diagnosis meaning?

mmccalli23

My husband was diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment secondary to Early Onset Alzheimers. I am unsure if that means he has Early Onset Alzheimer's and if I should apply for SSDI under the Compassionate Allowance, or if he is Mild Cognitive Impaired.

SDianeL

I would apply. Early Onset Alzheimer’s is the disease. MCI is secondary and is more like the stage or symptom. Just my opinion. I’m not a medical professional. Maybe @M1 can comment.

mmccalli23

Thank you. I just wasn't sure. Drs throw so much at us I wasn't sure what that meant.

elainechem

It seems like they always throw MCI at you at first because they're afraid to use the word Alzheimer's. That's what they did with my hubby. I thought, "Oh, good. That doesn't sound so bad." And then I researched what MCI was. My hubby was already way past that and well into early stage Alzheimer's by then.

Is your husband still working? They won't approve SSDI until he has been unable to work at all for five months.

mmccalli23

He ended work the end of January. He has not worked since then. It took a long time to get all the tests done

M1

Welcome to the forum mmccalli, though I am so sorry you are facing this. I would definitely go ahead and apply. The fact that they diagnosed early onset Alzheimer's is definitive and should be sufficient for his application to be fast tracked. I wouldn't even mention the mild cognitive impairment. It does seem that neurologists slap this label indiscriminately on everyone they see initially, no matter what their true stage is, almost like they're trying to ease you into the diagnosis or afraid you'll shoot the messenger. I think it's a BS knee-jerk practice that is not fair to anyone. In theory, there are cases of mild cognitive impairment that don't progress, but this is trumped in your case by the definitive Alzheimer's diagnosis. It would have been a more judicious call to say that he is both early onset and early stage.

This next comment is unsolicited, but It's always a good idea to get your legal and financial affairs squared away early. You will need to hold durable power of attorney for healthcare and finances for him, and your own papers should be updated so that he does not serve as your poa or executor ( you don't have to tell him, though--my partner would have been crushed when i removed her from my documents). You should also name a backup for him should something happen to you.

This is also bucket list time. Enjoy your time together while you can. Again I am so sorry....

mmccalli23

thank you. I do have POA and healthcare for him. I never thought of the other. I will do that. He did all the blood testing, spinal tap, clinical and neurologist tests so hopefully that helps. He is already processed for lemquembe so hopefully that helps. Thank you for all this information. It can be overwhelming.

cdgbdr

I'm so sorry to hear this. Definitely do apply.