From Mary22033 - She posted this under a different thread, but I felt it needed its own.
joang
mary22033 Comment Time 33 minutes ago edit delete
Is it me, or are these "experts" sounding more and more ridiculous every day? My guess is this guy is a paid lobbyist for the pharma and rTMS industries... If he would come live with us for a week, he would understand that this is not depression.
Yes and no and I don't know... At least he's not making a sweeping statement that most Dxs of dementia are wrong and that it's probably depression.
However, my experience in this is that over the course of our long journey to diagnosis there WERE several professionals who wanted to believe Jeff's condition was depression and not explore any further. I quickly realized this was wrong, and that they were dropping the ball, and it took me from '04 to '07 to get an AD diagnosis. After that, we didn't get the narrowed-down diagnosis of Posterior Cortical Atrophy until '11. (Although I'd figured that one out by myself at least a year in advance of "official" diagnosis.)
Truth is, most clinicians do not know what to make of younger people with dementia. It is very true, no doubt, that other avenues should be explored...of course we want this to be something treatable if possible. But, as I say, it is my experience that for some reason they are very reluctant to contemplate the idea that a youngish person could have dementia. I don't know why. Perhaps doctors feel as threatened by the possibility as everyone else.
Still, what if we treat people starting to show signs with a course of anti-depressants? Ok, fine. It will either work or it won't work. They just have to be ready for the possibility that it won't work and be ready to explore further.
I think depression is a symptom, just like dementia is a symptom. To say symptom A is causing symptom B, confuses the issue, and prevents families from getting the proper diagnosis, which would enable them to adjust and plan their lives. Delaying diagnosis of the underlying disease by treating one symptom, hoping it will improve another symptom seems counterproductive to me.
I've read about 3 different blood tests that are under devlopment for AD. THAT would be a huge step forward!
Clinical depression is actually a disease.The symptoms are lethargy, sadness, inability to complete daily tasks, sleeplessness, too much sleep, not wanting to get out of bed in the morning, and yes, forgetfulness. But I absolutely agree with you about getting the proper diagnosis - Doctors often want to treat the symptoms to see if they go away, without bothering to find out the cause (It's cheaper than a bunch of tests). Take an anti-depressent and see if you feel better.
I think the doctor in the article has it backwards. He says depression is over diagnosed and misdiagnosed as AD. In my experience it's the other way around. AD is misdiagnosed as depression, especially, as Emily indicated, in younger patients.
This all goes back to another article written by our member Acvann, which I just realized I forgot to share with you (oops! - will do it today) that doctors need to LISTEN TO THE CAREGIVERS. PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT WE SAY. We know our loved one's, their behaviors, changes in behavior, personalities, changes in personalities better than the doctors.
The possibility of depression versus Az kept my DW hopes alive all the way until she wasn't aware of her condition. After all depression is treatable, Az is a death sentence.
aalferio, we can't blame them can we? My husband not only refuses to go Georgetown Memory Disorders clinic for his one year follow-up for an MCI diagnosis, now he is also refusing to go to the family physician for his annual physical. His strategy appears to be - if I never go to any doctor again, I can never be told I have Alzheimer's - and as long as noone ever tells me I have Alzheimer's - I won't have it. :)
Mary22033, I feel your pain. My DH refuses to go back to the Neurologist because she asked “stupid questions”. Of course he never acknowledged the diagnosis of early dementia so that didn’t help the situation. I am lucky that he still goes to our PCP for his 4 month blood workup because now our PCP prescribes the medications he needs. Otherwise I don’t know how I would get them.