Mini mental test-Is it fit for purpose

Norrms

Registered User
Feb 19, 2009
5,631
0
Torquay Devon
Dementia-Mini Mental Test-Is It Fit For Purpose?

The mini mental test you are asked when you have been referred to the Consultant by your doctor is

“probably “ one of the most important tests of your cognitive abilities and memory tests, but is it fit

for purpose? Dementia is predominantly about short term memory loss, please remember these

four words SHORT TERM MEMORY LOSS and yet during the tests you are asked these kind of

question’s



Q? Where do you live? Ans? Well, you may have lived at the same house for the last forty years!!

Q? Who is the queen of England ? Ans? Really? Oh come on!! She has been on the throne for 70 yrs

plus

Q? What car do you drive? Ans ? You may well have had the same car for years



And best of all? Q? Please draw a triangle inside a triangle and a circle overlapping a circle.



Now, if you’re anything like me the only thing I can draw is breath!! Dementia or not, I would

struggle with that one and so it goes on, in my humble opinion? Absolutely ridiculous! A perfect

example is a very good friend of mine who also had severe dementia went to do the test with his

wife; he scored 17 out of twenty and was told it wasn’t too bad and progressing slowly. They both

left the building got in the car, drove 1 mile home and when they arrived home his wife asked him

“Where have we just been? He answered “No idea!! At this point I should be saying I rest my case!!

But I won’t because I really don’t think the Doctors or Consultants are listening enough the loved

ones and relatives and they really need too.

Now i know what you’re thinking? What should they be asking then?? Well, here are a few

suggestions I believe every loved one should ask the consultant to ask, in fact INSIST the consultant



asks these questions because after all, it’s about SHORT TERM MEMORY LOSS , remember ? (See

what I did there?) They should ask?

Q? How did you get here this morning?

Q? What did you have for breakfast?

Q? What time did you get up??



Q? What did you watch on TV last night?

We need relevant questions to be asked and not the same ones that have been asked for years, they

are clearly not working as so many are being missed and going undiagnosed. When I was first

diagnosed I was told by consultant to “Use it or Lose it, that was all” When I asked him after all his

years of experience, and in his professional capacity, was that the best advice he could give?? I will

let you guess his response, needless to say I changed consultant and it’s a good job I did as the first

one diagnosed me the Alzheimer’s Type dementia and I actually had the Lewy body’s type dementia,

and I really can’t stress enough how important it is to get the right diagnosis, as different drugs for

different types of dementia are involved and wrong usage of certain drugs can have dire

consequences, if you have any doubt whatsoever please insist on either a second opinion.

So if you do find yourself in the awful position of being sat there whilst a loved one is being

diagnosed for dementia and they do the mini mental test, please insist the questions I have

suggested be asked, they will help ensure the consultant has a better idea of how far the disease has

progressed
 

slim-jim

Registered User
Sep 6, 2020
88
0
Dementia-Mini Mental Test-Is It Fit For Purpose?

The mini mental test you are asked when you have been referred to the Consultant by your doctor is

“probably “ one of the most important tests of your cognitive abilities and memory tests, but is it fit

for purpose? Dementia is predominantly about short term memory loss, please remember these

four words SHORT TERM MEMORY LOSS and yet during the tests you are asked these kind of

question’s



Q? Where do you live? Ans? Well, you may have lived at the same house for the last forty years!!

Q? Who is the queen of England ? Ans? Really? Oh come on!! She has been on the throne for 70 yrs

plus

Q? What car do you drive? Ans ? You may well have had the same car for years



And best of all? Q? Please draw a triangle inside a triangle and a circle overlapping a circle.



Now, if you’re anything like me the only thing I can draw is breath!! Dementia or not, I would

struggle with that one and so it goes on, in my humble opinion? Absolutely ridiculous! A perfect

example is a very good friend of mine who also had severe dementia went to do the test with his

wife; he scored 17 out of twenty and was told it wasn’t too bad and progressing slowly. They both

left the building got in the car, drove 1 mile home and when they arrived home his wife asked him

“Where have we just been? He answered “No idea!! At this point I should be saying I rest my case!!

But I won’t because I really don’t think the Doctors or Consultants are listening enough the loved

ones and relatives and they really need too.

Now i know what you’re thinking? What should they be asking then?? Well, here are a few

suggestions I believe every loved one should ask the consultant to ask, in fact INSIST the consultant



asks these questions because after all, it’s about SHORT TERM MEMORY LOSS , remember ? (See

what I did there?) They should ask?

Q? How did you get here this morning?

Q? What did you have for breakfast?

Q? What time did you get up??



Q? What did you watch on TV last night?

We need relevant questions to be asked and not the same ones that have been asked for years, they

are clearly not working as so many are being missed and going undiagnosed. When I was first

diagnosed I was told by consultant to “Use it or Lose it, that was all” When I asked him after all his

years of experience, and in his professional capacity, was that the best advice he could give?? I will

let you guess his response, needless to say I changed consultant and it’s a good job I did as the first

one diagnosed me the Alzheimer’s Type dementia and I actually had the Lewy body’s type dementia,

and I really can’t stress enough how important it is to get the right diagnosis, as different drugs for

different types of dementia are involved and wrong usage of certain drugs can have dire

consequences, if you have any doubt whatsoever please insist on either a second opinion.

