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Seems to be progressing quickly

Call me Gram
Call me Gram Member Posts: 144
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edited December 2025 in Caring For a Spouse or Partner

Just two weeks ago, my DH was diagnosed w/amnestic MCI with concern for Alzheimer's. The neurology team ordered a "more thorough" MRI (than DH previously had), a PET scan, and the APOE blood test. Once those tests are complete, they will meet with us to discuss a plan.

Today, DH asked me how my mother was doing. My mother died in 2017. It wasn't just a normal situation either, because I was in a car crash on my way to be with my family on that same day (which DH has also forgotten). These very dramatic incidences seem like something DH should remember, as they are not "short term" memory, but life history (from my own perspective).

Is this something I should put in a message to the neurologist right now, on DH's patient portal app? Or am I overreacting and should I just wait to provide this info with other notes when we see the neurology team in a couple months?

Is this a routine symptom for stage 4? (…my own presumption as to where DH is on the DBAT or FAST scale)

Sometimes I panic and need to reel myself in… so your advice is deeply appreciated!!

Comments

  • terei
    terei Member Posts: 875
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    I would continue to make notes and make sure the dr has them prior to the appointment to review.

  • Quilting brings calm
    Quilting brings calm Member Posts: 3,147
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    Proceed with the tests. Have they suggested any medication like Donepezil for memory?

    There’s not really much to do until they get the testing done and decide treatment based on that.

  • SDianeL
    SDianeL Member Posts: 3,269
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    if he is having long term memory loss, perhaps he’s moving into Stage 5. Does he have any other behaviors of Stage 5? I would make a note of all of his behaviors and discuss with the Neurologist. Sometimes they can remember things in their past and sometimes they can’t. Someone explained it here that their brain is like a loose wire. Sometimes it connects and sometimes not. I found that doctors were no help. This online community helped me more than anything. I don’t know what I would have done without these wonderful caregivers.

  • harshedbuzz
    harshedbuzz Member Posts: 6,425
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    @Call me Gram

    I suspect he's further along and that your estimate of early stage 5 is spot on.

    It's telling that he forgot this incident as often events with strong emotional content are recalled longer than more mundane ones from the same period of time. We saw this in my dad in stage 5; he often conflated memories, which felt like rewriting family history, in stage 4. In stage 5 he could not reliably recall whether my sister (his favorite and mini-me) was still alive.

    FWIW, often neurologists will offer the MCI diagnosis initially and re-evaluate at a 6-month follow-up even when it's obvious to gamily that it's more than that.

    HB

Commonly Used Abbreviations


DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
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