Vascular Dementia in DF?

[Cherrybl0ssm]

Does anyone have recent experience of their DF being diagnosed with vascular dementia.
My Dad has had quite a sudden personality change/increased traits. Really ranty, angry. Incessantly talking about topics. Swearing and shouting.
Im interested what to ask at the doctors. How easy it it to get a MRI scan for this ? It’s one of the diagnostics on the NHS website.
It’s making DM really anxious and unhappy and giving her chest pains from anxiety from him.
Any suggestions and tips welcome.
I live quite far away so can’t go to the GP appointment with him. He’s told my sister he thinks something is wrong but I think he is scared because he hasn’t booked a doctors appointment
No other issues eg he isn’t confused. Maybe lost a bit of confidence with driving long distance but no memory loss/forgetting to turn off the hob etc

[sleepwouldbenice]

Hi my mum has vascular dementia

It didn't happen the way you described but that doesn't mean yiou shouldn't get things checked out

I started by emailing the doctor and saying what was happening
She rang me to talk about it and then invited mum in for some routine tests then added memory tests to this and then it carried on from there

Sadly things might not get better. You need to start somewhere and get the diagnosis path started

[Leeds3]

Hi, sorry to hear about your DF. My DM was finally diagnosed as having vascular dementia today, I was actually coming on to look for support. She had a stroke although if I'm honest I think the dementia symptoms started before. Huge mood swings, both physically and verbally aggressive. Due to some suicide ideation she was referred to adult psychiatric services. She has been prescribed a cocktail of medication which has regulated her mood (no more violent outbursts) She has had a loss of mobility and is having issues with incontinence. I am going to contact some support groups to see how I can make her as comfortable as possible.
Do you have permission to speak to your DF's doctor? If not, get written permission from your DF and have that added to his medical records.
Sorry not to be able to offer any practical support but just wanted to let you know that you are not alone...

[PermanentTemporary]

I'm not sure it sounds like vascular dementia specifically but a sudden change like that needs checking out. Can you nag encourage your sister to book an appointment and take him?

[CMOTDibbler]

My mum had fronto temporal variant dementia, and her first symptoms were word finding and behavioural. Memory loss wasn't really noticeable for some time, and she could pass (just about) the standard dementia screening but when they did the test that was more about the areas of her deficits she scored very low.
So its very important that someone goes with your dad to the GP, or that they are contacted ahead of time to give them the right information

[DPotter]

My Mum was referred to the memory clinic at the local hospital. She was actually too distressed by the whole assessment things so never received a formal diagnosis. However this doesn't matter for support services to kick in - be that day care, visiting carers, various allowances.

If your DF is just displaying personality changes it may not be dementia - strokes can cause theses symptoms - either way definitely worth checking out. Ask your sister to book an appointment with the GP and take your DF and go in with him. If she won't then can you organise some time off ?

[Trixiedrum]

This sounds atypical, I’d agree more like fronto-temporal than Alzheimer’s, for example. Very worrying, I’m sorry.

The GP should know the pathway to refer for further investigations. There may be a waiting list unfortunately.

Please do make sure the GP is made aware of the exact concerns, and mention frontier-temporal dementia as a worry. Email them now or hand in a note. And can you book an appointment for him, if he is procrastinating about it?

[AFlockOfTigers]

A brain tumour is also a real possibility for personality change without apparent memory loss.

[Remaker]

I’m assuming he hasn’t been diagnosed with vascular dementia? I agree it sounds a bit more like fronto-temporal dementia which is associated with loss of inhibition and leads to behavioural changes.

But he needs to see a dr to rule out other medical causes and to get a proper diagnosis. Does he have a good GP that he trusts?