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She has not definitely been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. You have helped clarify what my questions will be when I see the neurologist. I can get a sense of how complex this can be.
Multiple forms of dementia and/or many other medical issues could be causing this. The only way to know exactly what it is (which is critical to knowing whether any treatments might possibly be helpful) is to take her to see a Neurologist and get properly tested and diagnosed.
I certainly agree with that!! I will ask the Guide social worker when she calls next week.
@A myALZteam Member. Maybe a second opinion from another neurologists? I worked with physicians as an RN for nearly 50 years. They are not all created equal.
@A myALZteam Member: As the saying goes, "EVERY case of Alzheimer's is Dementia, but NOT every case of Dementia is Alzheimer's".
If she has been diagnosed with dementia, the question to ask the Neurologist is which form of dementia does she have?
60 to 80% of Dementia cases are Alzheimer's -- which means 20 to 40% are NOT.
Alzheimer's is a specific brain disease that CAUSES Dementia to occur, by causing progressive cell damage (neurodegeneration). Generally, people start having symptoms 3 years before a diagnosis is sought.
The other types of Dementia include:
● Vascular Dementia (causes about 15% of cases) -- it's the only non-neurodegenerative form of Dementia
● Lewy Body Dementia
● Frontotemporal Dementia
● Mixed Dementia
● Limbic-Predominant Age-Related TDP-43 Encephalopathy (known as "LATE")
I hope this information helps to clarify things for you.
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