We saw consultant today. My dad’s CT showed a stroke (not known prior to CT) at basal ganglia. Consultant said this has been the cause of his short term memory problems and he now has vascular cognitive impairment and he should stay as he is just now unless he has another stroke but also said he might get worse and if so this would be vascular dementia. He didn’t really give us much else in the way of information. Just said if he gets worse it’s prob another stroke that’s caused it. Told him to eat well and stay active. That was his advice. I know I should be relieved and happy at this news but I feel frustrated
Vascular cognitive impairment
- Thread starter Sharonr164
- Start date
No wonder you feel frustrated @Sharonr164 , the consultant really should have taken the time to give you some more information. He has given some good advice about dad eating well and staying active.
I cannot find anything on vascular cognitive impairment but you might find the information below useful.
www.alzheimers.org.uk
I cannot find anything on vascular cognitive impairment but you might find the information below useful.
What is vascular dementia?
Vascular dementia is the second most common type of dementia (after Alzheimer's disease). Everyone experiences it differently. Symptoms vary depending on the person, the cause and the areas of the brain that are affected.
www.alzheimers.org.uk
Hi @Sharonr164 , my husband has parkinsons and Parkinsons dementia. His CT and MRI show large number of infarcts (strokes) at the basal ganglia. His MRI was clear in 2014 so they are able to say they have occurred over the last 10 years.
His short term memory is extremely poor because of this and he also has a gap of abou 10 years of life events. In terms of your Dad my husband has obviously had this problem for up to a decade. His life has been full and we travelled a lot. He is now in a Nursing home but he truly belongs to the medically complex group.
We belonged to groups through Parkinsons and I think this helped my husband to be mentally and physically active. I also think being social is hugely beneficial. I used an Alexa to prompt my husband to remember medication and also stored his diary on it.
The difference between his vascular dementia and his parkinsons dementia is the way they deteriorate. Vascular dementia steps down abruptly and then levels or often improves slightly presumably as the result of stroke.
Keep him busy,social and mentally stimulated and hope for the best
His short term memory is extremely poor because of this and he also has a gap of abou 10 years of life events. In terms of your Dad my husband has obviously had this problem for up to a decade. His life has been full and we travelled a lot. He is now in a Nursing home but he truly belongs to the medically complex group.
We belonged to groups through Parkinsons and I think this helped my husband to be mentally and physically active. I also think being social is hugely beneficial. I used an Alexa to prompt my husband to remember medication and also stored his diary on it.
The difference between his vascular dementia and his parkinsons dementia is the way they deteriorate. Vascular dementia steps down abruptly and then levels or often improves slightly presumably as the result of stroke.
Keep him busy,social and mentally stimulated and hope for the best
@SeaSwallow @maisiecat thank you for your replies. It’s just so frustrating. No further input from elderly mental health. Any issues to contact GP so no support for my parents apart from me. We will just hope that things don’t get any worse for a while and if/when they do go back to GP. Xx
