who diagnosed your parent's dementia?

[Anonymous]

Until about a month ago my mother (82) showed signs of short term memory loss and fairly mild cognitive decline. Example: very hard for her to learn new things, like cell phone or remote but generally independent within an assisted living situation .A few weeks ago she started having back neuropathy and headaches, a UTI (now resolved) dehydration and some other issues that landed her in the hospital. SHe is out now and back at AL and, right now, with a caregiver I hired in addition tothe AL support (they will now give her medications, etc). But in the past few days she seems to go in and out of confusion, a bit of agitation, goes off topic while talking. I called a few neurology places and they have appointments in June or July. I'm hoping to get a better baseline sense earlier, in case I need to change her care situation. I can't tell if this is situational/medication related or a permanent change. Can a PCP diagnose?

[Anonymous]

My mother had a PCP basically say they THOUGHT she had dementia but referred her to a neurologist for an actual appointment. I think you should get her to a PCP appt as soon as possible. These symptoms could be dehydration or mini strokes.

[Anonymous]

PCP suspected dementia and referred to neurologist who did a brain scan and other tests and officially diagnosed. But this was when we were already pretty sure it was dementia: extreme decline in cognitive abilities and loss of ability to communicate as well. I don’t know how likely a PCP would be to diagnose or refer out. Good luck. Either way (dementia or not) it seems like she needs to go to the dr. and try to figure out what’s going on.

[Anonymous]

OP here, thank you. We have an appointment next week with her PCP just to go over all her recent health issues. She was just released from the hospital and the discharge notes included "possible dementia, recommend neurology follow up". What's throwing me is that one minute she seems perfectly fine and the next she's dotty. But perhaps this is typical of the onset.

[Anonymous]

What’s her eGFR? I’d suspect kidney disease.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thank you. We have an appointment next week with her PCP just to go over all her recent health issues. She was just released from the hospital and the discharge notes included "possible dementia, recommend neurology follow up". What's throwing me is that one minute she seems perfectly fine and the next she's dotty. But perhaps this is typical of the onset.

It’s definitely not uncommon with dementia, especially in the early days. That’s why it can take time to get a diagnosis - people can pass the screenings, etc. while still showing other signs.

[Anonymous]

What’s her eGFR? I’d suspect kidney disease.

She was dehydrated but all okay now. Reading more I think my mom has had signs for a few years (unable to keep up with bills, lots of short term memory issues and some confusion.) hard to see as it’s happening slowly but looking back I think it’s been a process that is not just “normal aging”.

[Anonymous]

Recheck to make sure UTI was resolved. UTI’s cause extreme confusion, falling and weakness in elderly. My parent was prescribed physical therapy after latest uti to help try to regain strength. My parents personality is like night and day when they have a uti. You would absolutely think they have dementia when they have a uti.

[Anonymous]

Does it matter? I am pretty sure my mom has dementia but since there aren’t really any medications that have definitely shown to help or any treatments what’s the point if a diagnosis?
There a cognitive tests you can give your mom. I gave my mom one I think was called the Montreal cognitive something. I give it to her every six months and unfortunately can see the decline. It’s the one where part of it is drawing a clock set to a time like ten minutes past 11.

[Anonymous]

My Mom was diagnosed in the hospital by a psychiatrist, she basically failed the tests. It's been a huge hassle getting her into a neurologist because of a lack of availability in her area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does it matter? I am pretty sure my mom has dementia but since there aren’t really any medications that have definitely shown to help or any treatments what’s the point if a diagnosis?
There a cognitive tests you can give your mom. I gave my mom one I think was called the Montreal cognitive something. I give it to her every six months and unfortunately can see the decline. It’s the one where part of it is drawing a clock set to a time like ten minutes past 11.

The point of a diagnosis is being able to get legal things in order. You can't just go get POA over someone that's deemed competent. That's elder abuse.

