See a doctor about memory when it is affecting daily function, when it is getting worse over months, or when someone close to you has noticed more than you have. That last one is a more reliable signal than self-assessment.
See a doctor about memory when it is affecting daily function, when it is getting worse over months, or when someone close to you has noticed more than you have. That last one is a more reliable signal than self-assessment.
Function is the clearest one. Forgetting an appointment is ordinary; struggling with the calendar you have kept for years is not. Repeating the same question within a short period, because the answer did not register, is different from taking longer to recall a name. Getting lost in familiar places, difficulty with tasks you have done for decades, word-finding trouble beyond the ordinary, poor judgement with money, and changes in mood or personality all warrant assessment.
People experiencing cognitive change frequently adapt around it without registering the extent, and in some conditions loss of insight is part of the illness rather than denial. That makes a family member's observation more diagnostically reliable than your own sense of how you are managing. If someone close to you is more worried than you are, that is a reason to be assessed rather than reassured, and it is worth acting on rather than explaining away.
This is not just encouragement. A meaningful proportion of memory problems have causes that are treatable and reversible: thyroid disease, vitamin B12 deficiency, sleep apnoea, depression, alcohol and medication effects, particularly anticholinergic drugs. Finding one of those is a far better outcome than a biomarker result, and they are easier to identify before the picture is complicated. Earlier assessment also widens options including research participation, and allows planning while decisions can still be shared.
Clinical Neurology Specialists has been physician-owned since 1998, when Leo Germin, M.D., FAANEM founded it. Five board-certified neurologists and four advanced practice providers see patients at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices, each with its own AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratory.
Clinical Neurology Specialists is an adult outpatient neurology practice for patients 18 and older. The practice performs no surgery and operates no imaging suite, infusion suite or interventional pain programme, and provides no emergency or inpatient care.
Physician-reviewed. Reviewed by the physicians of Clinical Neurology Specialists — board-certified neurologists, AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratories, physician-owned since 1998. Reviewed 1 August 2026. This article is general education for adults 18 and older and is not a substitute for a consultation.
Sources and further reading: MedlinePlus: memory; National Institute on Aging; MedlinePlus: Alzheimer disease.
Adults 18 and older, at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices. Call 702-804-1212 or request an appointment online.