Senior & memory care
Memory & cognitive health
We assess memory and thinking changes, and we look for causes first. A meaningful proportion of memory problems are caused by something treatable — medication, thyroid, B12 deficiency, depression, sleep apnea, or an infection. Those are worth ruling out before anything is assumed.
Come in if you have
- You or your family have noticed memory changes
- Getting lost somewhere familiar, or struggling with a long-familiar task
- Repeating questions, or losing track of conversations
- Personality or mood changes alongside memory changes
- You are worried and want to know rather than keep wondering
What happens at your visit
- We talk to you, and — with your agreement — to whoever came with you. Both perspectives matter.
- We do a structured memory and thinking assessment. It takes a few minutes and is not something to revise for.
- We run blood work looking for reversible causes, and review every medication.
- We explain what we found in plain terms, and what the next step is.
Check for causes before assuming
The single most useful message here: not all memory problems are dementia, and several of the alternatives are straightforward to treat.
Common reversible contributors:
- Medications, particularly sedatives, some bladder and allergy drugs, and combinations that individually seem harmless
- Thyroid problems — a simple blood test
- B12 deficiency — common, easily missed, easily corrected
- Depression, which in older adults can present as memory loss convincingly enough to be mistaken for dementia
- Sleep apnea — poor sleep quality affects memory substantially
- Infection, especially urinary, which can cause sudden confusion in older adults
None of these are exotic. All of them are worth excluding before drawing conclusions.
Normal ageing versus something more
Forgetting a name and recalling it later is ordinary. What warrants assessment is different in kind, not just degree:
- Getting lost somewhere familiar
- Difficulty with a task done for decades — cooking a routine meal, managing bills
- Repeating the same question within a short conversation
- Word-finding difficulty that interrupts speech regularly
- Changes in personality, judgment or behaviour
Why earlier is better
People delay this appointment because they are frightened of the answer. That is completely understandable, and it also costs the thing that matters most: time.
An earlier assessment means reversible causes get caught while they are still reversible, and where the news is harder, it means being able to plan, arrange support, and make your own decisions about your own care.
Bring someone
With your agreement we will speak to them too. They see patterns across weeks and months that no appointment can capture, and that account is a real part of the assessment.
Common questions
- I am worried it is dementia. Should I even come in?
- Yes. A real proportion of memory problems have a treatable cause, and finding one changes everything. And where it is not reversible, an earlier diagnosis means more time to plan, access support, and make decisions while you are the one making them.
- What can cause memory problems apart from dementia?
- Medication side effects and interactions are the most common and the most fixable. Also thyroid problems, B12 deficiency, depression — which can closely mimic dementia in older adults — sleep apnea, urinary infections, alcohol, and simply not sleeping.
- Should I bring someone with me?
- If you can, yes. Someone who sees you regularly notices things you cannot notice about yourself, and their account is genuinely part of the assessment.
- What happens if the tests show a problem?
- We explain what we have found, treat anything reversible, and refer to a specialist where appropriate. You will not be handed a diagnosis and shown the door — this is something we keep following with you.
This page explains how we care for this condition at our office. It is general information, not medical advice for your specific situation — please talk to us about your own care.
Ready to get this looked at?
Call us or send a request and we will get you in — often the same or next day.