ACE R and me
I have just received a letter from my consultant saying that I scored 87 out of 100 for the test
why do they want me to have an ECG and cat scan
I have temporal lobe epilepsy which is not controlled
Thanks
Hello Judith and nitram, for a few years now my mental cognitive changes have been slow but very marked. I am an ex RMN and have specialised in care of the older person.
When I say my cognitive abilities have been getting worse, because I can remember a charge nurse that just did not understand my out of the box thinking. This was about 12 years ago and she kept going on about my poor handovers and not passing on important information to the next shift.
For the past 2 years my memory has deteriorated drastically and as I am retired I do HEART START courses as an instructor. Some courses it really flows and I never miss any thing out, however some days I have severe problems initiating speech. I can see words going down a big, big tunnel and never to return.
My GP sent me to the memory clinic and I was seen by the CPN, who conducted the Addenbrook's ACE R test on me. Wait for this I scored 79 (OUCH!!!) 86 is the cut off point for people with considerable cognitive changes suggesting FTL dementia. If I scored 79 I am severely mentally impaired. I am going for a CT scan in a few days time and have quite a few more assessments to go through. I am also having bad physical symptoms akin to motor neurone disease. I just can't wait for the scan results!
Judith you say that you have fronotemporal epilepsy that is not controlled. You most probably have some degree of frontal lobe atrophy (shrinkage) of your brain cells. Each time you have a TC fit you loose some more neurones and the brain continues to shrink.
The ECG helps the doctors to treat your epilepsy and the CT scan shows the neurologist how much the brain has shrunk if at all. So Judith you just go for it because it is better to know than being kept in the dark. Best regards Peter.