Early Bird catching the worm! The value of early diagnosis

It is SO important to seek an early diagnosis in dementia even though it’s difficult. We know that when people are worried about dementia, they often keep their concerns to themselves.? A mixture of dread, disbelief and even shame make it almost impossible to speak out about cognitive impairment when things start to go wrong.?

The person affected might behave as if they are unaware, but you can be sure that they’ve noticed. Denial is understandable. That’s not just hiding from others, but an automatic protective mental mechanism that makes the person avoid thinking about it. ?

Sometimes they will push back heatedly if anyone raises the question.? This reluctance to open up about possible dementia is shared by family members and friends.? Often a daughter will tell me that;

they knew something was changing for months or even years before it became obvious to others that there was a problem, but she couldn’t bear to put it into words.

And when she tried to raise it with others in the family, they brushed away her concerns.

A window of opportunity

One annoying aspect of the medicines that are available for people with Alzheimer’s dementia is that they work best in the early stages.? So this reluctance to consider whether investigations are needed can mean that someone misses the window of opportunity for drug treatment.? By the time all the ducks are in a row and the person gets past the GP, and past the tests in the community, and past a consultant in the memory clinic, not just months but years have been lost.? The journey is long once you’ve started. Please try to be an early bird. Don’t miss out on valuable help on the way..

Read the full article, which includes three top tips by following the link below.

https://juneandrews.net/blog/2/11/2023/early-bird-catching-the-worm-the-value-of-early-diagnosis

#EarlyDementiaDiagnosis #CognitiveImpairmentAwareness #Alzheimers #DementiaSupport