Meds - dumb question?

DSDK

we finally got my mom to go to a Dr for a “well” checkup. Before the appt we were able to give the Dr a heads up about the memory issues, paranoia and anger towards my dad. The Dr was great. Never mentioned us contacting her and tried to be as comprehensive as she could while dancing around the memory/dimentia concerns so she wouldn’t shit down the whole thing.. While at the appt Dr found moms blood pressure was high. Dr gave meds for that and also a low dose of Donepezil. We only told her the pills were for blood pressure thinking she would be ok taking them. Hasn’t worked. She fights us about taking them and hasn’t been consistent so we aren’t sure it is helping. We also found out the blood test the Dr did to see if she has Alzheimer’s came back negative. Dr wants to still do MRI but not sure she will ageee to it. Coukd the MRI show something else more definitive?

SDianeL

glad you got her to the doctor. If she refuses the meds, ask the doctor if they can be crushed and put in applesauce or pudding. Not all pills can be crushed. An MRI will show white matter disease and if she’s having mini strokes. Ask the doctor for help getting her there. Sometimes they will listen to the doctor when they won’t the caregiver.

Prjen816

I am sorry to hear you are going through this. I am new to this site but wanted to reach out because I know how helpless this can feel. Your situation was similar to mine. I stumbled into assisting and now managing medical appointments, medications, follow-up, knower of everything type stuff. Primary care physician was notified of concerns and did they best he could to diagnose but he didn't specialize in memory loss and demonstrated limited knowledge on the subject. It started with MRI of the brain, complete blood work up, urine sample, etc. I had no idea how this was diagnosed but based on my online research (only option) the approach made sense. We were expecting a diagnosis after the MRI…no.

Blood work came back with a severely low Vitamin B12 level, urinary tract infection and the MRI was perfect, no shrinking, no indication of any concern. No diagnosis. Prescribed B12 daily but didn't communicate that a deficiency in B12 can be a sign of dementia - I researched everything. MRI is generally recommended but it doesn't mean it will show anything. It wasn't imaging that ultimately diagnosed my father (which was just last Thursday, 9/4). It was FINALLY getting an appointment with a neurologist who performed gentle conversational cognitive testing - About 3 hours lots of talking Diagnosis - Alzheimer's

I have learned that I have to steer the ship, no one cares the same way you do, push for what you think is the best approach, continue to communicate before appointments to strategize with healthcare team. Ask for a referral to a neurologist. The wait was 6 months for us. You have to move people to do their job sometimes, it can become consuming. Ask your physician if they have experience with diagnosing the disease. I asked…he said no. His oldest patient is 60, my dad IS 71. He did eventually say he had "dementia" a month ago, but only after my father started making financial choices that were harmful and demonstrating a decline in his decision making which is when we got the referral.

My dad was prescribed Donepezil, he had gastro issues but seems to handle it better now. He was prescribed this by his primary care doctor before we had seen neurologist. Be aware - if your loved one has a slower heart beat the medication could be dangerous. We didn't know this until we went to the Neurologist last week who performed and EKG on my father and said he is riding the line and we would need to do a follow-up EKG in 30 day to ensure his heart was handling the medication. Our primary care physician didn't perform an EKG or conduct any testing before prescribing. We discontinued it after the gastro issues and just restarted after being re-prescribed by his neurologist.

You are doing an admiral job, it can be exhausting and a literal roller coaster. You are doing the right things, even when it feels like your not.

Ask for a referral if you can and keep reaching out.

SDianeL

if she is elderly a definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s vs dementia isn’t really necessary. If Early Onset she might qualify for clinical trials but those haven’t shown much benefit yet except they might prolong the progression. It’s more important to get her medications regulated in my opinion. Ask for a referral to a Geriatric Psychiatrist. They are best to regulate the anti psychotic medications. You will need a new fib to get her there.