How to diagnose Dementia vs Alzheimers?

Holmes

What are the steps to take when you start noticing memory, confusion, fear, sleeplessness etc.

Thanks so much!

H1235

Here is how the process went for us and I think this is fairly typical. We went to the pcp and presented a list of concerns we had been noticing. If the person with dementia is sensitive about these things(many are) you can write a note to the doctor prior to the appointment. At the appointment a very simple test was done. My mom did perfectly fine on this test, but because of my concerns they referred her to a neurologist. Warning! It may take months to get an appointment with the neurologist. The neurologist appointment took several hours and they asked a lot of questions. Some might have to go back for a second appointment for results, but we got results that day. She was diagnosed with dementia and told she should not drive or live alone. They gave us a chart that showed how she did in a few different areas (memory, executive functioning…). They were not able to diagnose a specific kind of dementia at that time. There was some imaging test, blood tests and another appointment with a different neurologist. That neurologist diagnosed her with vascular dementia.

Dementia is a general diagnosis. There are a few different kinds of dementia. Alzheimer’s is a kind of dementia. The link below shows the stages of dementia. I took much too long to get my loved one in to the doctor because I thought of dementia as being all about memory. It is so much more. This staging tool may help you to recognize things you did no know could be dementia related. I hope something here helps.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6372d16ea4e02c7ce64425b7/t/63f7b80d80d8aa3e3aa4a47d/1677178894184/DBAT.pdf

SDianeL

what H1235 posted. Start with Primary Care doctor. Send a message via portal or speak to them before the visit. Make a list of behaviors. Don’t show it to the person being diagnosed. Give it to the doctor before the visit. Get a referral to a Neurologist. They will probably do a brain scan. Some go to a Neuro Psychologist for a 4 hour test but knowing what I know now I wouldn’t put my DH through that. I found it best not to mention Dementia or Alzheimer’s to my husband. The Neurologist talked about white matter disease rather than saying those words be prepared to wait months to get an appointment with a Neurologist. Meanwhile read the book “The 36 Hour Day” which helped me after my DH diagnosis. Come here often for info and support.