Does a diagnosis make a difference?

[Borntobeamum]

Dm is 90 and currently in a care home after DF passed away I. Sept.
She was referred to the memory clinic in April after being hospitalised with a UTI and Covid.

We were informed there’s an 8 month wait.

The care home could possibly refer her but that has to be discussed.

The staff tell us she definitely has Alzheimer’s but would an official diagnosis make a difference?

DM is self funding but also receives DLA and AA.

Many thanks x

I don't know but I am very interested in the answers. My mum is 86 and has severe osteoarthritis. The process that led to her going into a home came about because she had a fall and her carer thought she might have had a stroke. But once she was in hospital it was clear that my constant support had masked her cognitive decline and she is now in a home and she definitely has dementia but no idea what sort. She also has a tremor on one side so possibly Parkinsons? I do wonder if a diagnosis would be beneficial but not sure how.

@Borntobeamum If you have a diagnosis then the memory service can prescribe medication in some instances, to aid with the memory/functioning. You would also find it easier to access help from them if the memory declines and them needing specialist dementia care.
They would probably carry out a head scan and only then can they diagnose what type of dementia it is eg Alzheimer’s, mixed.
@IthinkIsawahairbrushbackthere From a Parkinson’s point of view then again medication would certainly be beneficial to aid symptoms. Parkinson’s nurses would be involved also to call on.

My dad masked mums too. We didn’t know just how he coped with her as it’s clear she has no sense of time or day. She hasn’t taken her medication for a year. She was stockpiling in her drawers.
She wanders. Starts argument- which is so unlike her. She tells us she got a taxi home last week and when the staff said she hadn’t, she sneers at them. It’s just heartbreaking as this is not my Mum any more.
I absolutely dread visiting her, and yet because I live a long way away, I can’t just pop in for 1/2 and hour.
It’s making me ill 💔

pennee Many thanks.
Im going over to see DM tomorrow so will try and push for a referral x

I think a diagnosis is helpful - as others have said there maybe some medications which can help but even though i knew my dad had dementia years ago it helped me deal with him knowing that he was ill and couldn't help how he behaved.

My mum went to the memory clinic and the nurse asked her a load of questions. The consultant then read her answers and diagnosed her as having Alzheimers. We told them that she had angina and had had a heart bypass. So they changed her diagnosis to Alzheimers with vascular dementia. So who knows what she's got. But they did prescribe medication to supposedly stop the decline (but would it really for your mum?) and it can calm them down and make them less aggressive. Which might be helpful for her?
We were told we'd get loads of help after the diagnosis but we got nothing except a blue badge for when we take her out. When they're self-funding, there's really not that much interest in them. But at least your mum's being cared for in a nice home so you're lucky.

It's helped with my mum but that was for stuff that's only important because she is still at home. E.g. we got a pivotell on loan from social services because she was forgetting what day it was & whether she had takent her so was taking a weeks worth of medication in 2 days. I think the medication only helps if you start it quite early. I suspect that as she is in a care home and they are aware of her issues it probably wouldn't make a lot of difference.

Hi I’m in same position. Home says her memory is v bad - she rings incessantly and doesn’t really remember. Extremely grumpy. Everything urgent. I’m not sure what difference it’d make - just worry her more I think. Perhaps if the home knows her, her ways and you also put it down to/ read up on dementia it can help cope with increasing erratic nonsense! ( I’m not close to my mum though).

OP, if staff in the care home are contradicting what she says, they have no idea how to manage people with dementia. Basic care includes not challenging or contradicting what they say. So if mum says she’s been home in a taxi, carers should respond with “that’s nice” or done equally non comittal reply.

YES - it does make a difference because different types of dementia progress differently and can be treated with different drugs. As you know there is no cure but the focus is on delaying the decline.

Given you are usually dealing with elderly people who (to be blunt) could die at any moment but could live another ten years declining slowly, even buying them a couple more years at their current cognition level can be a big deal - think about the difference between knowing how to get dressed yourself or needing someone else to dress you for example.

For example a drug called donepizil can be used to delay Alzheimer's and Lewy Body dementia.

Really for an accurate diagnosis of the specific type of dementia you need a brain scan combined with other information about the patient.

The impression I get from others is you will have to push hard to get a scan or even biomarker testing because the NHS want to fob everyone off with a memory questionaire and say it's Alzheimers.

If you have a loved one and can afford it. I'd pay to have it done privately to be sure I'd done all I could.

Sadly my dad definitely needed a diagnosis, as his behavioural changes and unsteadiness on his feet/dangerous driving turned out to be Huntington's disease, which had very serious potential repercussions for me and my DC, due to the 50/50 pattern of inheritance. All sorts of diagnoses were being suggested before he saw a neurologist.

He was able to be prescribed meds to control his movement, and the diagnosis meant that he went into a specialist care home.

It may be a long wait, but please do pursue a diagnosis, there may be things that can help