Mild Cognitive Impairment - What to expect?

KellyM-SC

My 92 year old mom was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment a couple of months ago, but has been having noticeable memory issues since having a heart valve replacement in July 2021 (she was under anesthesia 2x in 2 weeks). The CT scan she had several months ago did not indicate Alzheimers.  

Two weeks ago, my sister and I had our mom move into the home that we have shared for a few years. We made this decision because of our mom's increasing memory/cognitive issues. She never knows what day it is, often doesn't know the month, has a bad short-term memory, has lost things (glasses, keys), and most recently has said that she has done something that she clearly has not done (ex: "I got water from the pitcher in the fridge this morning" - there is no pitcher in our fridge, but there is in hers).  She has not ever expressed concern about her memory/cognitive issues. 

With this kind of diagnosis, I feel we are in a bit of a limbo zone. The symptoms seem to overlap with early Alzheimers (true?).   Some of what I've read on this site this evening makes me think that contacting a CELA would be a good idea, just to make sure things are in order from a legal perspective.  That's the easy part, I think. It's the day-to-day caregiving for someone who doesn't seem to have much volition left in terms of deciding on her own how to spend her time. 

This is definitely a rambling post. I guess I'm just looking for thoughts, similar experiences, support. 

RIM

My father was dx with MCI at 92.  He’s now 96 and his cognition hasn’t gotten worse, while actually improving over the years.  

He uses the Gamma Light and Sound App   https://www.alz.life (This requires an IPad Pro to emit the proper gamma light),  I give him Aroma Therapy as directed by Lane Simonian (a contributor on these message boards);  and have changed medications that have affected his memory and cognition. 

Hope your mom stays well. 

Iris L.

Welcome Kelly.  Read a lot of threads and you will get an idea of what to do.  Yes, now is the time to make legal and financial preparations with a CELA.

Iris L.

SusanB-dil

Hi KellyM - welcome to 'here', but sorry for the reason.

This may help understand a lot:  7 stages: 

https://www.alzheimers.net/stages-of-alzheimers-disease

Some reference, I think 3 stages.  but most of us here are more familiar with, and go by these 7. Seems to me to be more accurate.

Iris is totally correct - Very important to get DPOA and HIPAA accesses in order.  ASAP.

and yes - the stages can overlap, or rather, go back and forth.  MIL is firmly into stage 5, but can 'showtime' almost like being in stage 4. She cannot keep it up for very long, but she can fool a few people if they don't keep speaking to her longer than "hi, how you doing". She has stepped into stage 6 a few times as well, as far as yelling at me because she had no idea who I was a few times.  She will settle down and the next day it is usually back to '5'.  

One major thing to remember (even for me sometimes) is that you cannot reason with someone who's reasoning is broken. DH or I will sometimes forget, and get sucked into trying to reason. We often remind each other 'You can't reason with a cat'.

Quilting brings calm

Doctors are often reluctant to diagnose actual dementia, especially  with a new patient.  My mom is still officially  diagnosed with MCI, even though she’s been firmly in stage 4 ( mild dementia) for at least a couple years now.   Her NP in the neurologist’s office isn’t going to budge on that until her MMSE score dramatically drops or she is obviously living in her own reality.  She’s seen her multiple times in the last 18 months. 

On the other hand, my step-dads neuropsychologist has no problem with diagnosing him at stage 4 after 3 hours of testing, even with a low reading ability and fewer symptoms than my mom.  Should have  gotten my mom to keep her appointment with him during the pandemic.

I suggest you get the medical and full POA’s if possible.  Get her will updated if needed.  Get joint bank accounts for ease in you taking over her bills etc. 

consider her a stage 4 and act accordingly 

GothicGremlin

Hi Kelly -- welcome.

I agree with everything everyone has already said. Now that I have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, the one thing I would add is to continue building trust, empathize and validate - often.

When Peggy was going through the MCI phase (throughout her 50s), none of us recognized the symptoms. We didn't think Alzheimer's because she was so young. We all just thought she was overworked and tired. She'd forget her car keys everywhere, and we'd find them in odd places. She filed her driver's license with the CD collection she kept in her car, she became so very passive. She even mentioned to me once that she had made a mistake at work. Lots more, but none of us added it all up. Had I known back then, I would have done a few things differently.

At the MCI stage, had I known, I would have asked her more questions about how she was feeling, anything unusual going on (lack of sleep, lost items, vision/perception changes, etc.). Some people with dementia become suspicious of their caregivers, and I wanted to lessen the chances of that happening with Peggy. What I did then, and continue to do, is essentially everything I can to keep the lines of communication open.

I never argue with Peggy, I let her be right 100% of the time, even if she's dead wrong. Like others have said, your mom is not processing information the way she used to, so if you argue with her, she'll probably just get frustrated.

KellyM-SC

Thank you all for sharing valuable experiences and information.

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