Three years today my mum was diagnosed with MCI, after having a brain scan and tests. After more tests they told me,last year, before telling my mum, she had AZ. I asked them not to tell my mum, but they said they had to. I wish they hadnt, she worries herself too much, sorry, but i am in tears now, will have to go.
Did They have to tell mum.
- Thread starter carole robson
- Start date
Oh Carole,
What is Mum worrying about?. We were together when he was told he had alzheimers. I
would rather he not have been told but it worked out fine. His consultant said she would give him medication and she then ran through all the things we needed to do like DVLA will, LPA etc and he forgot the word alzheimers. When we came out I said to him we would cope as I would be his memory when he needed some help. He never again mentioned the A word but would tell people he had dementia. When the ads came on TV always showing the final stage he would say I haven't got that have I? I just replied there are lots of forms of dementia alzheimers is just one of them. Did not lie but did not tell the truth.
If it is the memory that is upsetting your Mum try saying you are there to fill in what she forgets, so no problem if it is the progress of the disease then all you can do is try to comfort and distract as much as you can. By no means easy though. These times come and go but then only to be replaced with something else for us to find a solution to. Take care of yourself Carole and if you have a CPN or a Social Worker have a word with them. We found our CPN really good but then her Mother had had alzheimers so she knew what it was really like. She had the practice as well as the theory.
Jay
What is Mum worrying about?. We were together when he was told he had alzheimers. I
would rather he not have been told but it worked out fine. His consultant said she would give him medication and she then ran through all the things we needed to do like DVLA will, LPA etc and he forgot the word alzheimers. When we came out I said to him we would cope as I would be his memory when he needed some help. He never again mentioned the A word but would tell people he had dementia. When the ads came on TV always showing the final stage he would say I haven't got that have I? I just replied there are lots of forms of dementia alzheimers is just one of them. Did not lie but did not tell the truth.
If it is the memory that is upsetting your Mum try saying you are there to fill in what she forgets, so no problem if it is the progress of the disease then all you can do is try to comfort and distract as much as you can. By no means easy though. These times come and go but then only to be replaced with something else for us to find a solution to. Take care of yourself Carole and if you have a CPN or a Social Worker have a word with them. We found our CPN really good but then her Mother had had alzheimers so she knew what it was really like. She had the practice as well as the theory.
Jay
I think it is the case that patients, unless they are deemed to lack mental capacity, are regarded as having the right to be fully informed. This is espescially important if there is any treatment proposed, since the principle of "informed consent" prevails.
It depends on the doctor, but I think many if not most will operate on the principle that they should lay out the facts to the patient and not attempt to sugar the pill, because if nothing else the patient usually needs to know so that they are able to make fully informed decisions (and not just about treatment, but for example, othe rpractical problems). And ultimately, whilst most people say say "I wouldn't want to know" I think in fact the majority in reality do.
It depends on the doctor, but I think many if not most will operate on the principle that they should lay out the facts to the patient and not attempt to sugar the pill, because if nothing else the patient usually needs to know so that they are able to make fully informed decisions (and not just about treatment, but for example, othe rpractical problems). And ultimately, whilst most people say say "I wouldn't want to know" I think in fact the majority in reality do.
