medications & testing

I'd try to get as much testing as possible as early as you can. My mom had MCI, and by the time we actually got enough testing done, she is past the point of being able to participate in clinical trials. It seems if you can get a diagnosis early there may be more options for her. Eventually, we had an MRI, neuropsychological testing and a PT scan which provided basis for a diagnosis.

She was completely independent, taking care of the house, driving, etc. but she was starting to have some trouble with paying the bills and remembering certain things- for example, every time she saw my plug in hybrid car she'd ask if I ever plugged it in. My dad had Alzheimer's also, and she was really holding it together while he declined and passed away. When she expressed some concerns with memory issues, I suggested she go to a neurologist. It was with Kaiser. I liked that they had a whole team that focused on Gerontology and I liked her neurologist. It wasn't until a few years later (2-3 years) when we changed insurance and went to a different neurologist outside of Kaiser that we had someone who really helped us to get a diagnosis. Perhaps it was because she was further along that he pursued getting the diagnosis. I would say be aggressive (in an attempt at levity, think of a cheerleader saying "Be Aggressive! Be Be Aggressive! LOL). I mean, not necessarily with treatment/trials, but with getting more answers and a possible diagnosis. If you have a more clear understanding of what is going on, you will have more options to look at and it will help you in planning for the future. There is a new drug that was approved by the FDA- I'm not sure who would benefit from it. Medicare paid for the neuropsychological testing (a comprehensive analysis of her functional abilities) and after you do that, they will pay for a PT scan. I hope that helps. It's just one person's experience. Maybe others can chime in.

I'm so sorry to hear of your struggle. I'm no expert, but it sounds like more than MCI, but many of these difficulties with daily tasks could be due to depression, so maybe the prozac will kick in and help. But the repeating the questions over and over seems like more than MCI and depression to me. My mom recently started having some of those needs (meds, showering,) and she was just diagnosed with Alzheimer's, though we started the process of diagnosing about a year ago.

Oh wow. I can't imagine doing what you're doing. My mom is in an assisted living facility about 3 hours from me. 😫 It's killing me that she's far away and is struggling every day. I wish I could be with her- even thought of moving her in with me, but I know that would be way to hard for me. I'm looking to move her closer to me and to go from AL to MC... It's such a hard decision and I've been such a mess this week- high highs and low lows. Lots of tears. I've used the hotline twice and they are really a great help! If you're able to, I'd recommend the neuro-psychological testing. They spent 3 hours with my mom and did all sorts of test to really pinpoint which areas of her brain were effected.

Agree completely with housefinch, it's very hard to use as needed medications in people with dementia. Irene, i think that many times the professionals are reluctant to diagnose dementia at the initial evaluation and call a lot of things MCI that are clearly more advanced. Not sure why they do this, it may be a combination of not wanting to be the messenger who gets shot because of bad news, or of somehow wanting to "ease" the patient and family into the diagnosis. But I would tell you to trust your gut instincts, she likely does in fact sound more advanced than MCI. There's not a lot of downside to a trial of Prozac but I wouldn't have high expectations for major improvements either. Of the SSRI drugs it's probably the most stimulating, so it might help with apathy, but others like sertraline, Lexapro or Celexa may help more with anxiety. Paxil seems to be less commonly used in dementia patients though I'm not sure why.

Hello and my apologies but I just joined the group. My mother had MCI and it of course he’s gotten worse. Her neurologist first did a CT and then we did the MRI and cognitive testing. Though the MRI did not show much as far as “symptoms “, the cognitive testing proved otherwise. She has had multiple UTI’s which also have an effect on memory and confusion. She is currently on Aricept and Memantine which are supposed to slow the progression but honestly how can anyone know? She is also on two different antidepressants but is still combative, argumentative and just plain hurtful. It’s the disease.