Diagnosis

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. This is a photo of Mum’s last Christmas living independently in December 2015.

Unfortunately it took me 4 years to get the official diagnosis for my Mums condition. In 2009 I asked her doctor to carry out the assessment in order to get her referred to the mental health specialists. I did feel guilty putting my Mum through the tests. She is by nature an incredibly anxious individual and the memory tests heightened her anxiety.

I appreciate it may have initially been difficult for others to notice her memory loss. My Mum has excellent emotional intelligence so comes across very well when interacting socially. Others put her memory problems down to anxiety and so her dosage prescription for anxiety was increased. She also suffered B12 deficiency which is common in women approaching their 60’s. The condition results in a lack of energy levels and so her memory loss was linked to tiredness. She passed the memory tests with flying colours! She was for example tested on her times tables which having been schooled by Catholic nuns meant she could recite them off by heart!

I was still convinced that there was a serious underlying memory problem and persevered. I insisted on the referral to the mental health specialists. Again Mum did well during the assessment which resulted in no diagnosis.

I was living in New York at the time and was trying my best to manage the situation from a distance. It wasn’t until family and friends started to agree with me and notice some concerning changes that I knew I was on to something. Whilst my parents were divorced, the death of my Dad really knocked my Mum for six and she went into a huge spiral decline.

I loved living in New York and having been there for over 3 years, I decided not to extend my assignment. It was time to return to the UK and start supporting Mum from the London. Easy decision!

With The decline in her condition the  doctor surgery became increasingly concerned about my Mum’s behaviour. She kept missing appointments and turning up at the surgery 3 or 4 times a day not remembering she had already visited several times that day. Her doctor called and strongly recommended another referral to specialists.

The appointment with the mental health specialists took place in July 2013. I was able to take part by meeting with the experts and provide examples of what changes I had seen in my Mum’s behaviour. She also had a brain scan which showed a decline when compared to the previous brain scan. This time Mum really struggled with the memory test which showed a decline in her short term memory. Finally the diagnosis I had been waiting for “Mixed Dementia Predominantly Alzheimer’s”. My Mum was age 65 at the time.