I'm sorry to hear about your dad ... I don't believe it has to happen to you even if it runs in your family. I believe part of avoiding a severe condition like alzheimer's is keeping your mind active, forward thinking, analyzing, doing puzzles, crosswords, reading for comprehension, engaging with life, staying in touch with loved ones and friends for as long as possible. Part of that involves keeping yourself in good physical shape so that physically you can do all those things that your mind can still do. I see my dad after years of sitting in his recliner, watching tv, eating bad stuff, drinking, not exercising, depressed at times, he will be 80 this year and is in pretty bad health. Now the memory issues and confusion are progressing as well. I was recently given Power of Attorney, it's a long story but I don't look forward to the next few weeks. I probably didn't help much but wanted to give a little bit of encouragement if I could

My dad is experiencing dementia... Which I think is bullshit. Anyone so abusive to their children should never be awarded the "I get to forget my past" trophy. They should be forced to live with it until they did.

My sister-in-law did, this is one of my greatest personal fears, though my family history works in my favor.

You can resist genetic predisposition. No guarantees of course. Science has data. Food? Brown & white is not food. Color is.
Exercise. Decrease stress with meditation, yoga, exercise.
Knowledge. Learn, learn, learn. Something new, challenging, difficult. Crossword puzzles, mahjong, video games, gardening, traveling, new language.
All these things create new synapsis which resist the amyloid plaques that rot brain matter.
A study of nuns & monks who donated their brains found that even with the plaques these folks showed few signs of dementia. Their brains made new connections circumventing the destroyed brain matter & continued to function.
Make some life changes slowly & build on these changes until it becomes a lifestyle.
Good luck.

My only suggestion is to keep abreast of the best cognitive assessment tests and decide early on how you want to deal with it. My adopted Dad & his Dad both had it. My Dad's in late stage as I type, Dx'd 2012 I do think there's a genetic link. The stuff that gets my family is cardiac & diabetes, altho no one is/was morbidly obese. The heart stuff in my family gets us quickly.
Alzheimers is truly one of the most cruel conditions out there, some people live with it for years and years.

My uncle has dementia and altzheimers. It's scary watching him because we are very much alike or at least we were. He had a wonderful talent at painting and woodworking, even made a living at building things for people. Now he can't read a tape measure or draw a stick figure. I can't help but to think "all that talent is just gone like a chalkboard erased."
It my biggest fear that this will happen to me also, I can't imagine loosing who I am in such a way.

Dementia isn't predominant on either side of my family however I am caring for my Mom (83 y/o) and I can see dementia creeping up on her, it has been for a while.

Some thirty years or so ago , my Mom began calling me by my cousins' names . Last time I went to visit , about two years ago , I lived in their apartment , with them , for about ten days . Each time her husband spoke with her about me , he would say , "your daughter , " and my name . Not once did she call me by any name at all , and I'm totally sure she had absolutely no clue as to who I was . She died May 29th of last year , at the age of ninety nine and a half .
I noticed I had difficulty remembering some words long ago , but could describe what I wanted to say , and recognized the right word , if someone else said it . I pushed my doctor and they finally tested me , and decided I might be in the early stages . I do take a medication , which they said would not cure it , but would slow down it's progress , and I believe it has . I noticed someone here has written there is a connection to diabetes , which both Mom and I acquired , so there may be a connection there .
While you often see films of people in the final stages , with consistent good medical care , it can be very slow to develop . I was diagnosed with diabetes about 29 years ago , and began suspecting alzhiemers about twenty years ago .

Yes, although in my family, it is mostly females that suffer. My maternal grandmother had it, and my mother had it, too. So did a couple of other female relatives. I feel sure that, if I were to live long enough, I would have it, too.

Doesn't worry me ! Some one else will have to look after me ! Hahaha ?

My Grandmother had Dementia before she died. I don’t think about it to much. She couldn’t remember where she was, or who she was with but she always remembered me.’ I guess further down the line I will think about it. I took one of those DNA test and that trait didn’t come back but I will take that information at face value.

I certainly don't think as clearly as I did even 5 years ago, only my son notices but he lives with me. I don't think it is any more than aging and too much in my head, I did burn my brain out a couple of times over the years and each time it has lost a little ability.
No dementia on either side of the family, my ex has it on both sides so i worry for my kids. My mother is just frustrating, cunning as an outhouse rat, claims poor memory when caught out in a lie.

My dad had Lewy Body Dementia. He was a brilliant pediatrician and endocrinologist and he went down hill very fast. I worry about any possibility of LBD with me.

My father's mother was one of 12 kids. All but two died from a very aggressive form of Alzheimer's. My dad is now in his mid 60s and we are watching him closely to see if we follows suit. And what are my own odds of that being in my future?