Private brain scan today

El31

Registered User
May 21, 2018
64
0
My mum has booked herself a private brain scan today as doc recommended and she didn't want to wait. Do you had any idea if she will get results in same day or are they sent to gp?
 

marionq

Registered User
Apr 24, 2013
6,449
0
Scotland
The people who do the scan don’t interpret it. They send it to the consultant or GP to talk it over with you.
 

SaraKate

Registered User
Dec 29, 2018
49
0
Do post to let us know what the scan is like and how the report is given and how clear it is? My husband is due to see a neurologist and get a scan and I am worried that at the end of it all we wont have a clear diagnosis and, since he is denying anything is wrong, we'll be no further forward.
 

El31

Registered User
May 21, 2018
64
0
The MRI showed widespread mild small vessel damage, but apparently quite common for someone her age (69). The doctor has still referred her to the memory clinic though and I am hoping they will carry out more in depth investigations.
My mum also says there is nothing wrong and thinks we are all mad but I just think if she could see and hear herself sometimes she would be mortified. I am happy that she is happy though and not worried, my uptight mum has turned in to a chilled out lady who eats chocolate and sweet things all day (something she would never have previously done)
When is your husbands appointment and what are his symptoms if you don’t mind me asking
 

karaokePete

Registered User
Jul 23, 2017
6,534
0
N Ireland
When my wife had an MRI scan done the results were the same as for your mum.

A subsequent PET scan(more detailed than MRI) showed that damage plus brain wastage. It was the PET scan that brought the dementia diagnosis. The PET scan was done because the cognitive testing showed a greater problem than that which could be explained by the MRI result.

I hope your mum will agree to the memory clinic visit and any subsequent investigations.
 

El31

Registered User
May 21, 2018
64
0
Yes she is agreeing to go and has said my dad can accompany her. I am worried dad won’t be completely honest but I have told him this is the best chance we have had so far to get a diagnosis so to be completely honest.
Mums behaviour is getting more bizarre by the day, she told me 10 times in a row how she has a direct link to god because she was ill and she prayed and now she’s better. She is religious but she is obsessing over it. Mum also is obsessed with the drink schloer and tells me whenever I see her it’s her fave drink and dad joked that it had alcohol in it (mum doesn’t drink) and she just didn’t get that it was a joke when it clearly was. My dad has also had to take 2 days off work a month when they have my son as she just can’t cope and snaps at my son a lot. She also doesn’t cook good properly and my dad says most meat he gets is cold in the middle. I dread going round there as we just have nothing to talk about, it’s sad. I really hope they offer her a PET scan, was this done straight away or at next appointment ?
 

El31

Registered User
May 21, 2018
64
0
She also just stares sometimes and is very vacant. Sometimes I speak to her and she just doesn’t respond or changes the subject, she comes across really rude and I find it hard not to snap at her.
I know I sound really mean but it’s very hard for me dealing with all these changes :(
 

Kevinl

Registered User
Aug 24, 2013
6,064
0
Salford
I don't want to be pessimistic but my wife had an MRI scan, showed nothing, then another scan which I think was a PET scan, again nothing then finally a SPECT scan where you have to avoid contact with children for 24 hours after. Bottom line was a diagnosis of "early onset, mixed, atypical AZ" which tells you nothing.
The consultant was happy to tell me that there appeared to be noting wrong on the scans while my wife was arguing with her own reflection in a window 6 feet away, nothing wrong with the scans maybe so it must be that reality is at fault.
Diagnosing AZ isn't an exact science and even then it tells you nothing about what may or may not happen. People want to try and get certainty in an uncertain situation and maybe focusing on getting a diagnosis, if that's possible will only confirm the reality you're living with it won't point the way forward for you.
Most likely is that if they diagnose AZ they'll discharge you back to GP care as there's nothing apart from medication that may help depending on the type, as you're going down the private route then be careful you can get back into the NHS system without all the tests having to be repeated as the NHS seems to be "resilient" to third party information or tests.
K
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
@El31 - I would recommend that before you see anyone about your mums memory, that you write a letter outlining all your concerns: the eating of sweet things, the obsessing over Schloer, the religious obsessions/delusions, the inability to cook properly and any inappropriate social responses. Then send in the letter beforehand, or discretely pass it to a nurse when you come for the appointment.
 

jugglingmum

Registered User
Jan 5, 2014
7,085
0
Chester
I agree with KevinI - my mum's scan they said normal age related shrinkage, and didn't show any thing else. They didn't do any further scans, from reading TP these only seem to be done for those who are younger when symptoms start, my mother was 84 at diagnosis. She also did very well on the tests, scoring at a level at which indicated no issue whatsoever 27 out of 30.

