New & Scared

moferry1

Hello, my husband just had a brain scan and one doctor said it showed early signs of Alzheimer's. When we went to see his general practitioner and the doctor who ordered the scan, he said no that the scan showed normal narrowing of arteries & veins and some shrinkage of the brain that he found normal for a 79 yr old man. I think I should take him to a specialist for another opinion. He forgets things right after I've told him. Hanging on to a set of keys has been nearly impossible. Lately he talks about things that never happened. Is that normal for Dementia or Alzheimer's?

Maru

There is normal forgetfulness in aging, so that in and of itself may be nothing. And, depending on what is the norm for you and your DH, forgetting right after asking a question may just be that he only half listens. But the confabulation is a whole other matter. I would probably be looking for someone to find the root cause.

Ed's mom

Take him to a specialist. We did that game of "it's normal aging" for too long. We live the reality not an office visit. Proof is in the scan. Early? Great, then get going now. Doesn't make me popular with LO.

jgreen

Dear @moferry1 Welcome to the club no one wants to join. So sorry you have to be here.

@Maru and @Ed's mom gave you some good advice. I agree you want to consult a specialist, neurologist or neuropsychologist. If you are close to a university or facility involved in dementia research, that would be my choice.

The cognitive exam should take at least 45 minutes or more - not the 15 minute exam in a general practitioner’s office. I am going to attach a tool to evaluate if your DH is exhibiting any of those symptoms. The first 3 stages are very hard to pinpoint anything because our LOs do a great job compensating for cognitive losses. You will see that confabulation is a behavior in stage 4 which is middle stage. It is in the middle stage where most of our LOs are diagnosed. Writing down any other behaviors you see exhibited will be good info to share with a specialist.

Dementia Behavioral Assessment.pdf

Also know there is a blood test for Alzheimer’s Disease - the most common of the dementias. I recommend you ask that he have this particular blood test to rule in/rule out Alzheimer’s.

No matter the outcome, I highly recommend you hire an Elder Care Attorney and get all financial and legal paperwork taken care of. As we get older we should be thinking on those lines.

Take care and let us know the outcome of your quest for a diagnosis.