So if you do find yourself in the awful position of being sat there whilst a loved one is being

diagnosed for dementia and they do the mini mental test, please insist the questions I have

suggested be asked, they will help ensure the consultant has a better idea of how far the disease has

progressed
 

slim-jim

Registered User
Sep 6, 2020
88
0
I can only suggest that we trust the professionals who I believe are using tried and tested methods. Some things we may not understand but there is a reason for the questions and tests. What I do think is not being done is for a test/assessment annually so that we the carers can be as sure as we can be that our loved one is being treated correctly with medication suitable for the present condition. Also that forlorn hope that the professional could spend a week with the sufferer .talk is cheap physical help is what the carer needs.
 

Lawson58

Registered User
Aug 1, 2014
4,333
0
Victoria, Australia
I think this kind of test is used firstly as a screening test and then once established as a base line, can then be used to measure any changes. I have never seen it used a diagnostic tool on its own and think that when we are talking about such a complicated set of diseases that it needs great skill to get things right.

My husband always did well in this test but can’t recall much of the first thirty years of his life. Following a recent PET scan, the consultant has now changed his mind and says that my husband is now undiagnosed.
Perhaps his consistency on this test over a period of seven years reflected something that the consultant had got wrong. I understand that there are people who really struggle with getting the answers right.
 

Eogz

Registered User
Sep 9, 2021
56
0
It's not enough on it's own, but as a tool it can be useful, especially if charting a person's decline.
I aced mine, but a lot of that is due to my memory being pretty good, it's the other stuff that is the problem. Fortunately the memory service listened and I got a Neurologist, had my MRI, just waiting on the appointment with him.
 

Happy Hampton

Registered User
Feb 22, 2022
96
0
Dementia-Mini Mental Test-Is It Fit For Purpose?

The mini mental test you are asked when you have been referred to the Consultant by your doctor is

“probably “ one of the most important tests of your cognitive abilities and memory tests, but is it fit

for purpose? Dementia is predominantly about short term memory loss, please remember these

four words SHORT TERM MEMORY LOSS and yet during the tests you are asked these kind of

question’s



Q? Where do you live? Ans? Well, you may have lived at the same house for the last forty years!!

Q? Who is the queen of England ? Ans? Really? Oh come on!! She has been on the throne for 70 yrs

plus

Q? What car do you drive? Ans ? You may well have had the same car for years



And best of all? Q? Please draw a triangle inside a triangle and a circle overlapping a circle.



Now, if you’re anything like me the only thing I can draw is breath!! Dementia or not, I would

struggle with that one and so it goes on, in my humble opinion? Absolutely ridiculous! A perfect

example is a very good friend of mine who also had severe dementia went to do the test with his

wife; he scored 17 out of twenty and was told it wasn’t too bad and progressing slowly. They both

left the building got in the car, drove 1 mile home and when they arrived home his wife asked him

“Where have we just been? He answered “No idea!! At this point I should be saying I rest my case!!

But I won’t because I really don’t think the Doctors or Consultants are listening enough the loved

ones and relatives and they really need too.

Now i know what you’re thinking? What should they be asking then?? Well, here are a few

suggestions I believe every loved one should ask the consultant to ask, in fact INSIST the consultant



asks these questions because after all, it’s about SHORT TERM MEMORY LOSS , remember ? (See

what I did there?) They should ask?

Q? How did you get here this morning?

Q? What did you have for breakfast?

Q? What time did you get up??



Q? What did you watch on TV last night?

We need relevant questions to be asked and not the same ones that have been asked for years, they

are clearly not working as so many are being missed and going undiagnosed. When I was first

diagnosed I was told by consultant to “Use it or Lose it, that was all” When I asked him after all his

years of experience, and in his professional capacity, was that the best advice he could give?? I will

let you guess his response, needless to say I changed consultant and it’s a good job I did as the first

one diagnosed me the Alzheimer’s Type dementia and I actually had the Lewy body’s type dementia,

and I really can’t stress enough how important it is to get the right diagnosis, as different drugs for

different types of dementia are involved and wrong usage of certain drugs can have dire

consequences, if you have any doubt whatsoever please insist on either a second opinion.

So if you do find yourself in the awful position of being sat there whilst a loved one is being

diagnosed for dementia and they do the mini mental test, please insist the questions I have

suggested be asked, they will help ensure the consultant has a better idea of how far the disease has

progressed
Since getting diagnosed with AD I’ve done tons of research. My understanding is that little test is simply a small part of diagnosing the disease. Then they go from there. I have no plaque on my brain. They depend on all the information to make a diagnosis. There’s no test that can identify dementia. Hope this helps. Oh, and those online test aren’t reliable for dementia.
 

try again

Registered User
Jun 21, 2018
1,308
0
If you asked me your questions I would struggle. No idea what rubbish I watched last night, no idea when I got up (in fact I 2s up all night) I ate whatever I could get my hands on first and can't remember the other one.
I don't have dementia, I am stressed and tired. I am living automatically and don't really pay much attention to what I actually do
I can easily respond to the other questions.

Time will come when PWD cannot do the test. I think my mother managed to score 7 last time and yet everyone thinks she is fine
If she doesn't stop to think she can rattle her address out like a toddler and knows my name. If she tries to think for a fraction of a second it is gone.
She hasn't been able to draw a clock face for about 3 years. I do think these guys know what they are doing with these tests