Memory Clinic

[gingerface40]

Hello
Wondering if anyone can help me, my mam is 73 and has just been referred to the memory clinic, does anyone know what happens here ? I work In Mental health but it this area I have no background in.
She has really bad short term memory to the point she will be unable to go anywhere alone.
Has anyone had any experience? And what type of treatments there are? I
Vaguely remember my Grandad being on Aricept

TIA

Hello - I was at the Memory Clinic on Monday with my mum... she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, as we expected.
She was asked to take someone who knew her well with her (me). We saw the consultant first for about 5 mins while she explained we would be given a diagnosis at the end of the session. Mum was then taken for some questions / paper & pencil tests with an assistant psychologist and I was taken elsewhere and asked 101 questions about mum's abilities / changes etc. The questioning lasted for over an hour for both of us!
We then had a 20 min break and were again taken to see the consultant for diagnosis.
Mum has been put on medication which is an option with Alzheimer's, but not for some other kinds of dementia, such as Vascular, I don't think.

Oh so they had no scans or nothing?

That's what I was worried about, as she probably won't go 🤣😂

This is interesting for me as my mum is getting really forgetful and repetitive.

I actually didn't know there was such a thing as a Memory Clinic, I'll have a look to see if there's one in my area.

Thanks for raising this OP, and to Pebble too for replying, it'll be useful to know this kind of thing if I can track something down for my mum too.

My mum did have a scan after first memory clinic appointment which helped towards the dementia diagnosis. Something to be aware of is that some of the prescribed drugs can have side effects - first one made my mother very sick and since she was severely underweight anyway they switched to something else. Also she did not like the clinic - I think she felt they were deliberately trying to trip her up and make her out as worse than she was! (But she really didn’t think she had any issues - thought she was just a little forgetful!)

My experience at a memory clinic was similar to Pebble's, except we weren't given a diagnosis there and then. My aunty was advised to stop driving but was then referred due a scan before we got the final diagnosis (Alzheimers & vascular dementia). I won't pretend it was a pleasant experience but the staff at the memory clinic were lovely.

My dad has been referred to the memory clinic. He has a neurological condition called PSP (progressive supranuclear palsy) It's an absolute fucker.

Anyway, the Neurologist letter to the GP said he'd need to see a nurse and also have a CT scan before the clinic appt.

My mum was the opposite. We had quietly spoken to the GP who referred her for a scan which she had at the local hospital, driving herself there and back (she was just starting to get short term loss at that point) She got the results (dementia consistent with Alzheimer's) and was then referred to the Memory Clinic where she went once every couple of weeks.
It's not going to be an easy ride, but once you are in the system, there's a lot that can be done to help the person get the most out of what memory they have left. My Mum continued driving (having passed the cognitive test) for about another 6 months

We’ve just got referred too. My mum has already had a scan for something else. Thanks for the info.

I want to try to get Power of attorney set up before we get an official diagnosis.

@PleaseReferToMeAsBritneySpears

My dad has been referred to the memory clinic. He has a neurological condition called PSP (progressive supranuclear palsy) It's an absolute fucker.

Anyway, the Neurologist letter to the GP said he'd need to see a nurse and also have a CT scan before the clinic appt.

So sorry to hear your father has PSP, my Mother in law had this. It’s quite rare to find anyone who has heard of it. It is indeed a fucker.

I did mean to ask if any scans were to be done and forgot!

I think with my mum's case, she is very frail and elderly, scored quite low on one of the set of tests apparantely and I think she is probably already 'moderate' on the Alzheimer's scale - so perhaps they felt it was conclusive and no need to put her through that. She also has a strong family history with the early-onset dementia of a sibling.
We have a follow up call in 2 weeks - so I will ask about scans then.

Sadly, as Mum had forgotten her diagnosis by that evening, I don't think there is any doubt

My 90 year old mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer's related dementia last year. She was assessed by a specialist OT at the memory clinic, who carried out a range of simple tests. Things like being given a name and address to remember, and being asked to recall it some minutes later. Also being asked to name x number of animals, and fairly obvious things like who the prime minister is, who the first woman prime minister was etc.

I discovered afterwards that the test of being unable to draw a clock face is a really good indicator of dementia. I thought mum would do it easily but she just couldn't place the numbers correctly. She now cannot tell the time at all.

He also took a detailed family history.

After the assessment she was referred to a consultant who repeated a few of the tests and added a few others.

She had also had a brain scan, which revealed some loss. Ultimately there is no suitable treatment for her, as he felt that the side effects of the drugs were likely to cause her trips and falls to worsen.

