Revealing diagnosis

I guess it depends &you & your family. I told my people immediatelIy. My sister didn't believe it & neither did her husband. They were dismissive of my information. My husband was with me when the physician told me I had MCI. He has been very sportive.

didi no real need to put off telling people you have ad. it is now part of your life as it is mine. the sooner you embrace your new situation the better. latter when your in public and a smpile task is taking longer you can say give me a minute i have alzheimers and you won't think a thing about it. you will find that your number of friends gets smaller but the real ones will understand. be kind to yourself, learn as much as you can,join with others that are in the same boat.dive into daily life get out note paper. i have alzheimers believe me i get it………

In the information I received with the results from my Lumbar Puncture, it is first noted that the laboratory used the "ADmark Phospho-tau Total-tau / AB42 test". A simple google search of this term indicates that several testing companies utilize this test (Quest Diagnostics, Athena Diagnostics, Mayo Clinic Laboratories, Allina Health Laboratory, ACL Laboratories, etc).

The test results provide four parameters: Amyloid-Beta 42 (AB42), Total-Tau (T-tau), Phosphorylated-Tau (P-tau, this is apparently a very bad kind of tau), and ATI (Amyloid-Total Tau Index)

Per the lab report I received, If P-Tau is less than 54 pg/mL and ATI > 1.2, then the results are not consistent with Alzheimer's (i.e. something else would be causing any memory problems, not Alzheimer's).

You are borderline with Alzheimer's if P-Tau is from 54-68 pg/mL and/or ATI 0.8 - 1.2.

The test confirms Alzheimer's if P-Tau > 68 pg/Ml and ATI < 0.8

My VA appointment was canceled do to the VA had no one to take me for my first appointment let's what happens next week/ I will keep my fingers crossed.

Hi DIDI, I have just rejoined this group and I was reading several responses. Please, DIDI, do not listen to anyone making medical suggestions!! Your doctor will tell you when you see him your diagnosis!!

I am a former RN BSN. One must be careful on these site when members overstep even though their intentions are good.

Take care

Please tell him.

I told all my family as soon as I decided what I was going to do as far as infusions etc and My husband and myself became educated on Alzheimers.

It is best to let the family go through th process with you. (of course my opinion)

I so appreciate seeing everyone helping and encouraging each other. This is not a journey to take alone, you need support of your family and friends. Then you'll need the support you find in support groups. DH & I began this journey 13 yrs ago, and I never dreamed of attending, much less leading eventually, a support group. It is where you are with people who totally understand what you are going through. Your family/friends understand on some levels, but they aren't walking the walk constantly.

It is very personal how & when you tell people your diagnosis. We told are DS & DIL immediately - they were aware that 'something' was going on. We gave ourselves several days of us - just us - to wrap our heads around what this meant. DH was 53, this wasn't something we'd expected. Then we told our closest couple friends - there were tears and prayers. Then we did the very unexpected - invited our very closest groups of friends to our house. They knew something was up, but again didn't know any details. After a bit, DH said he needed to talk and he shared what the neurologist had shared with us. He shared the upcoming tests, etc. And the hardest part was sharing he was put on immediate disability. His voice cracks, he had tears, I had tears, everyone had tears. But the beautiful thing that happened was the men immediately went to DH to hug him, & the women to me. And that's how it still is 13 yrs later - this group is close. That's our story, not everyone wants to be that open, but at DH's age we knew this was how we'd handle it.

eagle

You are doing the correct things didihamrick - asking questions and seeking answers. I can't imagine how difficult it was for you to have that discussion with the nurse, but bravo for you, you did it. That was brave of you. Of course you are devastated, this is the journey no one wants to go on. However, a strong support system makes a world of difference. Personally I'm glad your going to tell your husband. Just take a deep breath and say this is what I'm dealing with. He might ask questions you can't answer, that's fine or he might just get very quiet for awhile. You've had time to adjust to thinking about the possibility of a diagnosis, you are going to be telling him something out of the blue.

We want to help you as much as we can. That's why we are here. I think your being very brave.

eagle