I can't see that a diagnosis is going to help my mum. My Mum clearly has dementia and having read the symptoms of Alzheimers there is a very clear match with my mum's symptoms. Having dementia is pretty much my mum's worst fear. She knows her memory is pretty rubbish and that she has trouble thinking of words etc, but she's ok with this as I reassure her that we all have trouble remembering things as we get older. I'm sure she would be distraught if she was told that she has dementia and also very depressed. I'm sure my mum would find going through any assessment and memory tests an outrageous insult. She also hates her doctor but won't entertain the idea of changing doctors. The main reason I am aware of in favour of diagnosis is that it helps to plan for future care needs. I think I can get on with planning without the need for diagnosis. My main concern is that there may be practical reasons why a diagnosis will be useful in the future, e.g. for accessing funding when mum's money runs out or for being able to use power of attorney.
What do you think??
What do you think??