Not diagnosed yet

Mackiamoose

LO changing over past year. Needs support with cooking, using the tv remote, unable to work her phone, can’t go to dr appointments alone and can no longer drive. I am managing these changes and take what bits of time I have to use a meditation app. At any rate, she declines to talk about this with her dr of thirty years. I am hoping she seeks him out for help. My LO is 59 years old.

M1

Hi macklamoose, maybe you can give the doc a heads up about what you're seeing? Even if he can't answer back, if he knows your concerns hopefully he'll take it seriously and can rule out treatable illnesses. Many folks with early dementia are unaware of their deficits.....not just denial, but anosognosia, part of the disease

Ed1937

Mack, I agree with M1. Write a note to the doctor, and give it to the person where you sign in. Tell them the doc needs to read it before he/she sees your LO. I've done this several times, and every time it has had a positive outcome.

French

Mack, I agree with the others. The dr can be very long to understand what’s happening. After one year, my partner dr was still thinking it was a burn out. I finally decided to go with him to an appointment and then explained what I was living. He had noticed some changes but couldn’t imagine we where so far in this disease. All the abilities you mentioned were also lost or unsafe (driving, ironing)

harshedbuzz

Mack-

Anosognosia is the side dish most often served with dementia. 

Many people with dementia can not appreciate that there has been any shift in their own cognition or ability to function fully. Their reality is that they are just fine.

If you are close enough, take her to the appointment after having sent a bulleted list of your concerns ahead of time plus a backup copy to hand to the tech at check-in. Once in the exam room, sit behind and in the sightline of the doctor so you can nonverbally communicate whether what she reports is accurate or pure fiction. 

HB