Neuro-psych evaluation

brupt30

My DH was diagnosed with MCI over a year ago, although I never felt that his neurologist did a complete evaluation. While I think that he got us started on the right path with Aricept and Cymbalta, we never got much info from him other than the MCI conclusion and now quarterly visits that just last a few minutes. I discovered that our local Alzheimer's Disease Research Center conducts memory evaluations and they accepted his application. They conducted their evaluation last week, which was essentially a full neuro-psych assessment that took several hours and included interviews with a nurse, psychiatrist, neurologist, and social worker (they interviewed us separately). I found the team to be truly amazing and very compassionate. We are due to return in a month for a shorter meeting to review their findings.

While I'm very happy that we are on a path to get more specific info and the center has opened up a wealth of support and resources, it seems to be taking my DH a long time to recover from the stress of the evaluation. Has anyone else experienced this? It's been almost a week and he continues to be exhausted and slightly more confused. I have to admit that I was pretty exhausted after the session too, but my DH is taking a long time to bounce back and I'm hoping that his decline is temporary.

I always have mixed feelings about seeking answers, since my LO vacillates between wanting detailed info, and getting overwhelmed with thinking about what the future holds.

Timmyd

my DW reluctantly agreed to seek treatment for her memory problems when she was in her late 50's. We live in a big city eventually landed at the "memory clinic" which was run by the local university medical center. The people we interacted with were sympathetic and professional. DW hated everything about that place, especially the 3 hour neuro-psych evaluation. Those visits to the memory clinic were exhausting for both of us. It normally took days to recover. DW clearly understood the diagnosis of EO ALZ. In the following months it was clear that nothing of benefit came to either of us by discussing the disease and related prognosis. We decided to focus on quality of life. In the years since, the disease has gone on to do what it does….

SDianeL

It would help if you posted how old your DH is. Is he EO? It seems that many Neurologists only do the initial diagnosis of MCI because anything more definitive is difficult to determine. They can rule out some things but some require a spinal tap. I would not put my LO through that unless absolutely necessary. The disease is progressive and there is no cure. Maybe that’s why the Neurologists are so vague? I found Neurologists were no help. The only doctor who helped was a Geriatric Psychiatrist who prescribed anti-psychotic meds for anxiety, hallucinations and anxiety. My DH went theough the NeuroPsyche exam and he too was worse after. It took him a few weeks to return to baseline. The only thing that I learned from the grueling exam was that he was having visuospatial difficulties and should no longer be driving. I never discussed dementia with my husband. It caused him unnecessary anxiety. When the doctor prescribed a new medication if he asked what it was for, I said “to help your brain” and he accepted that. I found this community the best place for info and support. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn't found this forum. I felt so lost and alone. If you haven’t done so, see an Elder Care Attorney and get your legal affairs in order. DPOA and Medical POA , etc. don’t delay. Read the book “The 36 Hour Day” which helped me understand dementia and gave tips on caregiving. Come back often.

brupt30

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/263525#Comment_263525

Thank you - my DH is 73. I've taken the advice of this wonderful community and gotten our affairs in order, in addition to reading "the 36 Hour Day". As we work through the initial findings from the research center, I'm thinking more about his original neurologist, whose motto is "the treatment should not be worse than the disease"…was your husband with you when you met with the doc to review results of the neuropsych exam? The research center is very open about testing for Alzheimer's and/or other types of dementia and have us scheduled for a group meeting to review their findings.

Jgirl57

yes, my DH was very tired and I knew he did not want to talk about the long evaluation. After about a week, I filled our days with some “ fun” activities. Movie matinees, botanical gardens and he seemed to be a bit better. This was a very stressful time and he was very accusatory to me about money, lost items and general agitation towards me. Zoloft was started for him and that helped.

Jgirl57

also, for us the full results came in just as the world was starting shutting down for COVID, so our results were on a telehealth call