However by this stage with hindsight she had clearly not been right for 3 years, probably needed intervention to be kept safe for 18 months before the crisis, with odd little incidents going back 5 to 7 years.

The diagnosis of Alz was made purely on the observations by brother provided to the nurse and consultant, and how she presented to the nurse who visited her on 2 separate occasions at my brother's house. Things like being unable to explain why she had turned her electricity off, and saying it was because they were stealing it, but then changing her story, were fairly clear indications that things weren't right to GP and memory clinic nurse.

As canary recommends take a letter detailing everything and hand it over separately.

From GP visit to diagnosis took 3 to 4 months, much of this with hindsight was spacing out times of nurse seeing her to see if her symptoms were stable or not, which I think is to eliminate other things and also to determine the type of dementia.

To some extent the brain scan is more to rule out other issues than confirm dementia.

If it is Alzheimers then medication is available, if it is deemed another type then no specific medication is available, although many PWD benefit from anxiety and depression medication as these symptoms are quite common.

Sadly it is then a case of managing symptoms and behaviours, both for the benefit of the PWD and any immediate carers, such as your dad, who is clearly having to support your mum, and deal with her obsessions.

My mum was diagnosed formally 5 years ago, and is still classified as in early stages, although there has been a slow deterioration in the 5 years.
 

El31

Registered User
May 21, 2018
64
0
Yes she doesn’t want me going with her, only dad. She thinks I am only pushing her for tests because of the job I do (adult social worker) but it’s not.. maybe I am more aware and brave to say something though.. I am the only girl and the boys will talk about her and worry but don’t say anything and my dad just wants a quiet life.
I am going to ring the memory clinic in the next week or so and see if I can write a letter to them outlining my concerns.
Thank you



@El31 - I would recommend that before you see anyone about your mums memory, that you write a letter outlining all your concerns: the eating of sweet things, the obsessing over Schloer, the religious obsessions/delusions, the inability to cook properly and any inappropriate social responses. Then send in the letter beforehand, or discretely pass it to a nurse when you come for the appointment.
 

El31

Registered User
May 21, 2018
64
0
Thanks for your reply Kevin.
I’m really sorry to hear about your wife.
I understand that another Scan might not show anything up, as apparently dementia needs to be quite advanced before it does show up. I would say mum has had symptoms for the past 4 years so this is still in the very early stages.
Part of me wonders if I actually want a diagnosis , well I know for myself and the rest of the family I do because we are all getting annoyed at the changes so I guess if it was dementia we would have more patience, but at the same time I don’t want my mum to be upset if she’s diagnosed. I do actually wonder if she would believe the diagnosis. My mum only went private for the MRI, we are nhs for memory clinic



QUOTE="Kevinl, post: 1611917, member: 38752"]I don't want to be pessimistic but my wife had an MRI scan, showed nothing, then another scan which I think was a PET scan, again nothing then finally a SPECT scan where you have to avoid contact with children for 24 hours after. Bottom line was a diagnosis of "early onset, mixed, atypical AZ" which tells you nothing.
The consultant was happy to tell me that there appeared to be noting wrong on the scans while my wife was arguing with her own reflection in a window 6 feet away, nothing wrong with the scans maybe so it must be that reality is at fault.
Diagnosing AZ isn't an exact science and even then it tells you nothing about what may or may not happen. People want to try and get certainty in an uncertain situation and maybe focusing on getting a diagnosis, if that's possible will only confirm the reality you're living with it won't point the way forward for you.
Most likely is that if they diagnose AZ they'll discharge you back to GP care as there's nothing apart from medication that may help depending on the type, as you're going down the private route then be careful you can get back into the NHS system without all the tests having to be repeated as the NHS seems to be "resilient" to third party information or tests.
K[/QUOTE]
 

SaraKate

Registered User
Dec 29, 2018
49
0
Sorry to have been offline. It is quite OK to ask me about my husband. It's rather comforting to share. He has tremor in his hands and a twitch in his head which is always very much worse when he is tired or stressed. It's that, which made him agree to see a neurologist. But what concerns me is quite extreme mood swings. And sometimes he is verbally unkind to me - put downs - for no apparent reason at all. He's just been through a really obsessive programme of trying to divide up our property until I got to the point of saying I simply would not, and then he was completely back to his old self and agreed it was ridiculous. He has made minor errors driving, like scraping the side in a hedge which isnt like him at all, and lost a word 'rare' for steak completely the other day and said 'green'. He cant remember anything I say about what we have planned next week, or dates in the diary. But he's very sharp in other ways. We've got a private appointment in early march. I'll let you know what the neurologist says. I'm thinking about taking in a letter with a note of the incidents, but he would be furious if I did such a thing, and it feels disloyal to do it secretly? I'm a bit puzzled about what to do. i was so pleased that he said I could attend with him, but I know that he doesn't want me there and he would hate it if I said any of this.
 

