Getting a second opinion

[JenniferW]

My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's around 18 months ago, and has been on Aricept for around a year. The original diagnosis was given by a community mental health nurse, and at the local memory clinic she has memory tests and medication prescribed by a nurse practitioner. At no point has my mother been seen by a consultant.
I go regularly to the local Alzheimer's Society carers' coffee mornings, so hear about the development of other people's Alzheimer's on a regular basis - from people I've got to know there. I'm more and more struck by the fact that although my mother's memory is obviously malfunctioning, she's not deteriorating in the way I hear about other people with Alzheimer's deteriorating. She also has certain other symptoms I don't hear other people reporting. So, I'm now starting to wonder how accurate this diagnosis is. Should we think about a second opinion - or even a first one from any consultant? Might other medication be appropriate, etc? How on earth do you decide about this?

 

[sue38]

Hi Jennifer,

I have an aunt who has been diagnosed with dementia. Her only real problem is that she has no short term memory, but has none of the other symptoms of Alzheimer's. Her problems are most likely the result of a number of small strokes.

Has your mum had CT scans? What does the GP say?

This factsheet on Diagnosis and Assessment may help.

 

[Margaret W]

I thought that Alzheimers could only be diagnosed as a result of a brain scan. It shows up the pattern of damage that distinguishes it from other forms of dementia.

Whilst the symptoms of all forms of dementia overlap and can be difficult to distinguish, drug treatment is different, so it is important to get a proper diagnosis.

I would contact your Older Persons Mental Health Team (if you have a local Alzheimers Society they will avise you), and ask for a brain scan.

Love

Margaret

 

[JenniferW]

Not seeing a consultant

I raised the fact that my mother had never been seen by a consultant with her GP, and was basically told there was only one consultant covering this field in this NHS Trust, so she was never likely to - the work is handled by the team of nurse practitioners working alongside him in the memory clinic, which comes under the community mental health service. So, she's never been seen by a physician who might refer her for an MRI scan or anything other than the standard verbal memory test.
To me, for something as serious as a cognitive disorder, which fundamentally changes the quality of the rest of her life, this seems as if it's not really as good as it ought to be.
What I'd really like to know about is whether other people have been in a similar situation and how they've decided to proceed - and whether it was worth it. My mother's 89, and although she's much fitter than average for her age, pottering around out in her garden every day, at 89 she does get more tired and I don't want to be dragging her off to more appointments if they're not going to be worth the time and effort it will all take. But nor do I want her deteriorating and going downhill any more than can be avoided.