Expert: Paula Damgaard - 9/21/2007

Question
My mother is 85 and for the past six years  has had
something. Are dementia and alzheimer's the same thing?
Is dementia just a mild form of alzheimer's? Her memory is
really bad and she will ask a qustion and then ask the same question a short time later, and then again.  She sleeps most of the time now on the couch or sits at the table. My mother and brother have lived together in an apartment for close to 20 years.  He has an eye disease and is on disability, but he takes excellent care of mother and the house and everything that goes along with it. I take her places and to her doctor's appointments, etc.  She is getting to where she will not take a bath for a month or wash her hair and don't think she realizes it's been that long.  My brother always makes sure she has on clean clothes, so it's nothing someone would notice. Her weight was down in her 80's and she hardly eats anything,
She takes a pill the doctor gives her for her memory and she had hyperthyroid about five years ago and had to take a radio-active pill which did something to her thyroid and now she just takes medication to regulate it. She has two sisters who are around her age and they are fine. My brother said the other day that he thought she would be much worse than she is a few years ago, but she seems to be doing pretty good except for a few little things.  Can you tell us what we can expect?  She doesn't clean or wash or pay bills and hasnt for some years now. She doesn't even know that she gets a check each month.  And mother always paid the bills when my brother and I were growing up with her and dad and afterwards when he passed away... so when she didn't realize that she had bills to pay anymore or even received a check, we knew something was wrong. But we really don't know what to expect. My brother has always said she had altzheimer's but I don't know what she has. what do you think it is?

Answer
Dear Connie, First, no dementia and Alzheimer's is not the same thing, it can be, but dementia is like an umbrella term for all the dementias (there are many).  Which answers your second question, no dementia is not a mild form of Alzheimer's.  Depending on how the disease presents it self, would be how a person would get a diagnosis.  

I am not sure what pill your mom is taking, probably one of the drugs that has been approved for Alzheimer's, but that doesn't necessarily mean that is her real diagnosis.  Many doctors don't do complete work ups on these patients and just prescribe the medicine.  So unless your mom had a complete workup, there is no telling what her diagnosis is.  So without that I really can't tell you what to expect without the diagnosis.

What does this workup consist of: a complete neuropsychological testing (which takes about four hours to complete), a complete neurological workup, bloodwork, possibly a CT scan or an MRI scan.  Having this enables her to be on the correct medications, and it would help you to come up with a plan of care.  The clinic that does the diagnosis, would most probably be able to help you plan for the future.  And let you know that what stage she is in and what to expect.  

I hope this helps you.  I am sorry that I can't tell you more about your mom's future.  Paula