while and it's been a nice break, but I really need to now.

My father is becoming more forgetful and I'm dreading that I need to convince him to see a Dr. about it. If there really is something wrong, there are medications that can help but I have to make a good case without scaring him too much. Being evaluated for cognitive skills is not a slow process and it will take more that getting him to his regular Dr. - he's likely going to also have to see a neurologist or a Dr who specializes in evaluating seniors. My Dad is renowned for arguing with doctors (he has a PhD in Electrical Engineering so he's started pulling this "I'm Dr. Clary" crap - never mind that I have more medical knowledge than he does.) and he's just getting worse about it.

Doing some Googling is just stressing me out. While there are 4 possible medications he has to be actually diagnosed with Alzheimer's (the A word that I've been avoiding) for him to be on them. If it's just Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) then there is no medication and the solutions are more along the lines of maintain a health lifestyle, don't drink a lot, and stay organized. (Sigh).

I'm dreading this conversation and I know he's very fearful about it. For his whole life he's been the Alpha Male smartest person in the room, and it's been hell on him. And therefore it's been hard on everyone else.

For whatever reason, I am the one he's the least argumentative with. Probably because I'm the youngest. Anyway convincing him of difficult things usually becomes my job out of necessity. I so do not like this role, but this is something I need to do and if I don't try I will regret it for the rest of my life.