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[-¥Sugar¥-]

Hi guys,lately my dad has been showing signs of going senile ( or thats what I think )he is only 60 but looks and acts like an 80 year old.
He has been stuttering over his words,forgetting what he was going to say.He doesnt take care of himself anymore,his hair is wild and his features all look saggy.
He went out in the middle of the night thinking it was lunchtime! He also forgets stuff,like he cant remember anything about a dvd player we bought him,that is at my sisters house that he told her he didnt want,and that was only 2 weeks ago.
As you can no doubt imagine im heart sore and scared stiff that he is indeed going senile or has even had a mini stroke.
The problem (or one of them) is that I cant get him to go the dr's.he absolutely hates doctors and avoids them at all costs,so he is being his usual stubborn self and in the meantime myself and my two siblings are very worried about him.
Does anyone have any advice for me? Been through this type of thing maybe? Any advice/words of encouragement would be a help.
 In the meantime I am gonna keep trying to get him to the doctor.

[Fey]

I feel for you Sug 

Is there any way the gp would come out to him, if you phoned and explained the situation to them?

[Ctulu]

Can't you contact a doctor to visit him together with you at your dad's?  Or if you have a friend who'se a nurse or something to drop buy and do a preliminary diagnose?  Better to be safe then sorrow and even though he's stuborn, force him in his best intrest. And let's hope you're wrong.  Senility is an awfull malady!

Hope this helps my grandmother had it and it's just shocking to visit her and each time see her wonder who you are ....  I helped myself with the tought she had already gone to the next and that her body actualy didnt suffer here ...
I know these words are not comforting, sorry ...

[Wooster]

I'd get the doctor to do a house call asap, he really doesn't sound well at all...

Sorry Sugs, not exactly encouraging, am I?

[Centurion]

Can only wish you look on this Sugar - Sorry about your dad...

[keasy]

My wife has her B.S.c in gerontology I will ask her if the signs are enough to warrant a non consenting doctors call.
 

[AbaddonsFury]

Sugar...You gotta take the bull by the horns honey, he doesnt sound to well at all mate...

Heres something my sister did......
My dad has a bayonet/bullet wound in his right lower stomach up to his lower chest(sort of shaped like a crude L shape), he used to get a sore in the 90deg. part of it where it went over his pelvis....For years we told him to get it looked at, he hated Dr's....So my little sister Michelle (smart girl, knowing dad hates to see her sad), started crying and said she was really wottied about it as it was starting to lead to infections....Anyway she eventually convinced him to go....Now you have a little boy, and I bet if he tells Grandpa how scared he is for his health, he might listen to his Grandson, especially if there are a couple of tears in his eyes...

Oh, and with my dad they did a scan, then operated, pulled a 4mm piece of bayonet tip from his pelvis...had been in there since 1952.

[Galah]

So sorry to hear - mental health is such a scary topic, and I can only imagine he'd be petrified (as well as yourself!!)!!

The AF method sounds great.
(Other methods of appealing to his care for children and grandchildren probably exist but also may backfire with a 'they dont really want to look after an old invalid' -- And I wouldn't even know how to begin. I've been so lucky in this regard concerning my parents and grandparents)

Good luck Sugar!!

[-¥Sugar¥-]

Thanks for all the replies,unfortunatly AF the getting my son to emotionally blackmail him thing wouldnt work,I love my dad but a grandad he isnt (neither of my parents had a clue about being  a parent nevermind a grandparent)
I went to visit him yesterday but he either wasnt in or wasnt answering the door,he spends a lot of time sleeping as he doesnt appear to have anything better to do.
I have spent a lot of time thinking about this and talking to my siblings and even my mum,they have all said they will go and visit him more,they live in the same town as him,I dont.
When (if ) I can get to speak to him I am just going to tell him straight how it makes us feel seeing him this way,he has always had a tendency to listen to me,in the last 10 years anyway.
Mum says hes not even registered with the doctor where he lives,so another thing I was thinking of doing was going to my own doc and telling him ,seeing if he could give me some advice.
At the moment my life is so turbulent,I am worried about Bruce and his operation,my dad and whatever his wrong with him and on top of that Troy might have to get an operation on his ear,this has definately been the year for shitty things.
Knowing that you guys care means a lot to me,so thank you all,sincerely.

[Ctulu]

What's Troy got?  Water behind the drums and he needs tubes to keep the drums open?  If it's that I underwent that opperation twice.  It's not that bad... the plastic moulds to keep your ears closed taking a shower or swimming are the most anoying thing.

[-¥Sugar¥-]

Nothing that simple,in the last year Troy has had a lot of ear infections,and over the course of the year I have said to Bruce *ya know I swear I can see something in his ear*,but he had been to the docs a lot and they looked in his ears and didnt mention anything so I presumed I was just imagining things.
 Anyway couple months back his ear was really red and sore so I had a proper look,and got a pair of tweezers and pulled something out of his ear,it was a pice of cotton bud! I could still see something in his ear but not get to it,so I called the hospital and they took him in,sure enough he had another larger piece of cotton bud in his ear and it was actually stuck to his ear drum,over the course of time ,with the ear drops he had been given,the cotton wool just soaked it up and caused the infection to get worse and never go away.
I figured out that when we were on holiday in spain in june '06 he had stuck cotton bud in his ear got it stuck and enver told anyone.
 Anyway was furious at docs who had never noticed in all the time he was there that he had something in his ear.
Now the infection is not going away and he has to go back on the 26th of this month to the hospital.

[Ctulu]

WTF  that's serious negligence! My god, something visible like that should be noticed emidiatly! Ffs incompetent turds ...

[Centurion]

Know how furious you must feel Sugar...My doc misdianosed my cancer for 8 months then denied it...

Hope it works out mate........lots of hugs.

[-¥Sugar¥-]

Well if my son goes deaf,I will be suing the doctor for negligence.lets just hope it dont go that far.

[Ctulu]

I seriously hope so for your son's sake that wont be the case.