At last the brain scan results

[megben]

Following the post a few weeks back have finally had hubbys brain scan result and it shows shrinkage at the front of the brain
I asked the consultant if this was dementia but he was very cagey and said possibly,I guess thats because I asked and not hubby but hes never even going to think of anything to ask or say so I have to and doesent that make you feel like a bossy wife !
Any thoughts on this scan result folk

 

[BungleGirl]

Have they offered further tests/scans? I think that after an MRI some people are offered SPECT scans and from this they seem to get a more certain diagnosis. I believe this is what I am having done later this month (for research due to family history and not for diagnosis). I hate it when you come away from an appointment hoping that you are going to get an answer and you leave not knowing much more than when you walked in - so frustrating!

 

[Grannie G]

I was told my husband had shrinkage, which I took to be global.

Shrinkage at the front could possibly be fronto-temporal dementia but don`t take my word for it, you need more information from the consultant.

 

[Butter]

I recognise this. It is tricky for all of us.

I think the doctor's problem is that they cannot be sure how much to tell the patient. And if the patient doesn't ask it may be that the patient does not want to know.

Sometimes the patient's partner does not want to know - and the patient does want to know.

Although the doctor's first duty is to the patient, often that includes considering the stress and strain on the partner.

It is all one big eggshell.

Certainly I want to know - but my husband does not want me to ask. The doctors usually pick up on this. But it is difficult for them as they don't want to damage my husband's confidence.

 

[strawberrywhip]

Managing the symptoms?

Hi Butter,
I am sure a clear definitive diagnosis is so helpful, but its something we didnt get with MIL, and the consultant did say that a final diagnosis of Alzheimers could often only be made after death....and autopsy.. not sure how true this is.... However it didnt seem to matter and in the end we just had to deal with the symptoms which we did, with the support of the memory clinic and lots of reading up on the internet.
I found making lots of notes in the early stages and getting as much help in as possible as time went on helped..and asking the consultant for advice as MIL deteriorated cognitively.
Hope you get all the support you need. Thinking of you

 

[megben]

Have been googling brain shrinkage in that area and it could be mn or cjd or huntingdons or dementia. How I wish I had known that at appt as would then have asked for more tests and as it was the consultant said to my hubby "i see your wife wants you to have memory tests how do you fee" and after a long silence while hubby tried to absorb the question i jumped in and said we need to know because we can then deal with it but not knowing leaves us up in the air so he agreed to refer him. Next visit I will push for more tests to give us a diagnosis,meanwhile he has juggled the heart pills and lowered the statin from 80mg to10mg

 

[PODGEO]

HI MEGBEN

I am no expert. I don't think however that the consultant was necessarily bein cagey.

There are people with "brain atrophy " showing up on a brain scan (CT), who are nevertheless perfectly "normal"
There are people with typical "neurofibrillary tangles " and " amyloid plaques " on their brains at autopsy, who have shown no signs of Alzheimer's in their lifetime.

So the answer is not clearcut; in medical circles no one claims to know definitively the answer to what constitites Alzheimer's on all the various tests performed.

A diagnosis is reached only after fitting all pieces of jigsaw together; ie the clinical history ( signs and symptoms, or if you like cognitive impairment, memory failure), must fit the scan results, and the progression of the client's condition must also fit in .

Best wishes
Podgeo