Confused by diagnosis process

[Melabells]

Hi everyone, my dad is 64 lives alone. He started showing signs of memory issues over a year ago had a ct scan in January this year and over lockdown he declined dramatically. He lost weight wasn't eating very confused had hallucinations. He started ianti anxiety meds which have been great and he says himself he doesn't feel so anxious anymore. So far he has had two memory assessments on in January with gp and one last Wednesday with the mental health team. Both of these were tough to witness and showed the extent that he finds simple tasks difficult. My question is we are yet to get a diagnosis. His test results have been sent to a consultant to decide on next steps. When will this be? Do we have to wait more months/weeks? His scan in January showed brain atrophy so we are concerned he will be diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. The whole process seems confusing and all we want is to be able to answer dads question of " what's happening, what's wrong with me". Sorry for the rambling post. I guess I'm asking how long did it take you to get an official diagnosis?

So sorry to hear about the deterioration of your dad but can totally relate as we were in the same situation you are in a year ago.
My dad was showing changes in behaviour, getting up in the middle of the night thinking it was daytime and forgetting the names of simple things etc His symptoms were starting to show about 3 years ago at 66 so like your dad very young. Like you've already gone through we had the gp assessment, then mental health team assessment. From memory think he then saw the consultant to get the results about a month later.
Dad is on medication which does seem to make him a little clearer in the mornings, but by the late afternoon/evening he is getting very muddled and confused.

My dad has got vascular dementia mixed with alzeheimers , they will let you know at the next appointment what type of dementia they think it is and if medication may help.
I would say to get a lasting power of attorney sorted as soon as you can if you haven't already as the deterioration can sadly be quite quick.
I won't lie it is completely shit seeing someone relatively young go through this. Wishing you the best of luck ❤

To be honest whilst a diagnosis can be useful for you to understand what is happening, it won't make that much difference as all services are based on need not diagnosis these days. One thing you should do is set up power of attorney for both money and health urgently whilst he can consent, it's a lot cheaper than the court of protection route. You can do everything online then will need to get it witnessed. Do remember to always take care of yourself too, it's a cruel disease I've unfortunately had lots of dealings with, have a virtual hug and pm me if you need help with the forms etc as I've had to to do them several times for different people.

Thanks for your replies. We have almost finished the POa process. Just need to sign the paperwork which got held up with solicitors annual leave. It's shit seeing him go through this, and seeing him get so angry and frustrated at things. I guess I will tell him we will wait a month and then anything that we hear sooner than that will be icing on the cake.