Expert: Michalene Peticca - 7/21/2006

Question
Dear Michalene,

My mother was diagnosed by a neurologist as having early Alzheimer's Disease.  She has terrible hullicinations of my father being 'back from the dead' and dolls that she believes are real babies.  She was placed on Aricept and another medication to stop these hullicinations.  After a few weeks I could tell a dramatic difference in her.  She was speaking more logically and her mood had seemed to stabalize some.  However, as the one of her children here to help care for her, she began to get suspicious of me and would no longer allow me to help her with her medications and doctor's appointments.  

The outcome was that she ran out of her medication, kept forgetting about her appointments and when she did finally see her neurologist she decided the doctor was crazy and refuses to see her anymore or take her medication.

As I'm sure you can imagine, her symptoms are getting much worse.  My problem at this point is that her primary care physician will not help us.  It took so long to convince him that mom needed to be seen by a neurologist and only then he reluctantly agreed only after reading minths worth of a daily journal I kept on mom and her bizarre behavior.

Now that my mother refuses to see the neurologist, I am trying to get her PCP to prescribe the medications she was taking for the hallucinations and Alzheimer's.  He won't do it.  He thinks I am the one up to something because she always seems so sensible to him when she comes in for checkups.  He is afraid I am trying to get my mother's money and personal property.  I know this because the nurse has told me in confidance that the doctor has said this.  
Sorry to make this so long, but my question is, how does one go about convincing a doctor that a problem really exists with one of their patient's?  It's not so easy to switch doctors because this is on a military base and this is the only doctor my mother trusts. I have enlisted the help of other family members and friends who have been in my mother's presence and they are in the process of writing letters to her doctor to explain to him the encounters they have had with my mother that are abnormal.
Are there any learning sites online that I could print from that might give this doctor some insight on what he obviously does not understand about this awful disease?

Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

Mollie Schwab

Answer
Hi Mollie,

It sounds like you have gone through so much in the recent past.  I applaud you for continuing on and wanting the best care for your mother.

While i'm not sure why a primary physician would not consider your help with relating her day to day situation, i think it is excellent that you keep a journal and have friends and other family members to assist you.

I think you make a good point at trying to further educate your primary physician.   I would suggest the American Medical Association website or Johns Hopkins School of Medicine..especially their CooperRidge Institute website where they have people come and visit and try to help them further.  CooperRidge might be also a good resource if you absolutely feel you need your mother to have an in-stay somewhere.  However, they are outside of Baltimore, Md and i'm not sure if that would be convienant.

Please ask your mother's physician what he/she Does feel is causing her behaviors and memory deficits....perhaps they feel it is something other than Alzheimer's.

Best regards and hope for persistancy.

Michalene Peticca, MA