Hello
My mum was diagnosed with dementia nearly 2 years ago, aged 59. First we were told Alzheimer's, but when we were sent to her local Alzheimer's Disease Treatment Centre we were told catagorically that she didn't have Alzheimer's so she couldn't have the medication, but she had Frontal Lobe Dementia (Picks Disease). Then we were told it might be vascular dementia. Then we were told she would be discharged from the psychiatrist's care, as there was nothing he could do, and the "diagnosis didn't matter anyway". We begged to be referred to the National Hospital of Neurology to see a neurologist, they are specialists in Picks Disease. But the psychiatrist refused.
We went back to the GP who referred her to a neurologist, a really great doctor, who now says she has Alzheimer's. And a year and a half after being refused Aricept, she is on it. However, she has declined quite a bit, so we don't know now if the aricept will work.
Grrrrr, I am so angry. She should have been given the chance with aricept a year and a half ago. I know if I write and complain to the Alzheimer's Disease Treatment Centre, they will just say it is hard to diagnose blah blah blah. But they were so unhelpful and rubbish there anyway, there was a huge delay on getting her diagnosis as they lost her scan, and then the nurse called me and said "your mum might not have dementia, it could be another cause of the memory loss" but at the same time the doctor was writing a letter with a dignosis of Frontal Lobe dementia, so the nurse was getting my hopes up over nothing.
My mum was diagnosed with dementia nearly 2 years ago, aged 59. First we were told Alzheimer's, but when we were sent to her local Alzheimer's Disease Treatment Centre we were told catagorically that she didn't have Alzheimer's so she couldn't have the medication, but she had Frontal Lobe Dementia (Picks Disease). Then we were told it might be vascular dementia. Then we were told she would be discharged from the psychiatrist's care, as there was nothing he could do, and the "diagnosis didn't matter anyway". We begged to be referred to the National Hospital of Neurology to see a neurologist, they are specialists in Picks Disease. But the psychiatrist refused.
We went back to the GP who referred her to a neurologist, a really great doctor, who now says she has Alzheimer's. And a year and a half after being refused Aricept, she is on it. However, she has declined quite a bit, so we don't know now if the aricept will work.
Grrrrr, I am so angry. She should have been given the chance with aricept a year and a half ago. I know if I write and complain to the Alzheimer's Disease Treatment Centre, they will just say it is hard to diagnose blah blah blah. But they were so unhelpful and rubbish there anyway, there was a huge delay on getting her diagnosis as they lost her scan, and then the nurse called me and said "your mum might not have dementia, it could be another cause of the memory loss" but at the same time the doctor was writing a letter with a dignosis of Frontal Lobe dementia, so the nurse was getting my hopes up over nothing.