I had to wait for 5 years
JOY Watson waited more than five years to be diagnosed with dementia after first noticing symptoms.
She was told by doctors her confusion was down to depression, stress and even the menopause. The former nurse, who lives in Salford with her husband and full-time carer Tony, realised something was wrong when she was 49.
But it was not until she turned 55 that she was diagnosed. Even then it was only as a result of her own persistence.
Mrs Watson, now 59, said: ‘I went backwards and forwards to my GP, backwards and forwards to have memory tests of which I failed all of them. But it just wasn’t accepted that at 49 I could have dementia.’
After failing yet another memory test she insisted on further investigations and was offered a brain scan which confirmed she had dementia. Despite being devastated by the news, she said: ‘A diagnosis is a good thing as you are given access to a lot of support. It also gives you peace of mind.’