[Anonymous]

My brother and I took my mom for a neuropsychiatric evaluation after about 3 years of gradual but noticeable cognitive decline accompanied by anxiety and depression. The results of that evaluation indicated that she has Alzheimer's, and it was the determining factor in moving her out of her independent living situation and into a more supervised environment. Having an actual diagnosis (as opposed to "oh, she's just getting older and is forgetful sometimes") is helpful when planning for an elderly loved one's care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does it matter? I am pretty sure my mom has dementia but since there aren’t really any medications that have definitely shown to help or any treatments what’s the point if a diagnosis?
There a cognitive tests you can give your mom. I gave my mom one I think was called the Montreal cognitive something. I give it to her every six months and unfortunately can see the decline. It’s the one where part of it is drawing a clock set to a time like ten minutes past 11.

Yes, it matters for many reasons:
1.) It's a wake up call to get POA and start planning for her future decline,
2.) If you have her permission to tell friends and family, it's the difference between people assume she has become self-absorbed and rude with age and them accepting she has a disease and gently re-answering questions or changing the subject rather than thinking she doesn't care enough to remember important new things happening in their life.
3.) It's about not taking it personally if she starts making accusations about you or further evaluating when she is suddenly paranoid about the housekeeper she has had for 20 years.
4.) It's about getting things in order before she starts giving away her money to every person who tells her a sad story rather than keeping it for her own care.


There are so many reasons it makes a huge difference to know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does it matter? I am pretty sure my mom has dementia but since there aren’t really any medications that have definitely shown to help or any treatments what’s the point if a diagnosis?
There a cognitive tests you can give your mom. I gave my mom one I think was called the Montreal cognitive something. I give it to her every six months and unfortunately can see the decline. It’s the one where part of it is drawing a clock set to a time like ten minutes past 11.

Yes, it matters for many reasons:
1.) It's a wake up call to get POA and start planning for her future decline,
2.) If you have her permission to tell friends and family, it's the difference between people assume she has become self-absorbed and rude with age and them accepting she has a disease and gently re-answering questions or changing the subject rather than thinking she doesn't care enough to remember important new things happening in their life.
3.) It's about not taking it personally if she starts making accusations about you or further evaluating when she is suddenly paranoid about the housekeeper she has had for 20 years.
4.) It's about getting things in order before she starts giving away her money to every person who tells her a sad story rather than keeping it for her own care.


There are so many reasons it makes a huge difference to know.

Sadly it can also be about proving a family member is taking advantage of someone impaired. We have a sibling who is a doctor who was estranged from mom. Said sibling has gotten close to mom, is getting financial handouts and has convinced mom not to get a dementia evaluation claiming "it would be too upsetting to her" when in reality according to my brother she is trying to make it much harder to prove she took advantage of the disabled as she gets her financial gifts and other benefits. Mom is thrilled to finally be so close to her long lost daughter and she is thrilled that the doctor tells her she is just fine and doesn't need a cognitive evaluation. it would be impossible to convince her that a doctor, let alone one who she birthed, may not be giving her good medical advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does it matter? I am pretty sure my mom has dementia but since there aren’t really any medications that have definitely shown to help or any treatments what’s the point if a diagnosis?
There a cognitive tests you can give your mom. I gave my mom one I think was called the Montreal cognitive something. I give it to her every six months and unfortunately can see the decline. It’s the one where part of it is drawing a clock set to a time like ten minutes past 11.

I already posted, but since this was a point of contention with one of my siblings who thought like you, I feel the need to say more. Dementia can lead to some pretty terrible behavior. You want the person to be able to maintain social connections. Some people just become more difficult and self-centered with aging regardless of dementia, however, with dementia you could see that or a wide variety of other behaviors. If caregivers/family members/friends/medical staff know the person has dementia they will likely be more understanding than if it's just a person becoming really rude with age. If mom has a little explosion at her best friend/caregiver/driver and the person knows it's dementia, well then there is a whole toolbox of ideas to use to de-escalate. It's not personal. If mom is just a jerk and cannot hide it as well, people will just want to distance themselves. Think of it like if a dear friend had a brain tumor and started being rude to you, forgetting anything new you shared and she did strange things. You would care. You would be understanding. You would research how to respond. If your friend didn't have a brain tumor and behaved this way and everyone around her insisted she was fine, you would assume it was personal and distance yourself. Yes, people distance themselves from those with dementia too, but often they are willing to give it more of a try and they are more empathetic until it just becomes unbearable. Let people have an illness to blame so they can still show kindness and love to your parent.