My partner was diagnosed with Vascular Dementia 3 years ago, although I was aware he had memory problems for at least 12 to 18 months prior to that. However, I am now wondering if the diagnosis was wholly correct. His short term memory has been non-existent for all that time, and he has suffered with occasional bouts of confusion and what I call "muddled memories", but other than that he still showers and dresses, eats well, can undertake various tasks in the home. He goes for walks on the estate where we live and doesn`t get lost. He doesn`t have any balance issues or incontinence problems. I am truly happy that he is generally managing so well, but from all that I have read on the posts here I am surprised that he is doing so well if the diagnosis of V.D was correct. I keep expecting there to be some dramatic change in his capabilities, but to date any changes have been barely noticeable. I keep wondering if anyone here can kindly tell me if, from your knowledge and experience, this can be considered normal in the way V.D. progresses. Thank you.
Wondering if the diagnosis was correct.........
- Thread starter Anthoula
- Start date
Hi @Anthoula
Vas Dem can progress in very very different ways because the symptoms depend entirely on which part of the brain has been affected and this happens at random - it does not progress in an orderly fashion like Alzheimers.
Has he had a scan and do you know what this showed? If the scan showed atrophy (shrinkage) of any part of the brain then together with his memory problems I dont think there would be much doubt.
There are a few people on here (my OH is one of them) who had their diagnosis of dementia taken away, but this has been because the scan did not support the diagnosis. I am still certain that my OH has some form of dementia, though.
Vas Dem can progress in very very different ways because the symptoms depend entirely on which part of the brain has been affected and this happens at random - it does not progress in an orderly fashion like Alzheimers.
Has he had a scan and do you know what this showed? If the scan showed atrophy (shrinkage) of any part of the brain then together with his memory problems I dont think there would be much doubt.
There are a few people on here (my OH is one of them) who had their diagnosis of dementia taken away, but this has been because the scan did not support the diagnosis. I am still certain that my OH has some form of dementia, though.
This is my first post. Hello to everyone. I feel that I know you all already because I am an avid reader of the forum.
My husband had a scan which showed nothing untoward, from which the inference was that he has Vascular Dementia (VaD). He is certainly following all of the reported initial VaD ‘thinking’ symptoms: he is unable to (1) plan, (2) follow graphic or written instructions, (3) handle simple arithmetic, (4) use technology etc. His memory is worsening but this symptom has showed up only latterly. It was not an initial symptom. The symptoms that my husband displays do not seem to match those of your husband who, you say, has memory issues. You make no mention of ‘thinking’ difficulties, which would lead me to believe that he does not have VaD. But who am I to know? Perhaps talk to his GP again?
Often it is stated that VaD declines in a step-wise fashion. I have not witnessed that in my husband. His decline is gradual. Perhaps each step is so minuscule that it is imperceptible, thus it forms a continuum?
That’s about all I can say although it may be of little help to you. Nonetheless, I hope you find an answer. From my reading of this forum, there will be plenty of others wanting to help.
My husband had a scan which showed nothing untoward, from which the inference was that he has Vascular Dementia (VaD). He is certainly following all of the reported initial VaD ‘thinking’ symptoms: he is unable to (1) plan, (2) follow graphic or written instructions, (3) handle simple arithmetic, (4) use technology etc. His memory is worsening but this symptom has showed up only latterly. It was not an initial symptom. The symptoms that my husband displays do not seem to match those of your husband who, you say, has memory issues. You make no mention of ‘thinking’ difficulties, which would lead me to believe that he does not have VaD. But who am I to know? Perhaps talk to his GP again?
Often it is stated that VaD declines in a step-wise fashion. I have not witnessed that in my husband. His decline is gradual. Perhaps each step is so minuscule that it is imperceptible, thus it forms a continuum?
That’s about all I can say although it may be of little help to you. Nonetheless, I hope you find an answer. From my reading of this forum, there will be plenty of others wanting to help.
