Mom Thought Memory Loss Was Pregnancy Brain Until Alzheimer’s Diagnosis at 47

Staci Marklin blamed pregnancy brain fog when memory problems started in 2022. At 47, the Tennessee nurse never imagined her forgetfulness signaled early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Subtle word-switching and memory lapses seemed like normal exhaustion from caring for her newborn son while working long shifts. By August 2024, symptoms worsened to the point where she could no longer ignore them. She would say “curtain” when meaning “carpet,” mixing up words in conversations despite her nursing background in geriatrics. Nearly a year passed between her first doctor visits and final diagnosis as multiple providers dismissed her concerns, insisting early-onset Alzheimer’s was “too rare at her age.” Finally, in March 2025, seven months after seeking help, testing confirmed what she feared. Amyloid PET scans revealed protein plaques accumulating in her brain, hallmarks of Alzheimer’s pathology. Her cognitive function was tested in the bottom 0 to 10 percent expected for her age group. Now she shares her journey on TikTok, documenting symptoms and treatment while creating video memories for her three-year-old son Gunnar to treasure as the disease progresses.

When Pregnancy Brain Never Went Away

Memory issues appeared during Marklin’s pregnancy but seemed unremarkable at the time. Pregnant women commonly experience forgetfulness, attention problems, and difficulty concentrating due to hormonal changes, sleep disruption, and stress. Medical professionals often reassure expectant mothers that “pregnancy brain” or “mom brain” represents normal cognitive changes that resolve after delivery.

Marklin assumed her symptoms fit this pattern. Working as a nurse while pregnant created physical and mental exhaustion that explained why she felt foggy. Postpartum recovery added sleep deprivation from nighttime feedings and adjusting to motherhood. Anyone would feel scattered under those circumstances. She dismissed concerns and pushed through, figuring time would restore her sharp memory and quick thinking.

Months passed without improvement. Instead of resolving as her son grew and sleep improved, memory problems persisted and intensified. Word-finding difficulties emerged, where she would search for common terms that should come instantly to mind. Names of familiar people vanished from memory without warning. Tasks requiring organization and planning became harder than they should have been.

Her nursing background in geriatrics meant she recognized these patterns. She had cared for Alzheimer’s patients throughout her career, observing how the disease progressed through stages. Watching her own grandmother battle Alzheimer’s provided additional painful context for understanding cognitive decline. When her symptoms continued long after postpartum recovery should be complete, concern grew into alarm.

Words Started Coming Out Wrong

August 2024 marked a turning point when word substitution became obvious and frequent. Marklin would intend to say one word, but a completely different word emerged instead. Asking someone to “move the carpet” when she meant “move the curtain” represented typical examples. Her brain reached for the right word but grabbed the wrong one, creating confusion in conversations.

Aphasia describes language disorders where people struggle to produce or understand words despite knowing what they want to express. Word-finding difficulty and substitution errors often appear early in Alzheimer’s disease as language centers in the temporal and frontal lobes sustain damage. Patients know what they mean but cannot access the correct vocabulary.

Co-workers and objects disappeared from Marklin’s memory completely. Someone mentioned a colleague she had worked closely with for extended periods, yet the name meant nothing. She could tell from context that she should recognize this person, but her brain held no information about them. Days later, memory suddenly returned, and she realized who they meant. Information seemed to be deleted from her mind temporarily before sometimes reappearing.

Her son’s birthday vanished repeatedly from memory. She would forget the date multiple times despite its obvious importance. New information proved particularly difficult to retain. Anything mildly unfamiliar slipped away quickly. When people asked questions she couldn’t answer immediately, intense fear arose from recognizing her brain’s failure to function properly.

Doctors Said She Was Too Young

Marklin knew she needed an evaluation, but faced resistance from healthcare providers. Her primary care doctor, whom she described as wonderful, referred her to neurology specialists in memory disorders. Multiple providers heard her concerns, reviewed her family history of Alzheimer’s, and dismissed the possibility. They insisted early-onset Alzheimer’s was far too rare at age 46 for serious consideration.

Statistics support why doctors initially doubted her self-diagnosis. Only about 1 in 13 Alzheimer’s patients receives a diagnosis before age 65. Early-onset represents a small minority of total cases. Most providers will practice entire careers without encountering more than a handful of young-onset dementia patients. Pattern recognition based on typical presentation age led them toward alternative explanations.