SaraKate

Registered User
Dec 29, 2018
49
0
The MRI showed widespread mild small vessel damage, but apparently quite common for someone her age (69). The doctor has still referred her to the memory clinic though and I am hoping they will carry out more in depth investigations.
My mum also says there is nothing wrong and thinks we are all mad but I just think if she could see and hear herself sometimes she would be mortified. I am happy that she is happy though and not worried, my uptight mum has turned in to a chilled out lady who eats chocolate and sweet things all day (something she would never have previously done)
When is your husbands appointment and what are his symptoms if you don’t mind me asking
I replied to you late (above, sorry) But I just wanted to say it's so frustrating not knowing, and how distressing it will be to know and to know also that nothing can be done and that you don't know the future either. For me, with an increasingly eccentric and difficult husband, I have found just the thought that it is an illness and not his intention makes me much more forgiving towards him.
If they were to say that there was nothing wrong, I think I will feel very angry about how he has treated me, and how he sometimes does. We have a good week and then we have two very bad weeks, and then it seems to come right again. It's very draining, and also I dont want to talk about it to anyone because the bad weeks make it sound as if I am being abused, and the good week as if I completely forgive an abusive husband - which I hope I would not do. But how can I make boundaries, if someone is ill?
I'm sorry if this sounds very confused - I feel very confused about it. And when I read about people getting up in the night and guarding their husband and wheelchairing him and feeding him I think i am really self-indulgent and that I have nothing to complain about.
I am glad your Mum can take some pleasures - my husband adores playing tennis ( though he does it rather obsessively} I find so many people on this site very inspirational about taking joy when you can and helping your loved one to have the pleasure that they can find. I want to be like that, and I think a diagnosis would help me see that I can be a loving carer, and not a resentful wife.
 

El31

Registered User
May 21, 2018
64
0
Thanks everyone for the replies. As people advised I phoned the doctor she has memory clinic appointment with on Thursday, just to tell her what my concerns are and I was shocked to what she told me. She completely went against confidentiality and told me that my mums MRI and the widespread aschemic changes shown are not normal and That with the behaviour changes I have told her about she would basically be diagnosing vascular dementia on Thursday. Although it’s the diagnosis I wanted as mean as that sounds , I’m just shocked at how my mum doesn’t even know this yet and I do.. anyway I am going with mum and dad on Thursday as I think this diagnosis is going to completely devastate her
 

Rosettastone57

Registered User
Oct 27, 2016
1,839
0
Thanks everyone for the replies. As people advised I phoned the doctor she has memory clinic appointment with on Thursday, just to tell her what my concerns are and I was shocked to what she told me. She completely went against confidentiality and told me that my mums MRI and the widespread aschemic changes shown are not normal and That with the behaviour changes I have told her about she would basically be diagnosing vascular dementia on Thursday. Although it’s the diagnosis I wanted as mean as that sounds , I’m just shocked at how my mum doesn’t even know this yet and I do.. anyway I am going with mum and dad on Thursday as I think this diagnosis is going to completely devastate her

When my mother-in-law was diagnosed with mixed dementia and I went with her to the memory clinic ,she appeared to accept at the time the diagnosis. But once out of the clinic, she simply dismissed the doctor's words and maintained that there was nothing wrong with her. She never had any insight into her mental health and continued to maintain that until her death. By that time ,she was in care and could do nothing for herself .
 

El31

Registered User
May 21, 2018
64
0
Hi Rosetta,

Yes i think that is going to be the case with my mum too.. and in a way I prefer this as having worked in care myself and now as a social worker it’s awful to see people who are aware and accept diagnosis as this often makes them so anxious and depressed.
I’m happy my mum has agreed for me to go with her on Thursday as I think both her and my dad will need the support.
Sorry to hear about your mother in law , it must have been so hard.
My mum is only 69 so I really hope things don’t progress too quickly,
Breaks my heart it really does x
 

El31

Registered User
May 21, 2018
64
0
So I went with mum and dad to the memory clinic today and mum scored 97/100 .. she was very proud of herself! Doctor hasn’t diagnosed vascular dementia, no idea why I was told that on phone but mum has a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment and small vessel disease. Does anyone know the likelihood of this leading on to dementia? Mum is deteriorating daily, not memory really but behaviour really so does this mean it’s only going to get worse?
 

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