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TraceeIvy · February 5

My husband hasn't been diagnosed with dementia yet but he has many of the symptoms he went from just minor memory issues to Second stage dementia in 4 months we still haven't seen a neurologist it will be a month and 1⁄2 before we can. I'm concerned That this is progressing so quickly that something should be done now And if we wait a month and 1⁄2It could be detrimental to him. He is experiencing paranoia Hallucinations Difficulty distinguish in reality from dreams and Isn't able to even dress himself now Independent just a few memories. I don't know what I should do

TraceeIvy · February 5

I'm sorry but the end of that was supposed to say A few months ago he was independent with just a few memory issues Exactly 4 months to this day From what I have been reading he's in second stage dementia. I really need some advice If any body can give me If any body can give me some I really appreciate it thank you

persevere · February 5

Initially I misread your post. I thought he 'had' been diagnosed. You should discuss this with your primary doctor. He/she has the ability to prescribe medications that would help. Typically, Aricept is the first drug prescribed which is advertised to slow the progression. Also he/she can prescribe anti-psychotics such as serequol for hallucinations/delusions. We took a different route in using the Mayo clinic for the diagnosis but it was our primary doctor who first performed simple tests to determine memory issues and he was our primary source for handling issues up until I brought in hospice for my wife.

H1235 · February 5

Welcome. Unfortunately 1 and1/2 months to see a neurologist really isn’t that long. There may be something to slow progression(maybe )in the early stages, but the only other thing to do is treat the symptoms (sorry). Have other treatable causes been ruled out by his pcp? This is very important. The symptoms you are describing don’t sound like stage 2. Most in this group use the 7 stage model. It sounds like he is around stage 5. My mom has vascular dementia. This is usually caused by strokes or mini strokes. Because of that the progression tends to move in a stair step type fashion, with some bigger drops rather than the slow and steady decline of Alzheimer’s. I will attach a staging tool that might be helpful. Have you seen a lawyer yet? A DPOA is very important if her is still able to sign legal documents. A living will is also important. Keep in mind he can’t make decisions for you if you needed to be hospitalized. I’m so sorry you need to be here, but glad you found us.

DBAT.pdf

understanding-the-dementia-experience.pdf

Anosognosia and Dementia - AgingCare.com.pdf

harshedbuzz · February 5

@TraceeIvy

Hi and welcome. I am sorry for your reason to be here but pleased you found this place.

I am also sorry for the frustration you are feeling right now vis a vis a neurologist. It is the nature of the specialty— intake appointments and further testing can mean waits in part because of a shortage in specialists and the time it takes to work up each patient.

I agree that starting with your PCP to begin the diagnostic process with bloodwork, screening and imaging is a great place to start if you haven't aleady done so. There are conditions that can mimic dementia, mom had Lyme Disease causing anxiety and memory glitches and dad had a vitamin deficiency. A friend's mom had a brain tumor.

Your PCP can prescribe the standard oral medications which can help some individuals function day-to-day and may be willing to prescribe an atypical antipsychotic to ease delusions and hallucinations (which are seen, heard, smelt in real time when awake, btw). If your doc won't a geri-psych is the subspecialist in these kinds of meds.

Two things struck me about your post. One is that you description of your DH's onset of meddle-stages seems sudden. Sometimes this is because the person has vascular dementia which can progress in a stair-step manner— one day able to do x,y, and z and the next x and y are beyond them and z is iffy at best. That said, any time a PWD has a very sudden downturn especially with mood or behaviors, it is prudent to have the see a PCP to rule out an infection like a silent UTI.

The other thing is that dementia onset can be quite subtle in presentation to those living with the person. This is especially true when the PWD has a lot of cognitive reserve going into the disease process. It can be hard to see things like poor executive function, loss of reasoning skills or worsening apathy. Sometimes a spouse doesn't normally witness losses are around areas like toileting (skipping handwashing or putting used TP in the trash, forgetting to flush while areas like speech remain normal.

HB

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