I am 28 yrs old and an only child and my mother who is 53 was just diagnosed last Thursday with early onset alzheimers. I have noticed changes in her memory for the past couple of years and have talked and talked until I was blue in the face to different family members about my concern but no one would listen. My grandmother said that she thought my mother was doing it all for attention, which is not surprising because she still doesn't admit that her mother (my great grandmother) had alzheimers and instead says that she had only dementia which is very different. My great grandmother did even know who I was or anyone else for the matter for a few years before she passed. Obviosuly my grandmother is in denial still. So for the past couple of years I have been trying to get my mother help, and finally about a year ago she broke down and agreed that something was wrong and she would go with me to the doctor to seek help. At that time she was having difficulties at work, and her work had actually contacted me concerned about my mothers well being. My mother at that time was considering quitting her job. She would not admit she was having difficulties but only blammed everything else. Her internal medicine doctor wasn't very helpful in listening to me and actually thought I was the one with the problem and that my expectations of my mother were too high. He thought that if her job was as stressful as she claimed it to be that perhaps she should quit and get another job. So because my mother thought maybe her memory problems were due to a hormonal inbalance I took her to a well known menopause specialist in our area who after doing an examination and blood work deemed her NOT going though menopause and completely healthy. And again if her job was causing her SO much stress that she should get a new job and all of her problems would melt away. Again I was not listened too. So of course my mother gave notice at her work and signed a document that she would quit December 2006. Well between the time that she gave notice and the time that she actually left in December her menopause doctor filled out some paperwork stating that my mom was too overstressed in her current job and that that was causing her to have memory problems so that she shoudl get disability. So my mother got disability for the last couple of months that she was employeed. But then of course that was cut off in December when she officially quit.
When she went back to her Internal medicine doctor for a 6 month check this spring (the doctor that thought I was nuts) he too felt that something wasn't quite right and ordered blood work and an MRI. When all of that checked out he sent her to a Neurologist. The neurologist saw her and administered the MME I think and asked her questions that she could not answer, for instance repeating three things name a couple of minutes ago. AFter that he referred her for Neuropsychological testing for which she did horrible on, I have read the report. And with the results of that testing and all of the other testing coming out normal, MRI, blood work, thyroid, depression, anxiety, nutrition, etc. she was deemed to have early onset alzheimers.
Does this sound right to any of you. Does it sound like we have done all we can. Have we missed checking for something? We plan to get a second opinion but I don't know how helpful that will be.
Currently my mother does not work. She spends most of her day walking around her house I think. I know that she watches TV but I don't know how much. She claims that she really likes to mow the lawn and will tell you that over and over again. She has become kind of home bound and doesn't like to put herself in any social activities, including coming to my house to visit her only grandchild. She has difficult remembering things, describing things, naming things. She doesn't eat regularly and when I was with her a couple of days ago, and around 4pm, and she hadn't eaten all day I don't think, her stomach was growling and I told her that that meant that she was hungry and needed to eat something. She didn't believe me. She thought I was joking. The doctors put her on medication that she needs to take once a day and I had to tell her over and over again to take it with dinner. Even so the very next day and in the morning she said "ok I am going to take my medicine now". I had to remind her again that it was to be taken at dinnertime. Next to the blister pack of medication was a note that she had written that she had taken "week one" of the medication and that that was complete, which obviously was not correct. So I wrote all over the blister pack to take medication at dinnertime. I also labled above each pill the date so that if she could not remember if she had taken the medication she could look at the calander for todays date then look at her medication and if the pill was gone she would know that she had taken it.
This is so scary and confusing for me. I feel like at any moment I am going to have an emotional breakdown. I haven't had a good cry yet becuase I am in information overload/searching mode. Searching for how to save my mother.
Can anyone help with advice or comments? Is there anything else I could be doing to help her. Do her symptoms of memory problems and dx of Alzheimers sound right to any of you?
Sorry to go on and on and on but I so lost and don't know where to go or what to do.
Thanks for your help and understanding.

