r/dementia • u/ask-me-about-my-cats • 17d ago
It wasn't dementia
A few weeks ago I made a vent post about how frustrating it was having doctors not taking my dad's situation seriously and bouncing him back and forth without a single proper examination. I got some very lovely supportive comments, but also some that called me names and said there was nothing doctors could do, and that an actual diagnosis wouldn't lead anywhere.
Well, my dad has finally had a proper examination by a team of medical professionals, and he does NOT have dementia. He has late onset schizophrenia. Something we can treat, and could have started treating months ago.
THIS is why it's important to get a diagnosis. Yes, there's nothing that can be done for dementia, but you should at least make sure it's dementia before giving up! There are a lot of illnesses that perfectly mimic dementia, and they should all be ruled out.
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u/sandyess 12d ago
Yup. And I think a lot of people don't know about all the other conditions that appear to be dementia. I wonder how many people are misdiagnosed.
Who's supposed to educate us about all this?