After getting a diagnosis of DLB and VD following an exhaustive text book list of testing and going thru 7 doctors we are now at the point of possibly repeating the neuro psycch exam for mom. Has anyone had more than one neuro psych exam, the one that lasts about 8 hrs? Is this typical to repeat the test within months of the last exam? Mom has improved and is arguing her case well. The doctor feels the only thing he can do is to repeat the testing. He said it more to appease her the first time. I am not so sure now. Three doctors including this doctor claim that the first test was accurate, and there's no real reason to repeat. They all 3 recently have said she should not live alone. I fear what could happen if mom is determined able to live alone, but also don't want to deny her the possibility to test again. I'd like to not base my decision on fear. My opinion is that she should never live alone again, but I cannot deny the improvements she has made. It seems as the guardian the decision to re-test is mine. Mom goes back and forth on whether she would like to re-test or not. For one she doesn't trust the testing and fears a negative result. Secondly she feels she was completely well at the last test and she was determined to need 24 hr care. Seriously though there is a huge difference in her then and now. I still see the dementia, but the total psychotic factor is gone. I'd appreciate any insight on this. This has been a long hard journey to make a mistake now and put her at risk again. It seems to be a matter of trusting the results from before, and or trusting them again regardless of the outcome.
I guess I'd humor her. Leave the decision in her hands. Neuropsych testing measures reasoning, attention, problem solving, sequencing and various aspects of memory, among other things. Not sure she's going to get much of a different result.
Are her reasoning skills better ? Can she balance a checkbook? Cook a nutritious meal? Manage her meds?