Another forum member posted this, but it may have not been seen by all whom would benefit from reading it. It was in a reply to a question. I can't remember who it was, but thank you so much. Tons of information in a small number of pages.
https://tinyurl.com/rhkmos9t
Thank you again, OP!
Wow! Thank you for pointing that out!
How would one go about getting a diagnosis? My mother is in Memory Care, and we don't have a cause. We do know that my grandmother, my mother's mother, had dementia in her last few years. She died not recognizing anyone in our family.
My mother did have an MRI, and there was nothing remarkable about that. She also had a CT scan. Nothing there, either. Thyroid is treated. She is on antidepressants now, and also anxiety meds, because those were huge problems. The dementia remains.
Her primary doc was not helpful AT ALL.
Would the next step have been a neurologist? A long test would have TERRIFIED her and put her anxiety through the roof.
I really am clueless about this. Your insight would be helpful - I'm thinking of my daughters and what they should do if I am in the same position in 20 years.
Thank you!
From the Mayoclinic.org...
"Some diseases look like dementias, such as those caused by a reaction to medications or vitamin deficiencies, and they might improve with treatment."
"Looks like dementia" is not the same as actually being a diagnosis of a dementia. Just like vertigo can make one appear to walk like they are intoxicated (imbalanced). Yet that person is not actually drunk, just shares a similar outward "symptom". The diagnosis is vertigo, not intoxication. Does that make sense?
Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dementia/symptoms-causes/syc-20352013#:~:text=Dementia%20describes%20a%20group%20of,memory%20loss%20has%20different%20causes.