What is the likelihood of someone who is diagnosed with mild MCI and Dementia will always stay that way?

That's not a diagnosis. That is a neurologist trying to keep things simple and being a patronising fathead instead. If it were me, I would thank him for his reassuring words and ask him what his findings were, please; and while he's at it would he like to provide a reasoned prognosis.

Does your sister have your mother's permission to share her medical information? It is possible, I grudgingly admit, that the neurologist was giving her the barest synopsis to avoid a breach of patient confidentiality.

My mom was diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment about 4 years ago. She was not put on any meds at this time, but had a follow up appointment every 6 months for the first 2 years. When that doctor left the practice and she had to travel to a neurologist in a larger city, she was put on meds. Gradually she has been put on stronger doses and more medications, but no doctor has ever told her she has Alzheimer's disease. Everyone knows she has Alzheimer's, but no one wants to say it out loud. She wouldn't remember it if we told her anyway.

And your mom should never be left alone in a running car. Somehow, you will have to get your siblings to understand that leaving a dependent adult in a running car is like leaving a child in a running car--dangerous!

MCI can be stable and non- progressing. Dementia is progressive. She will need to be followed to see if there is progression.

Or wrote it down and then couldn't read her own handwriting, true...

Forget about all the medical terms and diagnosis. Are you around your mother at All? What are you Seeing? Is it dangerous to leave her in a running car? This ain't rocket science. How is her memory? Is she able to care for herself?

My Dad has dementia. He has always refused any testing but it's clear what's going on. It might be alz or some other type of dementia but we have to deal with his memory issues and watch out for him.

From all that I know and have read about dementia I think it would be a very unusual case of dementia if it did not progress over time. This is not a ONE MAGIC ANSWER issue. I would suggest that you and your family personally observe your mothers abilities, or lack thereof, and take the necessary actions to make her safe.

" I need to know exactly what I am dealing with for sure and be properly armed with the knowledge of what to do when the time comes. This confusion is not productive for me or for the care for Momma."

Oh, Lyndee, that is exactly how the huge majority of us felt when heard our loved one's diagnosis. We all want desperately to understand EXACTLY what is going on and what to expect.

MCI may or may not progress. If it does, the diagnosis is generally changed to early-stage dementia. That your mother's doctor gave both diagnoses seems odd to me. But by the time you got the word it was third-hand so it is hard to know exactly what the doctor said.

It would be ideal if you and your sister could go with mother and sit through her appointment, so you both hear the news directly. Would this be possible for her next appointment?

Dementia is NOT a "mild" condition. Far from it. But in the early stages the symptoms may be mild. Or in comparing two person's with dementia you might say "my father's symptoms seemed milder than aunt Betty's." Your Mom can't have a "mild" case of dementia, but she can be in the early stages with mild symptoms.

MCI doesn't always develop into dementia, but if her doctor thinks it already has in Mother's case, then it will get worse. Dementia gets worse. It is what it does. But no one can tell you how fast it will get worse or how bad it will be or how long it will last. My husband had extremely severe symptoms in his first year, significant improvement and a plateau at relatively mild symptoms for about 8 years, and then a physical decline in the tenth year. An autopsy confirmed that his diagnosis ten years earlier was correct.

I don't think that my husband's progression was "typical" but the fact is that dementia is very hard to predict, even for professionals.

Whoever is with your mother most (you and your sister?) will know when the various "times" come. You will know before the doctor does that mom should not be left alone in a care. You will know when it stops being safe for her to walk to the post office on her own. You will observe when she should no longer use the stove. You will know when your help is not enough and she needs either in-home professional help, or perhaps being placed in a care center.

Confusion is not productive for anyone. But it is not exactly the doctor's fault. Dementia is a very confusing condition. Next visit, ask the doctor if she has an idea of what kind of dementia may have. Ask for the prognosis. Don't be surprised if the answer to both is "It is too early to tell."

Act on what you do know so far: Your mother has early stage dementia.

Join a local support group for caregivers of persons with dementia.

Begin to educate yourself on dementia in general, and later, if the doctor can pinpoint it more, on the specific kind of dementia your mother most likely has.

AgingCare is not exclusively for people whose loved ones have dementia, but there are enough of us here to provide lots of support and suggestions. Keep coming back. We'll help you through "when the time comes" for all the many times that are ahead of you.

Dementia is a progressive disease. It always gets worse.

Mild cognitive impairment is not a disease but more like an observation without a diagnosis. It can be temporary.

Angel

Lyndee, miracles can happen. Much depends on what other conditions mom has, such as heart conditions or diabetes, for example. No doctor can tell you for certain what her progress will be, how fast or how slow. Take one day at a time, there will be good days and bad days.

I don't like any of this at all. Ever since I joined this website I never once read that anyone ever was diagnosed with a mild case of Dementia or MCI and Dementia. In fact it's been the opposite.

I'm confused badly.

Countrymouse, I have no idea if my sister has our mother's permission to share her medical information. I'd have to ask my sister. I actually thought that this Neurologist doesn't know her butt from a hole in the ground.....but I could be wrong.

Pamstegma, I too thought that maybe my sister sugar coated the dialogue too.....why I have no idea. I need to know exactly what I am dealing with for sure and be properly armed with the knowledge of what to do when the time comes. This confusion is not productive for me or for the care for Momma.

Lyndee - putting the word "mild" next to dementia seems a bit like saying "a little bit pregnant" in my non-expert opinion. Seems like beggining or early stage would be more appropriate. There are many good reasons both legal and ethical to get a more specific diagnosis - the least of which is planning for your mothers future care needs. Do you have a Hippa waiver saying medical information about your mother can be shared with you? If not, I'd start there. Then see about getting a full neurological work up on your mom - ask for a new doctor on the grounds of a second opinion - most medical insurances allow for that. Then go from there.