I want to be able to tell you that getting a Dementia diagnosis is fast and easy. Part of it is, and then there is a long process of hurry up and wait.

We’re in Canada so our health system is both a blessing (free) and a curse (slow).

Jim ‘presents’ really well so the doctor wasn’t picking up on any signs of Dementia during regular appointments. Jim also refused to talk to the doctor about his memory.

I tried everything I could think of, including the possibility of a quick fix if he was found to be deficient in certain vitamins that could be affecting his memory. A pill and then he’d be fine – no such luck.

Finally, I went in to see the doctor myself. I told him about the memory loss and behaviours I’d seen. After several clarifying questions, the doctor promised to help guide Jim into agreeing to a Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE). Apparently, Jim has to request this test, The doctor can’t just sneak it in to the conversation.

The MMSE is a quick and simple to gauge mental acuity. It’s scored on a scale of 30 and gives doctors a peek into not only the stage of Dementia but also the areas of memory most affected, i.e. math, memory, spelling, time and location perception. It contains questions like:

• spell a word forward and backwards
• count back from 20 by 2,
• remember three words, answer an unrelated question and then recall those three words,
• what day, date, season it is etc.

Jim’s score was low enough to get him a referral for Geriatric Functional Assessment. It’s an overall health check which covers not only mental ability but physical health and frailty as well.

I have been warned that it will take a few months to get the assessment appointment. So for now we’ll wait and see.

Jump to Diagnosis Part 2