So my mother who has, for 9 years, thought to have dementia. She for 9 years has had little decay in memory loss. It is very strange to me as I have been told she wont know who I am within months and its been years! She seems better and maybe her actions and thought process is based off of years of drinking alcohol and rather symptoms to that. With this assessment and my current standing on that she is fine and deserves time to enjoy life (live at home, over care facility). what is to be expected and what can I do. I support my mom completely and if she passes some of these tests, is there a chance she does not have it?
Who is doing this new assessment?
Dementia is not solely memory loss. It's the inability to reason, to do things in the proper sequence and to do things safely. It's lack of judgement, balance, and difficulty processing complex language and thoughts.
A proper workup for dementia is several hours of paper and pencil AND physical testing by a neuropsychologist and a neurologist, in addition to brain imaging. The fact that your mom still knows you is a blessing, but it does not mean that she doesn't have dementia.
My mom still knows all of us, thank God. But left to her own devices, the tries to brush her teeth with deodorant and puts on her outer clothes before her underwear. She also thinks that any time two men in suits walk down the hallway of her nursing home, the place is "changing hands".
I echo the others when asking - is she in a nursing home now? Is she cognitively and physically in a state where she can safely go home?
I'm assuming the reassessment is because she has improved. It's possible that the original diagnosis was flawed. That happens quite often because of medication issues, infections or other reasons that are not dementia but cause dementia like symptoms.
I'd say have the reassessment and then talk with the doctor about the results. Talk with your mom. See where her general health stands. Then make the decision.
Please update us when you know!
Thanks,
Carol