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What are questions we should ask the neurologist?

Caregivers: Dementia | Last Active: 2 hours ago | Replies (9)
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@pamela78

Here's what I don't understand: if there's no treatment for Alzheimer's, why the need for excessive diagnostics? It seems to me that, once you have a diagnosis, what you need is lots of support. Perhaps the money that goes for expensive and distressing testing could be used for actual support either in the home or in a memory care facility.

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Replies to "Here's what I don't understand: if there's no treatment for Alzheimer's, why the need for excessive..."
Helen, Volunteer Mentor | @naturegirl5 | 1 day ago

@pamela78 The need for testing and imaging is to make an accurate diagnosis. There are other conditions and diseases that look like Alzheimer's disease but without adequate time with the patient and more testing it's not possible to know that. I wrote in my first post that some of the symptoms that were described by @lynnrackliff could be something other than Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease and other dementias are not straightforward or easy diagnoses to make in a doctor's office in one visit. She wrote that her husband had a stroke 5 years ago. What if the current symptoms are related to more strokes? Then the additional testing and imaging can sort that out. Then the doctor can decide what medications or treatments can be offered to prevent future strokes. What if some symptoms are depression? Then there is treatment for that.

I saw all of the above in my years working as a mental health professional in a Memory Diagnostic Center.

Does this help to explain why I made these suggestions?

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