I am sorry for the trouble you and your mom are experiencing. I am not an MD but it does sound like early onset alzh dementia. Try to apply for social security disablility, this is difficult and may require a lawyer to help. Your mom will not be able to live alone much longer, if she is not albe to take medicine safely or eat regularly. Evaluate assisted living, or her moving in with you. Whether or not you need a lawyer for disabillity, you do need an elder lawyer to help you and your mom make financial plans, and draw up DPOA, and medical directives.

Come on over to the caregiver's message board and do some searches, lots of great information there and you won't feel so alone. Also feel free to jump in and ask away!

It sounds by your description that the correct tests have been done and she's been to see the neurologist, so nothing's been missed.

You can take her for a second opinion if you just want to know for sure you've got the right diagnosis. Her symptoms do sound like Alzheimer's though, and I'm so sorry.

You will find a great deal of information and support on this board--we are all in the same boat at different stages and I know that I have learned a lot and changed a lot since I started coming here in March.

Could a PET scan be beneficial. I know that there are no clear cut black and white tests that can be done to show us that she does have Alzheimers, but it would sure be nice to be able to see something. It is so hard to believe something that you can not have a black and white answer to, like if you had a brain tumor you could SEE that on your MRI scan. And you would know for absolute sure that you indeed had a brain tumor. But this is so subjective that it is hard to believe. I know that I am in some stage of denial but would a PET scan maybe give me some more clear cut information like I am looking for? Or would it not show anything.
Does anyone know if insurance pays for this. My mother is lucky to have good insurance but I don't know if the doctor requests them, if it is still out of pocket becuase it can not be used to absolutly diagnosis this disease.
Thanks for any advice.

PET scan may or may not be covered by insurance (normally they will only cover an MRI) and is very expensive.

Have you seen her MRI? You can either get a copy of it from the imaging place or her doctor could show it to you if you ask.

I saw my mom's MRI and even not being a doctor I can see how much dead space between her skull and her actual brain is. That's from the brain shrinking.

I can also understand denial. I was hoping there was something else wrong with her for the first 3 months after she was diagnosed. I did take her for a 2nd opinion to a very prominent neurologist and he agreed that it is most likely Alzheimer's. I gave up and accepted it after that.

HI Larissa,
I would definitely get a PET brain scan. My husband had all the neurological tests and they came back inconclusive, no diagnosis. I thought that was good but our doctor suggested a PET scan and unfortunately it did confirm Alzheimers. He said it was definitely there but in the early stages and he felt it was progressing slowly. My husbands job was getting harder and harder for him and our primary care kept saying his memory issues were due to stress. Well he finally took an early retirement and within weeks I noticed a huge decline in his memory. Once the stress of the job was gone, I guess then the true symptoms came out. I am just grateful that we found a Alzheimers Center near us, in Boston, and they have lots of clinical trials going on. Hopefully we will get the benefit of the new meds they are hoping will not only stop the progress of AD but may also reverse the damage! I'm praying for all of that. I'm 54 yrs old and my husband is 58 so we have things we want to do so I'm really hoping for these new drugs!!
You need to go find your local Alzheimers chapter and get some support for you & your Mom. Maybe she needs to go to a day program so she gets out of house and can be around people. Hang in there, you are not alone.
Ann

i am one of those early onset lepers also hehe
May i suggest the the most important thing you can do is laugh with her and love her and i mean touch her put you arms around her tickle her whatever. more and more i am losing my speak and sometimes its hard for me to repond to my loved ones. i js pray they know how vital is it to me that since im losing my ability to reach to them that they reach to me even when i cant espond you porb meet a lot of good doctors in the time ahead and lots well meaning folks with al kinds of titles who will have tons of answers and most of it will just be guesses. But you love for your mom will always help her even and especial when she can not use her body to give it back to you and inside she will know its you i know bcause i live there a little more every day)