It's been a long, busy day, which accounts for the late posting of my latest blog. I invite you to log onto the home page - www.thealzheimerspouse.com - and read it. Today was our 6 month neurology appointment. I finally got my wish, but it did not make me happy.
Dear Joan I can so relate when you speak about what the future holds. I saw it for several months before Jan's demise. Shortly before her passing the light was gone nearly all the time and there was very little brightness. I pray that you may be spared some of the heartache which comes as the final days in this world. May God grant you the strength, understanding, and faith to get you thru the rest of this journey. bruce
Well...it's not as if not wishing for confirmation would help either. There's no winning in this game. Sometimes, in the doldrums of thinking I'm looking at limbo for eternity, I almost sort of wish to see decline. Ridiculous-ish, but I can't stand the unchanging dysfunction sometimes. Then (of course) decline happens, filling me with a renewed dose of queasiness. Eh...yep. No winning.
A week ago my DH had his 6 month check up with his neurologist. The nursing assistant spent a long time entering information about DH for a new computer system the office was changing to. Then she remembered to give him the mini-mental test. She did not ask me to leave and asked the questions very quickly. DH did not know the day, the month or the year. He did not write a sentence that she asked him to do, but signed his name. She told him to remember 3 words but never asked him what they were. He did better on some of the other questions like picking up a paper, spelling world backwards and drawing a figure. The doctor merely said his score dropped. I did not ask what it was because I don't think the test was given correctly. His score six months ago was 23, which I know was too high. The doctor started him on Namenda and wants to see him in three months. I know DH is failing, doesn't know or care what day or month it is. What concerns me is that he does not seem to understand anything I am telling him.
Joan the mini mental may have come a bit closer to where Sid is, but IMHO that test and $.52 buys a cup of coffee at the Senior Citizen rate here. When my DH was Dxd with his Mental Illness the mini mental was used as a part of the process even though the Drs. were told he has significant broad spectrum Learning Disabilities and cannot read nor write, among other things. That was 1988. In 2006 the mini mental was a part of his neuropsych testing. He scored an 11. Early this year, an acknowledged Stage 6 by his neuro-psych Dr., when at the office for a med evaluation the nurse asked him to spell "World". He said he couldn't. I reminded her of his Learning Disabilities--noted in the front of his file. Her next action was to hand him a piece of paper and ask him to read it to her. He still has a very good vocabulary considering his problems, but his ability to express himself is going. Physical functioning is deteriorating. VaD is taking him. I don't need any test to tell me how bad it's getting, let alone one as useless as the mini mental.
My DH has had two of the in office computer tests which took about 90 minutes and I was not allowed to be with him. But as I understand it he answered the questions by touching the screen..anyway the results showed a decline but no score was given...I guess at the time DH was mild to moderate. Now I would say in some areas he is moderate..he can dress and eat on his own and get around but it is the recall that is way off. And I know for certain he cannot track the plot of a movie.For the past couple of years he asks more than once a day what day it is to include month and sometimes he isn't sure of the year.