Dad having brain scan tomorrow - anyone with experience can you advise please?

[WoodenCat]

So my Dad who has been exhibiting symptoms of dementia for quite some time is finally having a brain scan tomorrow. I don’t live near enough to go along, my Mum will be with him. She is in serious denial about everything. I suspect he is quite advanced. He isn’t really sure what’s going on.

Does anyone know, will they get any results or indication of how bad things are tomorrow? Or does it go back to GP or specialist? And is the process speeded up if it’s very bad? I know there’s nothing that can be done to reverse decline but think it can be slowed with the right drugs? Perhaps that’s my wishful thinking.

Any tips for my Mum? I’m going to call her today and suggest she has paper and pen ready to write anything down but not sure what else to suggest.

Thanks

[WoodenCat]

Hopeful bump

[MereDintofPandiculation]

No idea, but your experience is jigsawing-in with mine. Mine had a meeting with the MH doctor, did the "dementia test", fell into the "inconclusive" band. He's been referred for a scan but we haven't heard anything. But the MH doctor has announced he's visiting again in February.

So I'd assume that if you have seen a specialist who referred him for the scan, then that's who it'll go back to, and he'll have another appointment with the specialist. As a general rule, you're lucky to get anything on the day from any sort of scan unless you see a medical specialist - the people conducting a scan are specialists in the scanning process and won't give a medical assessment to a patient.

In the early days some forms of dementia can be slowed with drugs. And if there is any form of dementia support where he is, he'd be able to access it.

People find the alzheimer support website very useful.

[WoodenCat]

Thanks for your reply. I’ll have a look at online support and manage my mums expectations on what they’ll be told tomorrow.

[Stressedoverkids]

I can't really remember now but I'm fairly sure that after Dads we were told that he had Cerebral Atrophy (shrinkage of the brain) and that this was suggestive of Alzheimers.

He was commenced on medication.

[CMOTDibbler]

On the day my mum had her CT scan, it was literally in, scan, out. At the memory clinic appointment after that they gave me the results

[ParkheadParadise]

When my mum was diagnosed with vascular dementia we were told the results on the same day. We spent the day at the memory clinic, where mum has a scan, blood tests and a memory test. I knew the results before we were told as mum's was quite advanced.
Good luck for tomorrow.

[Ribeebie]

Hi, usually when you have a scan you don't get the results that day. The images are interpreted by a radiologist and the report sent back to the doctor who requested the test. With my gran my mum attended the GP with her to get the results. Maybe see if you can attend the follow up appointment with your parents?