Man receives ‘nightmare’ diagnosis after asking same questions over and over

A dad from Southport received a shock diagnosis after missing turns on motorways and forgetting appointments.

Phil Burdekin, 63, was diagnosed with young-onset dementia after struggling with memory problems for 20 years. Phil often put his forgetfulness down to stress, but as his memory got worse, he decided to see a doctor.

The Liverpool Echo reports that in the UK, around 900,000 suffer from dementia, with nearly 5 per cent of those, 42,000, having young-onset. For the illness to be classed as young-onset, the condition develops before the age of 65.

Read more:The early signs which might show you have Alzheimer's

The Alzheimer’s society has conducted new research which reveals that 27 per cent of people diagnosed waited more than two years after noticing symptoms and getting a diagnosis as many assumed the symptoms were simply signs of ageing.

The main symptoms of Alzheimer’s in the early stages are lapses in memory, which could present in a variety of ways. For example, someone with Alsheimer’s disease could forget about recent conversations, misplace items, or ask the same questions repeatedly.

For Phil, repeating questions became a common occurrence. Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, he said: "I was getting worried - I didn't know what it was, and then my wife got fed up of me asking the same questions again and again, so she said I'd better go to the doctor.

“It was a nightmare coming up to it. It was very stressful. I cried a lot. It was killing me not knowing anything."

Phil was 55 when a scan revealed he had vascular dementia, which is the second most common type of the condition after Alzheimer’s Disease. According to the NHS, symptoms, which often get worse over time, include memory and language problems,