I have posted under several other topics and cannot seem to find a better way to tell everyone that we did finally get a diagnosis for my DH. We went to UTSW and the diagnosis is FTD. I am still a bit in shock - something I did not expect because I have been trying to process the "dementia" diagnosis. I kept telling myself that it will be progressive, etc., but actually hearing the diagnosis is hard.
It has been especially hard on my DH. Even though I had explained that dementia is progressive (will get worse) months ago, for him, he just learned that his condition will get worse.
The neurologist at UTSW (Womack) was terrific! He was very thorough and very good at explaining both the diagnosis and his reasons for the diagnosis. I am still way behind the learning curve on FTD, but I found that searching for "frontal lobe" and "temporal lobe" on Google provided more clarity. I found some sites that discussed different types of effects from damage to these areas of the brain (some of which would otherwise appear inconsistent). For example, my DH has withdrawal, not aggression, but both are symptoms of damage to the same "lobe." Odd, but true.
The explanation helped me understand why my DH remembers things one day, forgets the next, and then remembers the following day.
Thank you all for your continued support!
May God hold you in the palm of His hand and give you strength and courage to overcome any obstacles that dare to come in your way!
I'm sorry that your husband has been diagnosed with FTD. The following website it a good one for information:
http://memory.ucsf.edu/ftd/
My husband was diagnosed with FTD last August, 2008, at the age of 58. He had behavioral changes about 2 years before that and cognitive changes earlier than that. We originally put the changes off to chemotherapy treatments (chemo-brain) he had in 2004, but the changes got worse as time went by. So far my husband has not had a problem with aggression, mostly agitation and anxiety. He is on an antidepressant, aricept (which doesn't help most FTD patients but did help him cognitively a little bit), and I was given risperdal to keep on hand in case he does become combative or aggressive.
Sharan, I'm really, really sorry. I'm glad, however that you were able to get in with Kyle Womack at UTSW, a great facility. At least you know you have the correct diagnosis provided by a doctor who specializes in Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease. So many people will go from doctor to doctor, and get different diagnoses..This guy is the go-to guy. If he works like our specialist here in Houston, there will be a psychologist there who will be YOUR support person. My DH's doctor provides that to me...for both personal appointments and telephone conversations.and her time is billed to his care costs. It pays to work with teaching/research hospitals. I'm sorry, but also proud of you for finding the right doctor who will be able to provide the best of care for your DH. Nancy