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TomBrooklyn

Hi everyone!!!!
I am new to this site. My mom, I believe, is having some serious decline in her short term memory, and is demonstrating confusion. She does not realize that she has this problem. I need to get her to the Brain MRI, but she refuses. Any suggestions?

M1

Welcome to the forum Tom. She needs more than an MRI- she needs a comprehensive evaluation to include some blood work, and at the very least a cognitive screening test of some sort. Brain imaging including MRI does not necessarily show dementia, it rules out tumors and strokes. Does she have a good primary care doc? You should start there, and to get her to go, you may need to tell her a white lie (fiblet) that there's a new Medicare/insurance requirement, if you don't go you'll lose your coverage. Meanwhile, you need to talk to the doctors office ahead of time and be very specific with them about your concerns and behaviors you've noticed. This is preferably done in writing or through a patient portal. Families are always the first ones to note changes. Your mom and most people with dementia have anosognosia- part of the disease that prevents her from being able to appreciate her deficits. She probably thinks she's fine, that's why you have to resort to other strategies to get her evaluated and keep her safe.

Under Quick links And groups there's one for new members with links to frequently cited sources of information.