Is this the start of dementia?

Because losing a word in front of people is frightening, and because this decade is often when women are also watching a parent decline.

It is one of the most common private worries at this stage and one of the least often raised in an appointment.

Cognitive changes around the menopause transition are common and are generally described as temporary, with performance in studies tending to return toward earlier levels afterwards.

The pattern also tends to differ. What is commonly described here is slower recall and difficulty holding several things at once, with the information still there once it arrives.

That is not a diagnosis and it is not a promise about you. It is the general picture, and the general picture is more reassuring than the experience of it.

Getting lost somewhere familiar, or difficulty with tasks you have done for years.

Other people noticing and mentioning it before you do.

Memory that is clearly worsening over months rather than fluctuating with sleep and stress.

Any of that deserves an appointment, and asking is the right response to being frightened rather than an overreaction.