My mother’s doctor and neighbor of 20 years has diagnosed early onset dementia. A Geriatric Center did tests and confirmed that diagnosis. However now her neurologist says it’s not dementia only forgetfulness. Who do you believe?
I'd believe the neighbor who has known her for twenty years and is a doctor, and the Geriatric Center that performed tests. And I'd find a different neurologist.
Surprisingly, and frustratingly, there is no simple test (or complex test) to verify whether someone has dementia or to determine what kind of dementia. This can easily be determined by examining the brain during autopsy, but that is not much good for diagnostic purposes!
If your mom is, indeed, in the early stage of dementia, it will progress. Time will make it more apparent exactly what her impairments are.
Is she currently at risk because of her "forgetfulness"? Does she leave burners on, leave doors open, feed the cat three times one day and not at all the next? Is she well oriented to her surroundings, or does she sometimes forget which is the basement door and which is the broom closet?
The saying goes, "If you don't remember where you put your keys, that is forgetfulness. If you're confused about what keys are for, that is when you should worry!"
If her symptoms aren't putting her at risk, a wait-and-see approach may be adequate. And if they are putting her at risk, you need to act to minimize the risk regardless of the cause.
Surprisingly, and frustratingly, there is no simple test (or complex test) to verify whether someone has dementia or to determine what kind of dementia. This can easily be determined by examining the brain during autopsy, but that is not much good for diagnostic purposes!
If your mom is, indeed, in the early stage of dementia, it will progress. Time will make it more apparent exactly what her impairments are.
Is she currently at risk because of her "forgetfulness"? Does she leave burners on, leave doors open, feed the cat three times one day and not at all the next? Is she well oriented to her surroundings, or does she sometimes forget which is the basement door and which is the broom closet?
The saying goes, "If you don't remember where you put your keys, that is forgetfulness. If you're confused about what keys are for, that is when you should worry!"
If her symptoms aren't putting her at risk, a wait-and-see approach may be adequate. And if they are putting her at risk, you need to act to minimize the risk regardless of the cause.