My 82 yo mother is suffering from memory loss, confusion, not following conversations or plots on tv. Sometimes she sleeps for 20 mins at night & then gets up and gets dressed, takes her morning meds and phones me to ask where I am. She’s now becoming secretive and suspicious even with me- one minute she doesn’t know what she’d do without me, the next she’s keeping silly secrets and telling other people not to tell me. ( they do tho!) I’ve spoken to her GP twice and he’s given her the standard memory test ( 5 months ago) which she passed- she got 3 Q’s wrong. We went back to see him 3 months after that as the day/ night confusion was getting worse. But he’s dismissed it all as reactions to her meds. I’m at the end of my rope here. What on earth do I do now?
GP wont diagnose dementia
- Thread starter Queendeedee
- Start date
Normally the GP doesn't diagnose dementia - they give a basic memory test and if they think it's appropriate, refer to the Memory Clinic for further tests. I would go back and ask him to do that, and if he's not willing, is there another doctor you could switch to?
Hello @Queendeedee and welcome to TP
I agree with @Beate . I'd ask for a referral to the memory clinic. Or switch to another GP.
Also.....have your mum's meds been changed to test the theory that her behaviour may relate to them?
And...there is no 'pass mark' to a memory test. It is at best an indication that things may be wrong, or not.
Good luck, keep us posted.
Lindy xx
I agree with @Beate . I'd ask for a referral to the memory clinic. Or switch to another GP.
Also.....have your mum's meds been changed to test the theory that her behaviour may relate to them?
And...there is no 'pass mark' to a memory test. It is at best an indication that things may be wrong, or not.
Good luck, keep us posted.
Lindy xx
Thank you for replying. I could definitely go and see another GP in the practice. This one is my Mum’s doc and has been dealing with her other health issues. I’ll give him another try tho. My dad recently passed away from Alzheimer’s so I’m aware of the symptoms etc. Obviously the idea of my mum going the same way is horrible but I’d rather know now & then we can start putting plans together for caring for her.
Hello @Queendeedee, welcome to TP from me too.
When my wife first took that mini test she too only got 2 or 3 questions wrong but that was enough for a referral with our GP after he had heard the history of symptoms. The history is more important than the mini test score.
I agree that you should either push for a referral or see a different GP. Not all GP's are up to speed with dementia as they aren't experts in that field so a second opinion is fair enough as I see it.
When my wife first took that mini test she too only got 2 or 3 questions wrong but that was enough for a referral with our GP after he had heard the history of symptoms. The history is more important than the mini test score.
I agree that you should either push for a referral or see a different GP. Not all GP's are up to speed with dementia as they aren't experts in that field so a second opinion is fair enough as I see it.
Thank you. She’s on a lot of meds for an autoimmune condition which she’s had for 2 years. Tbh I was already concerned about her memory & behaviour before she got ill with that tho but my those concerns got overtaken by worries about the autoimmune disease. ( myasthenia gravis) She’s on so much medication. I think they could be contributing. Either way I’d like her to be helped.
Thanks. I definitely will. I’ve been reading here about people getting the same results from the gp’s test and being referred so I’ll push for that.
Agree with everyone else already posted push for that Memory clinic appointment.
Myasthenia Gravis - wow,. When I was 16 years old I was diagnosed with this, mobility, speech loss, slowly loosing the ability to move even open my eyelids. until one day I could not get out of bed and then hospital for 6 weeks and a diagnosis. Medication for a year then it was slowly reduced until no longer needed.
Myasthenia Gravis - wow,. When I was 16 years old I was diagnosed with this, mobility, speech loss, slowly loosing the ability to move even open my eyelids. until one day I could not get out of bed and then hospital for 6 weeks and a diagnosis. Medication for a year then it was slowly reduced until no longer needed.
Hi again @Queendeedee
Excellent idea to write down your concerns and hand to doctor - in advance if possible. It is so difficult to get across what you mean in an eight minute consultation!
Good luck
Lindy xx
Excellent idea to write down your concerns and hand to doctor - in advance if possible. It is so difficult to get across what you mean in an eight minute consultation!
Good luck
Lindy xx
Forgot about the swallowing difficulties, could not eat a thing - it was an awful time and thought I was dying. 1970 for me, no operation, just medication. Although I have never really forgotten it, I had never really talked about it, until mum moved in with me and she talked about it all the time and now suddenly it comes up again. I do remember being told that it was usually something elderly people suffered with and sometimes women after giving birth.
It was an awful time indeed, I too thought I was dying - in fact the consultant gave me a 30% chance of coming through the op.
It was so awful that I consciously filed it away and simply wouldn’t talk about it. Weird that it should come up here, now!
Sorry for barging into your thread like this, @Queendeedee
How is your mum doing? Treatments have probably moved on since my youth and I hope she’s doing well. Also that you can get the memory and behaviour issues addressed.Good luck
Lindy xx
Me too, sorry for hijacking your thread, just never ever expected to hear of someone else and certainly not on this site. Really hope you can get a proper diagnosis. Have to say that I am surprised at the gp, knowing about the Myasthenia you would think that would give you immediate referral, maybe even top of the list to memory clinic.
Hi @Queendeedee , I think the key is persistence. It's taken three visits to my mum's GP for him to finally 'get' there is a problem. The first time he wasn't concerned at all, the second time he did refer mum to the the memory clinic but only after a lot of badgering by my brother and I. Mum refused to see them. This time he totally got that there was a problem and has asked the mental health team to go and visit her. I gave in a general letter the first time, this time I gave him a bullet point diary of what had been happening. All it took was one simple question to mum to show him that I hadn't made up my observations!
I would certainly think given your mum's other health issues you should get a prompt referal.
I would certainly think given your mum's other health issues you should get a prompt referal.
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