Anxiety. Fear. Embarrassment. The thoughts and feelings associated with a potential dementia diagnosis can cause older adults to keep their suspicions to themselves. A recently available AARP survey peeled away a few of the layers of emotion to get to the root cause – namely, worry over losing independence and becoming a problem to others.
While there may be some truth to those concerns, there are also some misconceptions fueling them. For instance, virtually half of the participants, who were adults age 40 and over, believe they are more likely to get dementia as they age. The reality is that just over 10% of older adults over age 65 are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
As a result, it’s critical for seniors to speak with their physicians for the realistic, straightforward information they want – particularly if any warning signs of dementia are being noticed, for instance:
- Memory decline which is disruptive to everyday life
- Planning and/or problem solving challenges
- Issues with accomplishing once-familiar activities
- Disorientation and confusion about time and place
- Vision issues and problems identifying color/contrast and judging distance
- Speaking/writing changes
- Losing items and leaving them in unusual areas
- A decline in judgment
- Social withdrawal
- Mood/personality changes
The following are some suggestions from our La Grange senior care team that can help you conquer any reluctance in communicating with the doctor about Alzheimer’s, and how to make the conversation as successful as possible.
- Don’t put it off. The normal impulse might be to put off bringing up something that may potentially be so life-changing. Nonetheless, time is of the essence in receiving a correct diagnosis and the most effective treatment.
- Bring a friend. It’s reassuring to have the support of a reliable friend, family member, or caregiver at the appointment. If at all possible, this person can provide more information to the physician along with any concerns being noticed from their perspective.
- Compare then and now. Share with the doctor the particular changes that are causing concern. For instance, someone you care about may be a retired math teacher who, up until last month, didn’t have to think twice about balancing the checkbook, but recently is experiencing some frustration with the task.
The physician can review prescription medications to see if adverse reactions are leading to a problem, and schedule tests and assessments to ascertain the best course of action.
Independence-4-Seniors Home Care’s kind and friendly La Grange senior care providers are always on hand to accompany older adults to medical appointments and procedures, and to help make life easier and more manageable in a number of different ways as well. Email or call us at (630) 323-4665 for lots more details.