How to find an appropriate specialist

[jrc193]

Hello Forum members,
My name is James and my wife ( 84 years) on discharge from intensive care on the 11th December 2023 exhibited and continues to exhibit confusion and loss of short term memory. She exhibited similar symptoms in similar circumstances in 2017 but, happily made what appeared to be a full recovery after several months. On this occasion I see no evident signs of improvement and I have been searching for a specialist in or around the Leicester, Peterborough area who could see her in an attempt to diagnose the cause of the apparent cognitive impairment and advise. I wonder if any member can recommend a suitable specialist as her GP seems unable to do so. Thanks James

 

[Gosling]

Hello James @jrc193 and welcome to this friendly and supportive forum.

I am sorry to read about your wife and her exhibiting confusion and short term memory loss.
The t's and c's of the forum do permit recommendations of particular specialists. My suggestion would be to formally ask your GP for a 2'nd opinion referral. But I would also continue to press your own GP to attempt to diagnose the cause of her symptoms.

Please do have a good look around the various sections of the forum and ask any particular questions you may like to. There's a lot of information here, and members really do want to help.

 

[Jaded'n'faded]

Infections, operations and anaesthetic can bring on delerium which generally resolves when the person is better. If someone has dementia, they will often experience delerium (which can seem like an escalation of their symptoms) in these circumstances. Sometimes when better they return to their previous 'normal' but other times the delerium causes a permanent deterioration in symptoms.

Your GP definitely can refer your wife! He should be referring her initially to the Memory Clinic. If he/she is not convinced your wife's issues warrant further investigation, I would suggest you keep a diary of your wife's behaviours and issues and present this to the GP as proof that all is not well. Insist on a referral and don't be brushed off.

Getting a diagnosis for dementia is extraordinarily hard sometimes yet we're all told that early diagnosis is really important.