I'm still good though and even if I experience it, you know that there's this fear of knowing the truth and being diagnosed with something that I may have a hard time accepting. And that's the reason why I'm just ignoring it for now. I've already told my immediate family that my memory isn't like before and I'm easy to forget things but so far as I've said, it's manageable. I'm scared somehow as I see stories like this but yeah until it becomes too much for me, I'll just enjoy things while I can.

Dear PrivacyG, I feel almost devastated to hear about your medical condition... I read your topic last night, yet when I woke up in the morning I hoped it was just a dream. Sadly, it wasn't and here we are... What makes me even more sad is the fact that you are not 60+ years of age (or so I believe) thus you have all your life in front of you...

If I may, I'd like to share two things about this illness.

First of all, when I moved in the apartment I am owning now, at that moment I rented it. It was the property of a nice old lady which I knew since I was a child. And she was old since I was a child. Time passed, I grew up and she became even older. When I rented the apartment she was already for a few years inside an asylum, as she had Alzheimer and she needed someone to take care of her all day long. I paid rent here for about 9 years. I wanted to buy it but I could not. Her daughters could not sell the apartment as they needed their mother signature on papers and no authority would accept the old lady's signature, since she had Alzheimer. So practically they told me they will sell (me) the apartment but only after their mother will die.

This happened 9 years later and I believe the old lady was inside the asylum for more than a decade, while having Alzheimer for even a longer time. I think she was 80+ when the sad moment happened.

What I'm trying to say, as an encouragement, is that you can live with this illness. Try to fight it, by using your brain, as much as you can. But the most important thing is that you can live with it. Having someone around is necessary, but you can have a normal life.

The second thing I wanted to suggest is this one: do you like to resolve crosswords? Don't take this as a joke, as I am seriously suggesting it to you. I am a big fan of crosswords and I am having this hobby for many, many years, since I was a child. I guess I saw adults around me solving crosswords and, since children imitate adults, this is what I did... Solving crosswords is a way to enrich your lexicon, to become more cultivated and also, a way for training your brain. Some are easier to resolve, some are so difficult that you'll never make it. Yet constantly resolving these innocent puzzles may be a good training for your brain and for your memory as well.

I hope this helps. May you be well, dear PrivacyG!

as said before but continuing

brain learning
dont just stick to cross words or sudoku all day. as thats just energising one part of the brain which after a few attempts is not really training. its just entertaining the brain
if your getting too good at it. its time to stop and try something else

do different things. literally everything that has a strategy to it where you need to learn something
proper strategy things like them "locked room" puzzles, math, riddles, heck even trying different recipes of fried chicken herbs and spices until you worked out the KFC secret recipe

anything that makes you think and try different things will help your brain

find random facts about something
whats the atomic weight of carbon
what breed of crab has the longest pincers
what is the fastest growing tree

if you have a certain hobby. learn all you can about it

learning new skills doesnt just stretch your brain. but it also gives you new things to think about and also talk to family about, they will thank you for not repeating the same joke they heard all their life and the same childhood story for the 1000th time.
 
find proper strategy games which have riddles that reveal where the next stage of the puzzle is
even things like snooker(pool) or bowls where you have to work out the angles.
golf. archery where you have to work out wind speed and distance and trajectory

as for independence.
dont be too proud to think you dont need aids or help from others.
you said you dont want to get to a point of having a recording device around your neck but in the long run its much better then getting embarrassed that you forgot why you stood up walked halfway up the stairs and forgot why you went up the stairs and then argued with family about some lame excuse of how your fine and you dont need help and such

having kitchen appliances with timers is not surrendering. its keeping your independence you wont wont to be in a position of cooking some friend chicken and forgetting the deep fat fryer is on until the fire alarms are blaring out. use airfryers with timers the chime after XX minutes and shut off by themselves. the chime will remind you that you have chicken cooking without burning the house down. so you can then continue making your food without worry. or needing supervision

having things like a bottle of drink near your bed or where you normally sit. so if thirsty you have quick access, and not need to get up walk around and forget why you got up. it will keep you hydrated and healthy.
dont fear using aids or appliances that can help you. its not surrendering, its actually fighting back.

if your having issues with medication routines. there is nothing wrong with setting up calendar appointment alerts on your phone to chime out an alarm reminder at certain times of the day.

dont think of a voice recorder as a bad thing. think of it as a if you are making a podcast to yourself like a mini biography where in a few months/years you may want to listen to yourself about what you did this time last year/month
(like a journal/memory book but easier to take notes), it may even help your family have memories of your in your voice they can listen to in many many decades time when you die of old age in your 90's+

and wink wink it just so happens that you may hint hint rewind your podcast by a couple minutes should you have a foggy moment and no one is the wiser. and you remind yourself what you were about to do without bothering anyone and without them knowing. so you can get on with your day independently