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My husband is 66 yo and is seeing a Neurologist and I was wondering if a Geriatric doctor would be better, especially one who specializes in Dementia? It was the Neurologist who diagnosed his Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) back in 09. MRI and testing showed he had had 2 mini strokes, which we were not aware of and plaque was there too. My husband is in denial that he has a problem, gets anxious if he knew the Dr. wants to send him for further testing(to compare it to the baseline one) and believes the doctor is talking down to him. Husband did to to a 6 hour baseline testing/evaluation session but walked out in 2 hours because he was in denial and he told me he hates tests and answering questions. He says he feel stupid when he can't answer them because he doesn't like to read and since he is retired, he doesn't pay attention to what day, month, year it is. Any help is appreciated.

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See a geriantologist. You have the Neurology report and baseline at this point; see a Geriantologist or primary care physician that works with elderly (majority of patients). Your husband is in denial. My mom (90) has AD and PCP finally diagnosed her last yr. He has been her PCP for 20+ yrs so she loves him and trusts him -- BUT; even though she trusts him; once he diagnosed her with AD - she was still in denial and when we talk about it or even he talks about it; she shuts down and 30 min later after the visit -- she denies that he diagnosed her with AD. I've learned to stop fighting it and work closely with the PCP to keep him abreast of her mental and physical capacities. He manages her care and meds (although she now wont take any of the memory meds) and we live day to day.
As the disease has progressed she has stopped watching TV, reading, etc. and easily loses track of time/dates. She no longer has interest in nearly everything and prefers (finds comfort) in just sitting or sleeping within her dreams/memories/delusions.
Its harder for you because your husband is only 66 and his stroke likely contributed to the impairment. See the geriatrician and work with him. Not much use in trying to force reality on your husband; but you will need to care for yourself, find someone to talk to who understands and can help you vent/cope as you and he become frustrated. Try to keep him stimulated to maintain his mind/interests for as long as possible but also remind yourself that you can't turn back time and expect him to behave or remember as he once did. Also, educate yourself about future options for caregiving, in home/ out of home help, memory care, costs, insurance, etc. to give you peace of mind even though you won't be using these things till in the future.
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My husband's primary care physician was a geriatrician and a wonderfully compassionate person whose stated goal was "to make my patients happy." She treated his gout and his pneumonia and saw to it he had flu shots, etc. She also followed the reports from his neurologist who treated his dementia and was extremely knowledgeable about drug interactions and drugs not to use with his kind of dementia.

Your husband may ultimately benefit from a specialist following his dementia, but he will need a primary care doctor, too. I highly recommend a geriatrician. And that may be a good direction to take now.
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My husband also hated the testing. I got him to eat lunch first, and I brought him coffee and a snack in the middle to get him through it.
Agree with him that it's normal not to do well on the tests, and that they are no fun. You and I as caregivers have it hard, but honestly, I would rather be doing this for 20 years than to have dementia myself. If (whenever you aren't going crazy) you can pull back from the aggravation and feel compassion for the hard time he has to go through, then for a little while it will be easier to comfort and love him. I can only do it some of the time, but it feels great when I do. Then I get overwhelmed and angry again. No saint here!
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You may want to try a geriatrician simply because your husband feels the neurologist talks down to him. You'll likely need to see a neurologist for a final diagnosis, but the guidance of a geriatrician may be very helpful in all of his (and you) health decisions, so it's good to start such a relationship if you can. Since geriatricians specialize in aging, most have a good approach to these sensitive issues.

Don't expect miracles - your husband is in denial and wants to stay there. But a geriatrician will test for other possible causes of his cognitive issues, as well.
Good luck,
Carol
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