Saturday, February 21, 2015

Continuing down the path to find a diagnosis...

We lucked out and got another appointment with the neuropsych dr. the following week on 9/23/13.  My uncle took him to this appointment.  He said he basically read from the summary sheet I wrote up to explain what we have been seeing.  It's so hard to explain the changes from before and after in a short appointment and get the severity across - all in front of the patient.  The more that I read about FTD and other families experiences with the disease, these symptoms sound like the classic textbook case.  Here were some points that were noted:

  • Complete personality change over the past 5+ years. Has worsened in the past 6 mos - year.
  • Everything he worked for over the years is gone - all investments and savings, life insurance policies - all cashed out.
  • Almost $30,000 in credit card debt.
  • Signs up for book clubs, DVD clubs, magazine subscriptions, sweepstakes scams - any junk mail he receives, he will send in a check and join.
  • Liens filed on his business for unpaid payroll taxes.
  • House looks like a hoarders nightmare with years worth of mail piled up.
  • Doesn't appear to understand how to control the spending in his bank accounts - overdraws his account monthly, spends twice as much as is going in.
  • A female is exploiting him and he consents to everything - checks written to her, credit cards opened for her, she keeps his car for her own personal use, goes into his bank with her so he can withdrawal money for her.
  • Spends the day doing crossword puzzles, talks to himself, shuts down when you try to bring anything up, doesn't appear to comprehend the severity of the situation.
  • Living conditions are unsafe, hygiene is bad, he is not the same person he once was.
These points were read to the doctor in front of my dad who didn't appear to react to any of them.  The neuropsych set up a cognitive assessment to aid in his diagnosis.

Upon leaving, my uncle did not know how my dad would react.  But it appeared to not phase him at all.  All he said on the way to the elevator was that he thought it went well...yet another point to add to the expanding list of strange behaviors.

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