Her nursing training proved valuable in self-advocacy. She understood medical hierarchies, knew how to request specific testing, and persisted when initial results came back normal. MRI brain imaging, EEG measuring electrical activity, and blood tests all appeared unremarkable at first. Providers pointed to normal results as evidence that nothing serious was wrong.

Marklin refused to accept reassurance that contradicted her lived experience. She insisted on additional testing despite providers suggesting she was being unnecessarily worried. Blood markers eventually showed elevations consistent with Alzheimer’s pathology. Amyloid PET scanning revealed protein plaques accumulating in brain tissue, providing a definitive diagnosis.

Living With Diagnosis as a Young Mother

Parenting a toddler while managing Alzheimer’s symptoms creates constant challenges. Marklin described changing her son’s diaper, then immediately telling her husband she forgot to change it, despite having just completed the task. Short-term memory failures make tracking completed activities impossible without external reminders and supervision.

She requires someone present whenever caring for her son, creating a safety net for moments when memory fails or confusion strikes. While she can technically be alone with him, precautions protect both mother and child from risks her condition creates. Forgetting whether she gave medicine, secured gates, or removed hazards could result in serious consequences.

Emotional regulation proves difficult as the disease affects frontal lobe function, controlling impulses and mood. She becomes irritated and agitated more easily than before. Good days and bad days vary unpredictably. Some mornings, she wakes with relatively clear thinking and smooth communication. Other days, word-finding feels impossible, and conversations frustrate her.

Her husband Erik and stepdaughter Rylee provide support as the family adjusts to the diagnosis. Plans for their dream home in Tennessee, built far from extended family and friends, suddenly seemed naive. They grieved the future they had imagined and began planning around disease progression instead. Anticipating her decline over the coming years reshapes every decision about work, finances, housing, and childcare.

Breaking Stigma Through Social Media

Embarrassment initially prevented Marklin from sharing her diagnosis publicly. People associate Alzheimer’s with elderly populations who can no longer care for themselves or recognize family members. She felt shame about having a disease that society views as stripping away personhood and independence. Telling friends and family meant confronting their assumptions about what her diagnosis implied.

She started documenting her journey on TikTok, creating videos that show early-onset Alzheimer’s patients functioning at much higher levels than stereotypes suggest. Her content demonstrates that diagnosis doesn’t immediately render someone helpless or unaware. Modern testing catches disease earlier in its course, allowing intervention before severe symptoms emerge.

Videos serve dual purposes. They educate viewers about early-onset dementia while creating permanent records for her son to access as he grows up. She wants Gunnar to know his mother through her own words rather than only through fading memories and secondhand stories. Recording her thoughts, personality, and love now preserves them for when her mind can no longer express those things clearly.

Response to her content surprised her. Hundreds of thousands of views brought comments from others facing similar situations. She discovered networks of young-onset Alzheimer’s patients, caregivers, and supporters. Loneliness dissipated as she connected with people who understood her specific challenges. Sharing openly transformed isolation into community.

Treatment Options and Future Planning

Marklin began lecanemab (brand name Leqembi) infusions, one of the few treatments approved specifically for early Alzheimer’s. Administered intravenously twice monthly, the medication targets amyloid plaques accumulating in brain tissue. By removing these protein deposits, treatment aims to slow cognitive decline rather than stop or reverse damage already done.

An 18-month global study demonstrated that lecanemab modestly reduced progression in early-stage patients compared to placebo. Results showed slowing rather than dramatic improvement, setting realistic expectations about what treatment offers. Marklin hopes to benefit similarly, gaining additional quality time before symptoms become severe.

Side effects from infusions decreased with each session as her body adjusted to the medication. Early doses caused more noticeable reactions that lessened over subsequent treatments. Close monitoring during and after infusions watches for concerning responses, including brain swelling or bleeding, rare but serious complications documented in clinical trials.

Access to lecanemab remains limited outside the United States. While approved by the FDA, the drug isn’t available through the NHS in the United Kingdom. Private pay options exist, but create financial barriers for many patients who might otherwise benefit. Insurance coverage varies, leaving some families struggling to afford treatment costs.

What Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Means

Alzheimer’s disease represents the most common form of dementia, accounting for 60 to 80 percent of cases. While typically associated with aging, the condition affects younger adults more often than many realize. Early-onset Alzheimer’s describes diagnosis before age 65, comprising roughly 5 to 10 percent of all patients.

Experts remain uncertain what triggers Alzheimer’s development. Genetics plays a stronger role in early-onset cases than late-life disease. Family history represents the only known risk factor for young-onset dementia. Marklin’s grandmother having Alzheimer’s increased her own risk substantially compared to people without affected relatives.

