Is it Anosognosia, Denial or just being a big Ole B?

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Just Bill

An MRI will show brain shrinkage. Other modalities can verify abnormalities that cause dementia. From what I have read if they were nice before they could be nice after. They could be mean before and mean after. They could be nice before and mean after. They could be mean before and nice after. I don't think they are aware of their change in personality even if they become aware they soon forget. Yes anosognosia is real. I think it would be harder to fake than it would be worth.

Josie in Podunk

As far as I know there is no test to show this.  It is merely the person with dementia/alzheimer’s is completely unaware they have it and, therefore, can become quite agitated when it is mentioned to them.

My husband has it and I have just learned to call it memory lapses or senior moments, which he accepts and moves on with what ever comes next in his mind.

He does have odd moments of clarity in which he is aware his mind doesn’t work as it once did.  Again, I don’t dwell on his diagnosis.

There is, to my mind, peace for him being unaware that his mind and memories are slowly being eroded by the disease.  Truthfully, with nothing to be done as a cure only one of us needs to worry about down the road.

It could change for him, but for now he is at peace with his life.

Iris L.

Anosognosia is present in other neurological diseases and conditions, not just the dementias.

Iris

Jo C.

Here is a good link regarding anosognosia:

https://dailycaring.com/6-ways-to-help-someone-who-doesnt-know-theyre-ill-anosognosia-in-dementia/

Sometimes the anosognoisa can fluctuate; a person may have complete anosognosia one day or part of a day, but then can swing to having only partial anosognosia for their condition, but once again the damaged brains fluctuation can swing back into complete anosognosia again.  That fluctuation can be very confusing for the caregiver and lead to thinking that their Loved One (LO) is doing this on purpose when they are not.

A person may have anosognosia for perhaps having dementia, but will be able to recognize other hindrances, such as mobility issues or other issue.  But again, for some, anosognosia is complete regarding having dementia changes. 

It is NOT purposeful, nor is the person manipulating, nor are the trying to control.  The brain has been damaged and the damaged parts of the brain are what induces ansognosia.

There is no scan that can detect this condition.   There are a couple of questionnaires that have been tried to use to determine if anosognosia may be present, but they are not accurate and are not considered foolproof or that useful.

It can be frustrating for the caregiver, but do know that your Loved Ones (LOs) reality is as solid for her as the chair you are sitting on. That is her reality.  We often must move into the sphere of our LOs reality for communicating and interacting as they are unable to enter actual real world reality; again, due to the damage that dementia has wrought in the brain.

Do look at the above link and the advice as to how to manage when caregiving for a person with dementia who has anosognosia.  I am so sorry this is happening, you are a good advocate in looking for information; that is a blessing for your wife.

J.

Paris20

My husband will never understand that he has AD. His anasognosia is total and complete and has been there since day one of diagnosis, which was in 2015. My experience has been that subtle and sophisticated behavioral machinations disappear quite early in dementia. There really is no denial. It just looks that way, but as time goes by we realize that our LO truly thinks all is well. I see deterioration, loss of abilities. My husband has never seen it. He still thinks he can drive, travel, even walk despite a paralyzing stroke. I have learned to let him say what he thinks is true, without comment, but then I do what’s necessary to keep him safe and happy.

rgm3

My wife has mild cognitive impairment which has been diagnosed as mild Alzheimers disease. I want her to start treatment with Lecanemab but she can not admit she has a problem and has been diagnosed also with anosognosia. Now her neurologist says that if she continues to deny she has a problem she may not get approved to get the Pet Amyloid study to diagnose her Alzheimers or get the Lecanemab treatment. Why? because she may drop out of treatment with her denial of a memory problem. This is like telling us she is being denied treatment because she has a common symptom of her disease. Is this fair? What can we the family do about this?

M1

hi rgm, welcome to the forum. This is an old thread, you will probably get more responses if you start a new discussion.

There are few people here who have been treated with lecanamab because it’s so new. The benefits are best in younger Caucasian men and not great in women. At best it appears to delay decline by about six months. A lot of people think that is a long haul for a short slide, including me. It wasn’t an option for my partner but even if it had been, I’m pretty sure I would have been in the same boat you find yourself in. My partner would not have cooperated. Given how difficult and time consuming the med administration is, I don’t think we lost much.

Phoenix1966

Lecanemab is given as an infusion, which takes an hour to administer, every two weeks. It would be impossible to get someone to willingly sit for that amount of time if they believed they had no cognitive impairment. And, as @M1 pointed out, at this time, only Caucasian men early in the disease seem to benefit the most.