I thought I had posted this before but can't find the discussion.
Is it necessary to have my mom evaluated by the Dr to see if she has Alzheimer's or dementia? She is in an Assisted living facility and has rapid memory decline.
Dr has instructed us that she cannot live alone. We had an appointment scheduled but then the Covid hit.
Help. She does not want to take additional meds, currently takes high blood presure meds & calming meds.
Unless Mom is trying to escape the AL I would not move her. She is getting 24/7 care there. Aides are on duty 24/7.
Mom does not need to be on any extra medication. There comes a point that the cognitive meds given in the early stage have no effect in later stages. The only thing she may need to maybe something for anxiety ifcshe is experiencing it.
Getting a diagnosis..First a comment about this..Alzheimer's IS dementia it is one type of dementia.
Is it important to get an accurate diagnosis?...Yes and No.
Yes as there are some forms of dementia Lewy Body Dementia that if particular medications are given they can be dangerous if not fatal.
Many forms of dementia have particular traits that go with a particular dementia. This is not to say ALL types of dementia follow these traits and you can have more than 1 type of dementia at the same time.
I would say IF it is not stressful for the person getting all the tests, IF they can comply with the testing procedures then it can do no harm in getting some testing done. If it is stressful and the person non-compliant it may not make a difference.
If she is already on medications for anxiety there is a good possibility that the dementia she has is not Lewy Body and that would be the one particular dementia that is problematic with medications.
Once in AL there does not need to be a doctors recommendation to move her to Memory Care.