Brain changes in Alzheimer’s include the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques between neurons and tau tangles inside cells. These proteins disrupt communication between brain cells and eventually cause cell death. Damage typically begins in the memory-forming hippocampus before spreading to other brain regions controlling language, reasoning, and behavior.

Symptoms progress gradually over the years rather than appearing suddenly. Early stages involve mild memory loss and word-finding difficulty that many people dismiss as normal aging or stress. Middle stages bring confusion, mood changes, difficulty completing familiar tasks, and an increasing need for assistance. Late stages result in severe memory loss, inability to communicate, and total dependence on caregivers.

Why Diagnosis Took So Long

Medical professionals receive training emphasizing common presentations over rare conditions. “When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras” represents a guiding principle in diagnosis. Age 46 makes Alzheimer’s statistically unlikely compared to other explanations for memory complaints. Anxiety, depression, sleep deprivation, medication side effects, vitamin deficiencies, and thyroid problems all cause cognitive symptoms more commonly in younger adults.

Initial testing often comes back normal in early disease stages. Standard MRI imaging may show minimal changes when symptoms remain mild. Blood tests measure markers that only become abnormal as pathology progresses. Providers interpreting results within normal ranges feel reassured that serious disease isn’t present, potentially delaying specialized testing.

Patients describing subjective symptoms without objective findings face skepticism. When tests appear normal, yet complaints persist, providers sometimes attribute symptoms to anxiety, stress, or health anxiety rather than undetected organic disease. Women particularly report having symptoms dismissed or minimized, especially regarding pain and neurological complaints.

Persistence and self-advocacy made the difference for Marklin. Her medical knowledge helped her navigate healthcare systems and insist on a thorough evaluation. Many patients without her background might accept initial reassurance and stop seeking answers, allowing the disease to progress undiagnosed until symptoms become undeniable.

My Personal RX on Recognizing Early Dementia Warning Signs

Memory complaints in young adults rarely turn out to be Alzheimer’s disease, yet dismissing every concern risks missing the few cases that truly represent early-onset dementia. Marklin’s story illustrates how easily symptoms get attributed to pregnancy, stress, poor sleep, or normal forgetfulness when patients are decades younger than the typical diagnosis age. She knew something was wrong, but faced months of medical reassurance before testing confirmed her worst fears. Forgetting conversations, repeating questions, mixing up words, losing objects frequently, and struggling with familiar tasks all warrant assessment when they represent changes from previous function. Younger patients face special challenges getting diagnosed because providers expect age-appropriate presentations and may discount symptoms that seem mild compared to advanced dementia.

1. Reduce Inflammation That Accelerates Decline: Systemic inflammation worsens Alzheimer’s pathology and speeds progression. MindBiotic provides probiotics, prebiotics, and Ashwagandha KSM 66 that reduce inflammatory markers, support gut-brain axis communication, and may slow cognitive deterioration.
2. Document Baseline Cognitive Function: Younger adults suspecting problems should request formal neuropsychological testing that establishes baseline performance. Future assessments can then track changes objectively rather than relying on subjective impressions.
3. Insist on Proper Testing: Normal MRI and blood tests don’t rule out early Alzheimer’s. Request specialized biomarker testing, amyloid PET scanning, and referral to memory disorder specialists if symptoms persist despite initial normal results.
4. Track Family History Carefully: Document which relatives had dementia, what type if known, and ages at onset. A strong family history of Alzheimer’s, especially early-onset cases, should prompt genetic counseling to discuss testing options.
5. Eat to Protect Brain Cells: Mediterranean-style diets rich in vegetables, fruits, fish, olive oil, and whole grains are associated with reduced Alzheimer’s risk and slower progression. Mindful Meals cookbook offers 100+ doctor-approved recipes with anti-inflammatory ingredients and brain-protective nutrients.
6. Advocate Persistently for Answers: Providers may dismiss concerns in younger patients as stress or anxiety. If symptoms continue or worsen despite reassurance, request second opinions and specialist referrals. Trust your instincts about your own cognition.
7. Plan Early After Diagnosis: Early-stage Alzheimer’s allows time to make financial plans, establish legal documents like powers of attorney, discuss care preferences, and create memory projects before the disease progresses.

Source:

Mendez, M. F. (2019). Early-onset Alzheimer disease and its variants. CONTINUUM Lifelong Learning in Neurology, 25(1), 34–51. https://doi.org/10.1212/con.0000000000000687