My mother has been diagnosed with mild dementia

[Ex Lurker]

Hi all, this forum doesn't seem to get much activity, but I hope someone reads this. My 76 y/o mom received this diagnosis from her primary physician. It was part of a followup exam after a hospitalization for the flu last month. He said it wasn't Alzheimers. He didn't seem overly concerned about it. No referral to a specialist, no prescription, no activity restrictions-she can do whatever she wants to do, including drive. To a layperson, dementia is a very scary word, so I'm at a loss for what to think about this. Is the definition for dementia so broad now that nearly everyone past a certain age qualifies on some level, or is this doc missing the boat, and should we be looking to get more proactive about it? Thanks in advance.

Edit: I don't know what criteria the Dr was using, I didn't talk to him, the information was relayed by my father. I see my mother several times a week, and apart from neurological symptoms caused by the flu, I haven't noticed anything. She had a a seizure, followed by a brief episode of delirium, and had a little amnesia about what happened that week, but it has quickly resolved, and she's bounced back nearly to normal, from what I can tell. I have read that when acute illness causes neuropsychiatric symptoms in an older person, it's a marker for dementia, but other than that, I don't know what he may be basing it on.

[elleng]

1. Wish I had some 'official' answers for you,

as I'm sure you're concerned. I suspect the definition is very broad. I think my mother had it also, for a few years before her death a few years ago, and life went on. During the 'process' she was diagnosed with cancer, which resulted in her death.

You could surely seek more opinions, and if/when symptoms become pronounced, there are meds that moderate the symptoms. For the time being, if you think she's capable of doing things, I'd let her do them, and encourage it. Would be bad to look at her askance with wondering eyes, resulting in her own uncertainty about her capabilities. (That's MY suggestion.)

You might also post at Seniors.

Good luck.

[Ex Lurker]

2. Thanks, good suggestions

I find myself overanalyzing everything she says now, looking for "signs." I know you can drive yourself crazy doing this, I'll repost this in seniors, too.

[elleng]

3. Yes, you can drive yourself crazy looking!

Take care of yourself.

[pnwmom]

4. If he thinks she has dementia, he should refer her to a neurologist.

If she is in the early stages of Alzheimers, there are some medications that might be worth trying. They won't cure the illness but they might slow the progression of symptoms a bit.

I don't know how he can rule out Alzheimers because there still isn't a definitive test. Maybe he thinks it's vascular dementia, but then why didn't he tell you that?

Since there are medications they use now in the early years, I think it would be worth it to take her to a specialist and get a better informed opinion.

[Ex Lurker]

5. I'm a very precise person, and to me, words mean exactly what they say.

Not everyone is like this, and I'm wondering if when he says dementia, he means what he think he means, or if he's using it as a catch all term. There's just a lot I don't know, especially since I'm hearing about it secondhand.

[pnwmom]

6. I'm sorry. It must be very frustrating, dealing with all this at a distance. Unfortunately, dementia

is common, and the older people get, the more likely they are to develop it, from one cause or another. So maybe this doctor isn't taking this seriously enough because he sees so much of it.

Unfortunately, saying someone has a little "dementia" is a bit like saying they have a "virus." Not all that helpful.

I'm hoping what your mother had was temporary delirium in connection with the seizure. If that's what it was, then she may or may not also have the beginnings of dementia.

Also, you should always rule out medical causes when there are sudden changes in a senior's cognitive status. Sometimes something as simple as a urinary tract infection or a sinus infection can cause symptoms of dementia, and once they're cured, the elderly person is back to normal. And this can happen to an elderly person with real dementia, too -- a person with Alzheimers can suddenly seem to deteriorate, and then it turns out they have an infection that's made everything worse.

[Ex Lurker]

7. The seizure was due to low blood sodium levels

which they believe was exacerbated by the flu. They think the delirium was a reaction to Tamiflu. She had no UTI or anything else that they could find. She had a temporary ischemic attack two years ago. She smoked for 50 years, has quit in the last few months and made it stick. Her only medications are for blood pressure, cholesterol, and an antidepressant. She had a few incidents of erratic behavior in the week before her seizure-couldn't balance her checkbook, a couple of other things, but that could have been a result of the low sodium-it apparently had been occurring for a while, and the flu tipped it over the edge. Since then, she's been fine (as best I can tell.) So I really don't know what to think at this point. On the one hand, the Dr doesn't know her as well as I do. On the other hand, maybe I know her too well and am not impartial enough. I just don't know.

[enough]

8. Having lived through both my parents' last years with dementia, and now

not that much younger than your mother, I would say:

1) Don't try to figure out what the doctor meant without talking to the doctor. If you are concerned about it, go with her/them to the next appointment and the next one after that. If you can't do that, call the doctor, who may or may not be willing to talk to you.

2) Do talk with your mother and find out what she thinks is going on. If it's actually dementia, you may not have that much more time to have this kind of talk with her. But at this point I wouldn't start from the assumption that it's dementia.

3) Try as much as you can to relate to your mother at this point just as she is. Don't get panicked by what you have heard from your father and about which he may also be panicked.

4) Remember that you (and all of us) are on a moving current. What's happening now is not what will be happening later. Have as many direct conversations and ask as many direct questions as you possibly can now, and at all future moments.