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calcoop2000 Asked June 2010

I want my mom to know that she has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, how to I tell her?

sharynmarie Apr 2014
Lucky for us our mom already had everything in order. DPOA, living trust etc. However, she is in denial about having Alzheimer's. She is advanced..mentally incapacitated. If we tell her she has Alz, she gets combative. Her Dr uses the term memory loss so she does not get upset.

blannie Apr 2014
Why are you hesitating to just tell her? Will she be depressed or in denial? I'd probably not use the Alzheimers word, unless you think that will help in some way. Why not just tell her she has been diagnosed with some cognitive decline or problems with her thinking and leave it at that?

If she hasn't set up a POA for property and health, for SURE that needs to be done, sooner rather than later, whether she had Alzheimers or not. Work on the POAs. And also her will if she hasn't done one of those. What else is going on that makes you want to be sure she knows she specifically has Alzheimers?

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getnstrong Apr 2014
Someone please answer this question!!! I am in the same boat, and since her MD refuses to tell her, I am wondering if, and how, I should let her know. Right now she'll say, "well, I'm 92 and I have a right to be forgetful". Perhaps with early onset Alzheimers' the doctor would be more forthright, so the person could get their affairs in order. Maybe at this age, there's no point to telling her? Help!

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