in need your opinions

lordofflies

Hello,

First of all, I'm not from the USA. 

5 years ago I took my mom (72) to a neurologist because there was some problem with her memory. I don't remember now what exactly, but it was apparently serious enough for me to take her to see a doctor (I live with my parents). There was no problem seen in her mri, but her cognitive test was 26 or 25. Doctor said "this might be nothing or might turn to sth serious in the future" Wrote lustral and ginkgo type of supplements. 

Then she lost her brother. And she became very depressed. And I noticed she started to mix her medications, short memory deteriorated, didn't remember the tv show we watched together. I took her to geriatric cilinic, they did some tests, but said she didn't have dementia. Later, she underwent a minor operation and had to stay at the hospital for 5 days and it was hell. She stayed at the hospital many times before, never behaved like this. She was agitated. She even tried to escape from the hospital. And couple of months later my father passed away suddenly. She became extremely withdrawn. Short term memory deteriorated more. Stopped wanting to do anything, taking no initiative about anything. No track of time. But she was physically fine. She styled her hair, drew her eyebrows, could take shower, brush her teeth, etc. Still no diognosis from the geriatric doctors despite her terrible short term memory. Could not make any plans, remember plans, date, year. She couldn't follow tv shows plot, remember any important developments in the world... After two years confabulations started. She began to say my father sold our house - not true, esp at nights she couldn't figure out where she was, she couldn't remember her house where she had been living for 27 years. And there was a story about my cousin's husband cheating which never happened. Once I went to the grocery store at noon, she forgat where I went, couldn't reach me, and she came to the store to look for me: I still don't understand why she did that, I wasn't late (an hour maybe) and at the end I was going to return to our home. But she was still physically able. But in perpetual state of grief because of my fathers passing. I couldn't take her to the doctors because of pandemic, but also I want to change doctors, go to another geriatric clinic. Because I think she clearly has dementia. What do you think? Thank you so much... I'm very sorry for my grammar mistakes... 

M1

Your grammar is fine. Your observations are more important than the doctor's-she is obviously ill, obviously demented. Do you have a plan for taking care of her? She may benefit more from medications to control her behaviors and anxiety than from medications for the dementia itself. You need to be sure that any treatable causes have been ruled out and that is usually done with blood tests if her imaging was normal. Good luck.

harshedbuzz

Hello and welcome.

I agree with M1- as someone who lives with your mom 24/7 you have a better sense of how well your mom is functioning than a doctor who gives a brief screening test. The tests like MOCA and MMSE are meant to quickly screen and identify those people who should be further evaluation. Sometimes, especially early in the disease, a person who is intelligent/well educated will score "normal" despite having real changes in cognition and behavior. My own dad got an average score about 6 months before he died from complications of Alzheimer's; immediately after, he got into the wrong car when it was time to leave.

Your experience with the hospitalization is not unusual. This behavior is sometimes the first clue that a person is headed into dementia. Usually there is an improvement to baseline at home followed by a slower decline. 

I would talk to her doctors about medication which can be used to relieve anxiety and see if that improves things for her. And I would start to make plans for her care in the future. It sounds as if the days of leaving her alone in the house are coming to an end.

HB

lordofflies

Thank you for your answer. Yes, she's given anxiety medication. Blood and urine tests were fine. I think she's getting worse neurologically. Thank you...

lordofflies

M1 wrote:

Your grammar is fine. Your observations are more important than the doctor's-she is obviously ill, obviously demented. Do you have a plan for taking care of her? She may benefit more from medications to control her behaviors and anxiety than from medications for the dementia itself. You need to be sure that any treatable causes have been ruled out and that is usually done with blood tests if her imaging was normal. Good luck.

Thank you for your answer. I took her to see a psychiatrist after my father's passing. She gave her anxiety medications and also aricept. But geriatric doctor made us stop using aricept saying "she doesnét have alzheimers". Her blood and urine tests were fine. I think she's getting worse neurologically. Her "bad" times are increasing. Thank you very much...

lordofflies

harshedbuzz wrote:

Hello and welcome.

I agree with M1- as someone who lives with your mom 24/7 you have a better sense of how well your mom is functioning than a doctor who gives a brief screening test. The tests like MOCA and MMSE are meant to quickly screen and identify those people who should be further evaluation. Sometimes, especially early in the disease, a person who is intelligent/well educated will score "normal" despite having real changes in cognition and behavior. My own dad got an average score about 6 months before he died from complications of Alzheimer's; immediately after, he got into the wrong car when it was time to leave.

Your experience with the hospitalization is not unusual. This behavior is sometimes the first clue that a person is headed into dementia. Usually there is an improvement to baseline at home followed by a slower decline. 

I would talk to her doctors about medication which can be used to relieve anxiety and see if that improves things for her. And I would start to make plans for her care in the future. It sounds as if the days of leaving her alone in the house are coming to an end.

HB

Thank you for your answer. Yes, my mother used to be a teacher and she's well enough to give some "normal" impression to other people. Everyone thought she was only depressed because of the losses she experienced, but they all had simple and short conversations with her. Whereas with mei everything is repetative. And like you said, after that hospitalization, her condition got better at home. Thank you very much...

KawKaw

As the others have commented, your observations are important to help understand what is happening with your mother.

While grief can wreak havoc on memory, mood and cognition in general, what you describe is beyond that by a mile.

Your experience with her in the hospital is similar to mine with my mother with dementia.

You mentioned her doctors don't believe she has dementia, but the psychiatrist prescribed aricept.  Is there a reason you cannot continue to follow the psychiatrist's advice despite what the other doctors have said?

I don't know what medical professionals you have access to in your area.  I would suggest exploring the option of having her assessed by specialists in Alzheimers and dementia.  Azheimer's is not  the only cause of symptoms of dementia.

If you phone 800 272 3900, you can ask to speak with an Alzheimer's association care specialist.  This is as trained social worker who can advise you and give you contact phone numbers for help in achieving your caregiving goals.

Good luck!  I am glad you found this message board.

lordofflies

KawKaw wrote:

As the others have commented, your observations are important to help understand what is happening with your mother.

While grief can wreak havoc on memory, mood and cognition in general, what you describe is beyond that by a mile.

Your experience with her in the hospital is similar to mine with my mother with dementia.

You mentioned her doctors don't believe she has dementia, but the psychiatrist prescribed aricept.  Is there a reason you cannot continue to follow the psychiatrist's advice despite what the other doctors have said?

I don't know what medical professionals you have access to in your area.  I would suggest exploring the option of having her assessed by specialists in Alzheimers and dementia.  Azheimer's is not  the only cause of symptoms of dementia.

If you phone 800 272 3900, you can ask to speak with an Alzheimer's association care specialist.  This is as trained social worker who can advise you and give you contact phone numbers for help in achieving your caregiving goals.

Good luck!  I am glad you found this message board.

Thank you for your answer. I took my mother to the geriatric clinic for her memory loss, but all they did to try to regulate her medication. And they said aricept has many side effects and she doesn't have dementia so no need for aricept. Funny thing is I'm the only one they can communicate. My mom -who they claim just fine- just sits there and contribute nothing about her condition. She doesn't remember, and she doesn't care anymore. And this is a department in a big teaching hospital. But I'm definately going to take her to another doctor in the light of your comments. Thank you very much.