Question re. initial tests/diagnosis

[Noaksie1]

Hi - Having been worried about mum for several months, I finally managed to take her to her GP recently. Her memory, understanding & personality are changing/fading & she has got into serious financial debt. The GP did some basic checks (heart, BP, etc.), also a memory test, which seemed v basic & simple especially for older people who remember events a long time ago better than last week - she scored 100%. She has now had blood & urine tests.

Excuse my ignorance, I cannot find anything definitive on the internet - do these tests show dementia? What should I expect next? I'm scared they will come back fine & I (& others) know she is definitely not fine. Any thoughts/experience would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your time.
Tx

 

[lisasarah]

hi my mum has vasular dementia and has had for probably three years or so. We went to the gp with mum intially and they did the quick test and then referred her to the memory clinic at our local hospital which she attended for a week, at the end of that week the hospital wanted to do a brain scan but my mum refused! and so no definate diagnosis was made although the gp has said that she thinks its vasular dementia, but as far as im aware there is no mediacation or at least none has been offered to my mum.

 

[Connector55]

Early diagnosis

My mother went through the same process but I was so worried that I asked the GP to refer her to the mental health team which he did. They sent a really nice lady to her house to do some similar tests to what you are describing. She was part of the mental health team and was very understanding and helpful and ultimately diagnosed Mum with alzhiemers but there are so many things that can cause the symptons you are describing hopefully it is something else causing the changein her personality that can be sorted out really easily.

 

[BeckyJan]

Hello:
I believe the tests your Mother had were the very basics that GP use, not the MMSE tests that the Mental Health Team use.

My husband did well with MMSE tests in the early years but he was diagnosed through my reporting his memory problems, confusion, disorientation etc.

I suggest you keep a log/diary of events, print this off and let the GP have it prior to another appointment. If you persist you should get a referral to a Consultant and/or Mental Health Team. Then from there they will conduct a more thorough assessment and possible a scan before making any diagnosis.

 

[Izzy]

My mum was diagnosed with vascular dementia after a brain scan when she was hospital with massive confusion during a a UTI. They really only gave her cursory MMSE tests.

My husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's following all the blood tests, MMSE tests and a brain scan.

 

[Margaret W]

I even doubt the usefulness of the Mmse tests. Mum scored well on them, but there was no test for "do you think your dead husband is still with you" or "do you think the post office is open at 3 a.m."

If a person gets a low score (20/30) that will show some dementia. If they score above that, it might indicate a possibility of dementia. If they score above 24 it will indicate nothing other than they know who the prime minister is, what date it is, and are able to spell a few words backwards. Such a rating definitely does NOT indicate that there is NO dementia. A brain scan is probably the next test. But it won't be offered unless you push for it. Which I would say you should do, if you feel your mum is "not right".