Isolation due to COVID seems to have exacerbated her condition, and she's recently fallen and broken her hip. The resultant hospital stay has been a nightmare, and her dementia seems to have progressed rapidly. It's a truly horrible disease.

@CarrieMoonbeams

This is interesting for me as my mum is getting really forgetful and repetitive.

I actually didn't know there was such a thing as a Memory Clinic, I'll have a look to see if there's one in my area.

Thanks for raising this OP, and to Pebble too for replying, it'll be useful to know this kind of thing if I can track something down for my mum too.

Aww no problem, I hope you get sorted xx

Thanks Recycledblonde. Likewise. I'm sorry your family has suffered at the hands of PSP. Yes, I've only come across one person I know who has heard of it. Sadly her mum died a few weeks ago. We went to school together and she saw my name on a Facebook PSP group!

Sadly, as Mum had forgotten her diagnosis by that evening, I don't think there is any doubt

My aunty was the same, was never aware of the diagnosis for more than an hour or two. We skirted around the issue as much as possible but when we had no choice but to mention the diagnosis she was devastated every time. Strangely though she never forgot the memory clinic, she hated them, blamed them for everything. When she wasn't blaming me that is.

@Corrag

Sadly, as Mum had forgotten her diagnosis by that evening, I don't think there is any doubt

My aunty was the same, was never aware of the diagnosis for more than an hour or two. We skirted around the issue as much as possible but when we had no choice but to mention the diagnosis she was devastated every time. Strangely though she never forgot the memory clinic, she hated them, blamed them for everything. When she wasn't blaming me that is.

Yes I am being ignored by my mother at the minute for causing all of this! It's awful.

@gingerface40 I wish I could tell you that things will get better but sadly they won't, assuming your mam gets the diagnosis you're expecting. The only advice I can offer is to buckle up. And accept any help that is offered to you, there's lots out there.

Re treatments, my aunty was on donepezil (aricept) for a couple of years. Of course you never really know whether it's doing anything. It doesn't reverse the symptoms but can slow down the progression in some people. Towards the end she was switched to memantine.

Mum (88) had her diagnosis during 2019 so the memory clinic came to her. She had a memory test, a blood test and a brain scan over a couple of months. They visited again with the results of the scan, a big wodge of papers for services that were closed at the time, the paperwork for Attendance Allowance and a prescription. The first medication made her nauseous, it's a common side effect and usually lasts a week but after a month they switched her to a different medication which had no side effects. I think they said that they had three that they regularly prescribed so she would have had the opportunity to go round again. I think they are visiting about every three months, they've been really good on the phone whenever I'd had a question.

Mum has no knowledge of her diagnosis, she thinks she ought to go and see the doctor about her memory at least once a week.

For anyone reading who has concerns, the first thing they start with is a blood test to exclude everything else that looks like dementia but isn't. There are other things (including vitamin deficiencies) that affect memory, it's not always what we think it is.

Thank you so much for all your replies.

We got the appointment for 15th July, so a few weeks to go yet!

Just a waiting game!

I had a head MRI then a nurse came to my home and did an assessment.
She called me a week later with a diagnosis (TBI in my case)

Hmm, I wonder if I'm going wrong in my search? I know you've all spoken about a Memory Clinic, but when I look for that, all I'm getting is a place called the Glasgow Memory Clinic. It seems to be more about research rather than a doctor or 'ordinary' hospital clinic.

Is that the kind of place you're all talking about?

Can anyone point me in the right direction please? My mum is very skilled at masking her problems with hearing, eyesight and memory, and she talks very convincingly about times when she helped me at my work, times when she helped my brother with certain things etc - none of which happened, but unless you were there, you wouldn't know that it's not true. Her brain is certainly working in mysterious ways!

I would speak to her GP. Afaik each local authority has various memory clinics. In my mum's case it was almost like an outpatient bit of the local hospital.

Carrie I think that you need to start with the GP and then they refer you on. If you search for "yourlocation health dementia services" you might find what it's called in your area.

Agree, you need the GP to make a referral to the memory clinic Carrie. You probably won't find it listed a "memory clinic" anywhere, it'll go by another title. The one I went to with my aunty was a service within an adult mental health clinic. Which caused its own issues, it upset my aunty to receive correspondence with an "adult mental health services" banner at the top.

Ah, brilliant, thanks very much.

We went to the GP first had a number of blood tests, and a urine samples.

A few questions on memory. Then had a referral booked in!

Hope this helps