Mild cognitive impairment: What questions to ask the neurologist?

Where is the HABIT program? Is it something you can participate from home? Does insurance pay for it?

Hello @sb4ca - I'm so sorry you are struggling with MCI and ocular disruption. Naturally you feel "done with this" out of frustration, exhaustion, fear. Understandably, it's a lot. I'm happy you have this community to seek support from. Your post caught my eye because I just went to my mom's neurology follow up appointment last week to discuss her being diagnosed with MCI, after an MRI showed no signs of Alzheimer's or Dementia, thankfully. As I'm sure you have been doing, I've researched MCI. Here's what Mayo has to say about MCI:

Mild Cognitive Impairment - diagnoses and treatment -

- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mild-cognitive-impairment/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20354583#:~:text=Health%20care%20providers%20often%20use,the%20degree%20memory%20is%20impaired.

For the past year or so, my mom has described what you say - losing words, thoughts, spelling. She had been having TIA's as well and scans proved a stroke at some point. She has a small brain tumor that is watched annually for growth, and suffers from ocular migraines for many years. Plus, she lives in chronic pain from a traumatic accident years ago which is "managed" and I say that loosely, with opioids. A mixed bag of mitigating factors. Sound familiar?

Has your neurologist suggested memory medication? My mom has been taking one and swears it has made a change in her reciting of words and thoughts. While I don't know specifically about your diagnoses, I know that when faced with a plethora of symptoms and challenges, the CNS can go a little haywire and the overwhelmingness of it all causes an uptick in symptoms. At my Mom's appointment, her neurologist handed her a packet about "Curable".

Curable: A Different Approach -

- https://www.curablehealth.com/?gad=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvP3s7aiHgAMVVROzAB1fqgJ4EAAYASAAEgKhzfD_BwE

Curable is a site that has been spoken highly of by Connect members who have chronic pain. It offers a different approach to pain management and I was very pleased to see my mom's doc was acknowledging the need for self-help and self-management, in addition to meds, etc. Maybe it could be helpful as you and your doctors navigate your current health conditions.

Here is a Connect discussion about Curable -

- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/amazing-websiteapp-in-dealing-with-chronic-pain-curablehealth-com/

I sure wish you the best in your journey. Try to stay positive and keep your chin up. You got this! When might you know if you will apply to Mayo Clinic?

I am pleasantly surprised to hear that an MRI can rule out Alzheimer’s or dementia. That’s new to me. And good news for your mother.

I want help with minor memory issues

Hi there @lwbarker, thank you for your reply. I was going on what my mom's neurologist shared with me. It's all still quite new to me, too. Learn as I go. Apparently an MRI is a biomarker for detection . Here's some info that breaks down what MRI testing can and can't do regarding Alzheimer's or dementia:

~ https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-symptoms-and-diagnosis/how-biomarkers-help-diagnose-dementia

Hoping the article provides clarity. Have a pleasant evening.

Depending on one's degree of cognitive impairment, there are LOTS of things that can be done. As noted below, I am mildly cognitive impaired (MCI) and the overriding rule is to unburden my cognition. We MCIs have no cognition to spare. So, everything goes on MY table next to the kitchen: books, notes, mail that I want to look at again, and--in a basket--key fobs, my wallet, extra eyeglasses, and lots of other small things. On this table are a charging cord for my phone and one for my chromebook. I keep 3 $150 chromebooks thru the house and I ALWAYS put them back by remembering to connect them to their chargers.

The chromebooks and phone raise the issue of notetaking. I use Google Notes for everything--grocery lists, pool chemicals, and more. I rely on Google Calendar for appts. I lose paper notes and always have my phone (or a chromebook), so I always have my notes. (I am unaffiliated with Google.)

Household and yard clutter are prohibited. The table and basket spare me the frustration of looking for something. (With my impairment, I can't see pliers if they are on the opposite side of the drawer where they are kept.) Clutter raises the lost-item issue, but more importantly draws cognition just in living with it and navigating thru it. It bears repeating, we MCIs have no cognition to lose.

Cognition is learning, recalling, reasoning, problem-solving and attending--the last being the precondition to the rest. For the MCI, attention precludes multitasking, pressured conceptual processing, and distracting or overstimulating settings. Reading instead of tv. Prayer, meditation or well-written poetry instead of the news. Humming and singing (which promote the rest-and-relax parasympathetic nervous system over the fight-or-flee sympathetic nervous system). We MCIs must find the joy of sensory vs conceptual processing, the right brain instead of the left brain all the time.

Hope this helps.

Depending on one's degree of cognitive impairment, there are LOTS of things that can be done. As noted below, I am mildly cognitive impaired (MCI) and the overriding rule is to unburden my cognition. We MCIs have no cognition to spare. So, everything goes on MY table next to the kitchen: books, notes, mail that I want to look at again, and--in a basket--key fobs, my wallet, extra eyeglasses, and lots of other small things. On this table are a charging cord for my phone and one for my chromebook. I keep 3 $150 chromebooks thru the house and I ALWAYS put them back by remembering to connect them to their chargers.

The chromebooks and phone raise the issue of notetaking. I use Google Notes for everything--grocery lists, pool chemicals, and more. I rely on Google Calendar for appts. I lose paper notes and always have my phone (or a chromebook), so I always have my notes. (I am unaffiliated with Google.)

Household and yard clutter are prohibited. The table and basket spare me the frustration of looking for something. (With my impairment, I can't see pliers if they are on the opposite side of the drawer where they are kept.) Clutter raises the lost-item issue, but more importantly draws cognition just in living with it and navigating thru it. It bears repeating, we MCIs have no cognition to lose.

Cognition is learning, recalling, reasoning, problem-solving and attending--the last being the precondition to the rest. For the MCI, attention precludes multitasking, pressured conceptual processing, and distracting or overstimulating settings. Reading instead of tv. Prayer, meditation or well-written poetry instead of the news. Humming and singing (which promote the rest-and-relax parasympathetic nervous system over the fight-or-flee sympathetic nervous system). We MCIs must find the joy of sensory vs conceptual processing, the right brain instead of the left brain all the time.

Hope this helps.

I too have MCI...have had it for the past 7 years. It is very frustrating for our loved ones besides our frustrations too. You have given some good options. I think TV is very distracting and hard on the nerves. Reading is very good, it allows us the pleasure of "changes in immediate difficulties and allows us pleasure in the life of another not focusing on our limitations. I have been singing in church choirs since I was a child. I still sing people enjoy my singing also. It truly makes my limitations easier to live with. Thank you for the positive thoughts and suggestions too.