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Dealing with a Spouse with a “Mild Cognitive Impairment”
Caregivers: Dementia | Last Active: 4 hours ago | Replies (809)Comment receiving replies
@becsbuddy
Good Morning -
I just joined this group - I've been reading a digging into MCI on my own and have finally scheduled a therapist appointment for myself to figure out how to proceed with loving life with my husband. My question is: how to you approach your spouse about seeing many signs of MCI and that it is a problem in the marriage ????
@kordahl
Replies to "@becsbuddy Good Morning - I just joined this group - I've been reading a digging into..."
@kordahl
Perhaps your husband is unable to process his issues because he's cognitively impaired. Some folks have no awareness that they have challenges, it's called anosognosia (you can do a search on this site for more info).
Do you want to start dating and documenting what behaviors are off his normal? That way you can share with medical professionals when they asked what's up and you have 15 minutes, tops.
All the best to you. 🌺
@kordahl Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect! I’m glad you found this group! I’m going to let the members of this support group answer your questions because they are right in the thick of things right now and I’m not.
I think/hope the therapist will advise you, and the members also, to just take it one day at a time. This is a wonderful group and you won’t be disappointed!
@kordahl everything you say sounds so incredibly familiar. And yes, it affects your marriage, my marriage. We started seeing a therapist together and have been only once but it looks promising. I hope going to a therapist by yourself will help you to better respond to your husband's erratic behaviors. I know how frustrating it can be. There are a lot of people on this thread though who are right there with you. Good luck!
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@kordahl I guess fortunately for me, my wife began complaining of memory lapses long before I could sense anything myself (and I am a retired physician). So I went with her to our primary care physician who also could not detect a problem with the (limited value) MMSE (mini mental status exam). But he referred her to a neuropsychologist who performed formal testing which revealed "MCI". That was 10 years ago. Her progression has been slow but she seems to have lost the awareness that she has significant short term memory loss. She knows "something" is wrong and that it will "only get worse", but isn't very insightful otherwise.
If your husband is unaware of any cognitive impairment and is unwilling to undergo testing, that in itself is telling. A private conversation (or message) with his physician might be useful.