Does the Patient Have Dementia or Alzheimer’s?

my problem is finding a group my son, age 59, can attend. As it is he sits all day watching TV. He was bowling once a week, but its over. I am going to get him out on the golf course. None of his good friends call or come visit him. He doesn't realize this, so that good. I guess. He is doing ok. He is taking Namenda & is in better spirits. I pray for him always.

This blog/article was very helpful because the medical community seems to throw both words around like a ball! I now understand that Alzheimer's is a type of dementia and the out come is the same with either one.

Testing of course can give some greater reassurance as to what's beset a loved one and perhaps help with choices of treatment. But I'm a bit more with Mr. D. and his wife here -- "What's dementia?" Having dealt with dementia in a number of care situations, I find the word itself can get in the way of sensing need moment to moment. Forget the label if you will while in this mode and address the needs of a person you know still has vitality not always on display -- a rich emotional inner life of experience and memory that can be accessed with your love and kind care. Connect and stay with it as long as needed to accomplish a task and gradually move forward through a day continuing to enlarge on a work begun long ago. And we know your work can be so trying, it goes better with love on your side. Mrs. D: What's dementia? Mr. D: I'm not really sure dear. The one thing I know for sure is that you're beautiful and I love you more each day.

This article failed to point out that if someone has symptoms of dementia it is important to perform the necessary tests to make sure the cognitive dysfunction is not due to blockage in one or both of the carotid arteries. I had an elderly neighbor who began experiencing bouts of dizziness, falling, and forgetfulness and his doctor dismissed it as dementia. When he died the autopsy revealed that carotid blockage, a correctable problem, was the cause of his difficulties. His widow was inconsolable because he could have still been with her if the doctor had just taken a little more care and not assumed the problem was dementia without ruling out the possible physical causes.

My husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2001. Now they feel that it is Lewybody dementia. I have been told that the treatment is the same, so we did not lose any time. He is now in "end of life" stage and we will donate brain tissue to the Harvard Brain Bank so that future generations will have more information.

What type of Dr. would do the "neuropsychological testing?"

I was told that my wife suffered from early onset Alzheimer's. 5 years later, her doctors finally relented and admitted that her "migraines" were really a result of the constant tiny strokes that were destroying her brain. Her treatment in the early years would have been much different with a correct initial diagnosis of vascular dementia, and she may have had a few more good years before the inevitable.

After I was told that Mother had vascular dementia, I felt a little better. A name was finally given to her condition. It still is not easy and the help I find on here is very welcoming. Thank You !