Both my mother and mother in law have/had vascular dementia. My mum's decline has been steady, but memory loss wasn't the first symptoms we noticed. It started gradually with her being more self-centred and her logic starting to go awry. Memory problems happened later. Mother in law's dementia did go down in a step fashion and there were long periods of eighteen months or so between the earlier steps when she seemed to stay about the same or even slightly improve. It was only towards the end that the decline became a steady one.
my husband has had vasc. dem. for 4 years now diagnosed 3 years ago. the tia that he had did affect the memory because thats the area it happened in. his memory isnt too bad long term but reason, logic and sequencing are far worse. if i want him to get something, i had to describe what it is and where it is and he still doesnt always manage[usually quicker to do it myself]. he finds a spoon easier than a fork on occasions but its more which order to do things. decision making is difficult to. he has copd so between the two, i now shower him, help with dressing in fact manage him, the house and anything else thats needed. it was a bit gradual but he has had a couple of bigger steps down in the last year. every person is different and so is the course that they travel. i go from day to day and deal with things as they crop up.
I think @canary is right, VD can affect sufferers in different ways, possibly depending which part of the brain is damaged. My husband has Alzheimer's/VD diagnosed in 2020 after years of changing behaviours. He still dresses and feeds himself, can be left on his own in our home, and can still take the dog our for short walks in the local area. He seems to be able to still function with these more established memories and routines, but cannot learn new routines and has no short term memory. I began to notice changes about 6 years ago - memory, the ability to organise and plan, manage money and general functioning. He is still physically fit and has no mobility issues, but my understanding is that every body's journey with dementia is different and it is difficult to know exactly what is going to happen in the future. My father had vascular dementia in his 80's and continued to be quite independent until he had a fall.
I agree there probably is no 'normal' for anyone with dementia of any type. I'd already moved my mum to a care home by the time she was diagnosed. The consultant saw her for an hour and had a couple of scans to look at - he decided vascular dementia. Then he had a long talk with me and decided she had Alzheimer's too.
In fact, I knew mum had dementia for years but she was bumbling along independently. Actually, there was quite a lot going on we didn't know about - trouble with electrical items and tech, paranoia, not washing, etc. But she had a (fairly minor) fall getting off a bus, ended up in hospital. Her cognition took a massive drop, hence the move to a CH but we'll never know if she had a TIA that caused her to fall or the fall itself (and she did sustain a bang on the head) made the dementia accelerate.
Even so, despite her considerable delusions and huge memory gaps, mum remained articulate and 'with it' for nearly 3 years, until just before she died. I also doubted the VD diagnosis because she declined gradually after that - there were never any of the 'step changes' associated with vascular dementia and she certainly had no TIA's in those years. Even when she was pushed over and broke her hip, she regained mobility and could walk unaided but with a frame till a week before she died. However, other things were evident earlier - she became incontinent shortly after she moved to the care home. She was perfectly able to wash herself but didn't, as she believed she 'had a shower this morning, as I always do!' so needed a lot of prompting.
It does seem to me that different dementias can look different in the early stages but they all seem to progress and end up the same way. I suppose as others have said, much can depend on which bits of the brain stop working first...
In fact, I knew mum had dementia for years but she was bumbling along independently. Actually, there was quite a lot going on we didn't know about - trouble with electrical items and tech, paranoia, not washing, etc. But she had a (fairly minor) fall getting off a bus, ended up in hospital. Her cognition took a massive drop, hence the move to a CH but we'll never know if she had a TIA that caused her to fall or the fall itself (and she did sustain a bang on the head) made the dementia accelerate.
Even so, despite her considerable delusions and huge memory gaps, mum remained articulate and 'with it' for nearly 3 years, until just before she died. I also doubted the VD diagnosis because she declined gradually after that - there were never any of the 'step changes' associated with vascular dementia and she certainly had no TIA's in those years. Even when she was pushed over and broke her hip, she regained mobility and could walk unaided but with a frame till a week before she died. However, other things were evident earlier - she became incontinent shortly after she moved to the care home. She was perfectly able to wash herself but didn't, as she believed she 'had a shower this morning, as I always do!' so needed a lot of prompting.
It does seem to me that different dementias can look different in the early stages but they all seem to progress and end up the same way. I suppose as others have said, much can depend on which bits of the brain stop working first...
