I took Mom to her Neurologist for the initial diagnosis. I think maybe every six months at first. Then a year just to mark any changes. As said, you need to know what type to get the right meds needed. Also, like said, those meds to help with cognitivity eventually dd no good.
I was lucky, Mom never needed meds until the last stage when she had anxiety. Some are not so lucky. Depending on the type of Dementia they may need medications for anxiety, hallucinations, aggressiveness or paranoia. I would not leave this up to a PCP. My state also requires that a person see a doctor every six months for refills. For that reason, I would see a Neurologist.
After the initial diagnosis of dementia I did not take my Husband to a Neurologist again. Later I did hear a Neuropsychologist that I actually considered taking my Husband to see but at that point it would have not made a difference and I felt putting my Husband through testing would not have made any sense and it would have just up set him. You know that despite the medications that are given for dementia most will have limited use and will stop working. I suppose the only exception to not taking him to a specialist any longer is making sure the type of dementia has been identified. Parkinson's, Lewey Body Dementia has some special aspects to it and proper diagnosis it important as there are medication that a person with LBD should NOT take. If the diagnosis is Vascular Dementia know that there is a likely hood of a massive stroke may be the cause of death or a massive stroke will lead to more rapid decline that what is typical. Continuing with a specialist is up to you at this point.
Muffuns I don’t think everyone does see a specialist. It depends on your primary. Some refer their patients to specialists due to the age of the patient or where the diagnosis is not clear as to the type of dementia. Some dementias are hard to assess in the early stages and a specialist has advanced tests and more experience. It is an important diagnosis. I chose to take my DH aunt to a neurologist to confirm that the drugs she had been prescribed were appropriate. She was always a bit eccentric, was suffering from short term memory loss and is very intelligent. She hated going and after she switched to a geriatric primary, we stopped seeing the specialist. As her POA it gave me a bit more assurance that I was doing the best I knew to do for her. If you share a bit about your situation, others may be better able to help you. It’s a broad subject.
I was lucky, Mom never needed meds until the last stage when she had anxiety. Some are not so lucky. Depending on the type of Dementia they may need medications for anxiety, hallucinations, aggressiveness or paranoia. I would not leave this up to a PCP. My state also requires that a person see a doctor every six months for refills. For that reason, I would see a Neurologist.
Later I did hear a Neuropsychologist that I actually considered taking my Husband to see but at that point it would have not made a difference and I felt putting my Husband through testing would not have made any sense and it would have just up set him.
You know that despite the medications that are given for dementia most will have limited use and will stop working.
I suppose the only exception to not taking him to a specialist any longer is making sure the type of dementia has been identified.
Parkinson's, Lewey Body Dementia has some special aspects to it and proper diagnosis it important as there are medication that a person with LBD should NOT take.
If the diagnosis is Vascular Dementia know that there is a likely hood of a massive stroke may be the cause of death or a massive stroke will lead to more rapid decline that what is typical.
Continuing with a specialist is up to you at this point.
I don’t think everyone does see a specialist. It depends on your primary. Some refer their patients to specialists due to the age of the patient or where the diagnosis is not clear as to the type of dementia. Some dementias are hard to assess in the early stages and a specialist has advanced tests and more experience.
It is an important diagnosis. I chose to take my DH aunt to a neurologist to confirm that the drugs she had been prescribed were appropriate. She was always a bit eccentric, was suffering from short term memory loss and is very intelligent. She hated going and after she switched to a geriatric primary, we stopped seeing the specialist. As her POA it gave me a bit more assurance that I was doing the best I knew to do for her.
If you share a bit about your situation, others may be better able to help you. It’s a broad subject.