EP19: How Is Alzheimer's Diagnosed

<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">How Is Alzheimer's Diagnosed</span></em></p> <p><strong><em>“Highlight the patterns you've seen for the evaluation of the medical history.”</em></strong><strong>— Melissa Batchelor, PhD, RN, FNP, FAAN (05:32-05:44)</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It can take years to be definitively diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia. Getting to that diagnosis is not as easy as you think, because there are many symptoms of other illnesses that can look like Alzheimer's disease but actually aren't. If you see a provider and they tell you and/or your loved one in one 15-minute visit that you have Alzheimer’s disease ~ get a second opinion. This disease takes much more than 15 minutes to be diagnosed accurately.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this week's episode, you'll learn how Alzheimer's disease is diagnosed.</span></p> <p><strong>Part One of ‘How Is Alzheimer's Diagnosed’</strong></p> <p><strong>History of Home Life</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The first thing you need to do is make an appointment with your healthcare provider and take your journal of what behaviors you, family, and friends have been seeing.. Previously, we talked about</span> <strong>looking for patterns over time</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">so that you can provide a good history to your provider. Your role as family and/ or as a caregiver can help give insights into that person's daily ability to take care of themselves at home that a provider can’t see in a 15-minute visit.</span></p> <p><strong>Medical History</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Discussing past medical history is crucial. If you're the older adult who's in need of assistance, the doctor will ask what are any illnesses that you've had in the past? Any injuries you've had? Any hospitalizations you've had? Also, knowing your surgical history would be significant. So that they're going to ask you what types of operations you've had.</span><strong><em> </em></s