Testing for dementia but ignoring the real MH concerns -help

[MereDintofPandiculation]

Parent referred to MH team and given Addenbrookes Cognition Examination ACEIII, scoring 84 (inconclusive). However my main concerns are a) inability to stay on the subject - you ask a question, and the reply wanders from topic to topic, and you keep having to drag it back b) excessive anxiety about improbable or non-existent risks, whereby things people do every day end up with imprisonment or bankruptcy.

Dr administering ACE doesn't seem concerned, and I suspect parent will be discharged with a "mild cognitive impairment consistent with age" diagnosis, which doesn't get us anywhere towards letting parent live in a less scary world. So where do I go from here? What should I be asking for? Are there any magic words or phrases that will let my concerns be heard?

Just bumping this in the hope that someone will see it who can offer advice

I don’t really understand your post.

1. How old is the parent?

1. Symptoms of early dementia often include obsessiveness, anxiety and a loss of empathy. What stand alone MH problems are you hoping to have diagnosed?

1. Are there any medications that might be causing the symptoms? Or health issues?

Also much sympathy. It is very sad when a parent ceases to be the person they were.

Can you ask for an IAPT referral?

My sympathies, OP, my family is experiencing something similar at the moment, so I appreciate how frustrating and concerning this is

@Needsmoresleep
1 late 90s
2 what seems to me like paranoia. For example, any course of action on his part will lead the authorities/multinational companies to go down a course which will lead inevitably to him being in prison and/or both him and me being bankrupt.

1. I don't know, I'd like to find out

The crux of my problem is - the paranoia may or may not be dementia linked, but at the moment his dementia assessment has come up "inconclusive", and they don't seem interested in the paranoia. I'm worried that they'll just say "no dementia, he's OK for his age", and we are left with no answers over the paranoia, which is leading him to make bad decisions.

I don't think we'll get anywhere with an IAPT referral - he doesn't accept he has anxiety problems, it's that I "haven't got the sources of info that he has" so I "don't understand the problem".

Thank you both so much for responding.

Oh bless you. IME this is one of the hardest stages as you approach a diagnosis for your parent, as they are still partly competent, but are not aware enough to see how they have changed and how their behaviour is affecting their quality of life. (I have 2 parents with a dementia diagnosis) So you may well be caring for them but they are not aware of the extent that you are doing this and may not be willing to be cared for in the ways in which they need.

If you google "Treating paranoia with dementia" you get some interesting links. I haven't joined this site but it looks relevant to you dementia and paranoia

I have also found the Alzheimer's Society helpline is brilliant for offering advice. A phone call with "My parent has dementia but is there any help that I can get for their symptom of anxiety/paranoia which may or may not be caused by the dementia?" would get you through to them. Don't worry about not having a definitive diagnosis of dementia - they don't ask for proof and would be able to advise how you could get help, if any is available, for your parent's distress.

Best of luck

Factsheet from the Alzheimer's society factsheet here.

You are not the first person to be dealing with this. HTH

I agree that Alzheimer's Society helpline is kind and helpful unlike Age UK and their Forum is also good.

Is your parent bright? My mum is/was very intelligent and did better on the test than she should have done. She came out as inconclusive even though she was not managing, and despite me doing me best to discombobulate her before we went in. (I needed her to fail!)

The worst of the personality changes came at the beginning when I did not underdtand what was going on, as she was doing her best to maintain contol. It meant going through the eye of an emotional storm. She was, in essence, lashing out like a scared animal and I got the brunt.

It is easier now, but then a lot of her has gone.

I really hope that there is something wrong that can be fixed, like a medicine clash. And ahree that AS is a good starting point.

Good luck.

We're at the early stages of this journey so I'm afraid I don't have much of use to contribute myself, but if we do find anything helpful then I'll certainly post again to share it