Hello to the Group, I joined yesterday & I am looking for some support, help, advice pleeese!! My husband has been diagnosed with MCI last month. Life at the moment for both of us is hard as he isnt talking about how he feels about getting this diagnosis etc & I am struggling to know how to deal with it. Any advice would be appreciated.
Mild Cognitive Impairment
- Thread starter Trishalina
- Start date
Hello @Trishalina
Welcome to Talking Point.
It`s not unusual for people with these diagnoses to be unable to talk about them. It`s part shock and part trying to understand what it`s about and in addition, some are more ready to talk than others.
I`m pleased you`ve fund Talking Point because at least you will have somewhere to off load and discuss with people who have experienced MCI and understand how it feels.
I`m not one of them. My husband had Alzheimer`s but I hope others come on line later to help and support you.
If you haven`t seen this factsheet it may help you understand the diagnosis more.
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/types-dementia/mild-cognitive-impairment-mci
Welcome to Talking Point.
It`s not unusual for people with these diagnoses to be unable to talk about them. It`s part shock and part trying to understand what it`s about and in addition, some are more ready to talk than others.
I`m pleased you`ve fund Talking Point because at least you will have somewhere to off load and discuss with people who have experienced MCI and understand how it feels.
I`m not one of them. My husband had Alzheimer`s but I hope others come on line later to help and support you.
If you haven`t seen this factsheet it may help you understand the diagnosis more.
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/types-dementia/mild-cognitive-impairment-mci
Hello @Trishalina and welcome to the forum from me too.
When my wife was diagnosed with MCI we were pretty much left to our own devices, although she was given a review appointment for a year on. I appreciate that other regions may operate in different ways.
During the year between appointments I made notes of all changes in behaviour and was able to details these at the follow-up appointment. Further tests and scans were also arranged at that stage.
Not everyone with MCI progresses to Dementia(it's something like 40-50%) so there is hope that life can continue with just a little adjustment. Unfortunately, my wife did progress to Dementia and continues to deteriorate.
Your feelings at the moment are caused by what is know as 'anticipatory grief' and you can read about that in the Factsheet you can reach with this link. Just click the PDF line and look to Pg.4
Grief, loss and bereavement (507)
PDF printable version
Other Factsheets that cover all aspects of dementia and dementia care can be seen in the list that can be found by clicking the following link
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/publications-factsheets-full-list
You will see that there are Factsheets that will help with things like getting care needs assessments, deciding the level of care required and sorting out useful things like Wills, Power of Attorney etc., if any of that hasn't already been done.
Now that you have found us I hope you will keep posting as the membership has vast collective knowledge and experience.
When my wife was diagnosed with MCI we were pretty much left to our own devices, although she was given a review appointment for a year on. I appreciate that other regions may operate in different ways.
During the year between appointments I made notes of all changes in behaviour and was able to details these at the follow-up appointment. Further tests and scans were also arranged at that stage.
Not everyone with MCI progresses to Dementia(it's something like 40-50%) so there is hope that life can continue with just a little adjustment. Unfortunately, my wife did progress to Dementia and continues to deteriorate.
Your feelings at the moment are caused by what is know as 'anticipatory grief' and you can read about that in the Factsheet you can reach with this link. Just click the PDF line and look to Pg.4
Grief, loss and bereavement (507)
PDF printable version
Other Factsheets that cover all aspects of dementia and dementia care can be seen in the list that can be found by clicking the following link
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/publications-factsheets-full-list
You will see that there are Factsheets that will help with things like getting care needs assessments, deciding the level of care required and sorting out useful things like Wills, Power of Attorney etc., if any of that hasn't already been done.
Now that you have found us I hope you will keep posting as the membership has vast collective knowledge and experience.
Mild Cognitive Impairment is a very common diagnosis especially as people get older. Obviously you must have been noticing some problems which rang some alarm bells. Sometimes the term is given prior to looking for an assessment for some kind of dementia but that is not how it works out for everyone.
It may well be that your husband doesn't understand exactly what that means and he may be feeling very scared or perhaps it doesn't really matter at the moment. My husband had no idea of what the GP was talking about when given the diagnosis and it didn't really register that there just might be an implication for the future.
I think you need to give your husband a little space and importantly you need to stay calm and relaxed around him.
Do you have any reviews or appointments ahead? Perhaps a chat with y.our GP might help you sort out what this could mean for both of you.
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