@bille

It sounds as if you have some good goals for your appointment and that is important. You can make the most of your appointment time.

Are the cognitive problems your main concern or are there other physical limitations you would like to address?

This is a follow on to my previous posting about going through cognitive testing at Johns Hopkins. I had the testing on Friday March 22nd. I had purposely not done any Googleling of what the tests were. I did not want to skew the results. The Dr. said that was a great decision. My husband and I were taken into an office and introduced to the Psychologist and the MD that would be reviewing the results as well as conducting some of the testing. I gave them my binder that contained all the test results from the various MRI scans and other tests given since I had the stroke. This they reviewed while I was in testing and returned at the end of the day.

The tests began with both of us being interviewed together to describe what happened. They also explained that the testing could not tell what, if anything, was lost since they had nothing to compare it to.

The Doctors were interested in what I experienced as well as my husbands perspective. This was a give and take session that probably lasted the better part of an hour. Then we were separated. I went with the Dr. that was going to give my tests. My husband was also given some forms to fill out giving his assessment of any changes he saw after the stroke. This was very interesting because in the final report they explained the difference between how I judged I did versus how Rob (my husband) judged I did.

My testing took about 7 hours with a break for lunch. I was placed in an office with the Dr. giving the tests. There were many tests in the battery. The tests were given orally or written. Only one test was done with a computer. I will not go into the various tests themselves. After the testing we were told we would get the results in about two to three weeks. The final report was 6 pages long and was an excellent benchmark of where I currently stand.

For me this was very important not only because of the stroke, but also because my mother had dementia. Now if I have another brain event or indications of dementia, I can be tested again from any facility that is certified for giving these tests. Since they are extremely standardized I would be able to compare my results to see if anything had changed.

In the conclusions they made recommendations to my General Physician for follow up. For me they recommended a sleep study, and treatment for depression. I am very glad I went through this battery of tests and highly recommend them for anyone who needs a benchmark of where you are cognitively.