I was in the room when both of my parents had the Dementia test done at both the PCP and the Neurologist and I couldn’t remember half that crap…
And my mom who is WAY worse off then my dad was at the time did better than he did, but he was taking care of her for years before I had to intervein… He passed away 2 years ago this month, and she is much worse, but still with us…
So as someone dealing with this for years now, trust me, unless you are around someone all the time, or something happens, it is not always easy to know what their mental condition is…
Our first inkling that my mother had dementia was the day when she asked my brother and me why we had “changed the controls” on her electric range. It was the same range that she had been using for at least 25 years, and nothing about it had changed.
I don’t like the idea of doctors reporting patients. I feel this kind of practice violates human rights.
One of my aunts was reported to her doctor by a mischievous niece for being suspicious of having dementia. Upon visiting her doctor as part of an annual medical checkup, the Dr. suggested my aunt do certain tests on her brain and others.
Result was that my aunt indeed had dementia.
The doctor right there terminated her driver’s license.
This pissed me off for a number of reasons:
Aunty had been driving for many years with the dementia disease and had never gotten in an accident, received a ticket, or ever had any close calls. She remembered the routes she traveled on for 50 years or more. She was independently happy and took herself out for daily rides to see her sisters and brothers, and to get her favorite coffee at a local store.
She was reported because of malice by her niece. The niece felt she could destroy her aunt because aunty kept forgetting where she puts her stuff, and kept asking the same question repeatedly. She reported her over a grudge and now aunty has no one to take her places. She’s stuck at home and has become suicidal — repeatedly saying stuff that she just wants to die now.
People with dementia, especially in the early stage of the disease, can continue to drive and do so safely. Just because a person cannot remember where they last park their car doesn’t mean they are unsafe drivers.
I hear of more teenagers and alcoholic addicts causing more deaths on the road compared to people who can’t count down from 100 to 0.
I advocate for the government to leave people alone. Patients should see their doctors without the fear of being reported and stripped of their independence.
Heh heh. The doctors are now forced to ask if there are guns in the house and you have to fill out an abuse/non abuse questionnaire. In 2011 my wife slipped on the stairs and broke her ankle and leg. They suspected I pushed her down the stairs. Hard to do when you are still asleep and got up when I heard her screaming. Carried her to the car with the help of my md son and got her to the emergency room.
Now what do you think the outcome would be for me if she had ill intent and said I pushed her? I understand the need to rout out abuse but this is the US. And this is hunting country. Most everyone has guns.
Complete and utter bull***t! Doctor/patient confidentiality is necessary for the healthcare system to function, just as attorney/client privilege is necessary for the legal system to function. Other than limited exceptions, such as reporting suspected child abuse/domestic abuse or certain communicable diseases, doctors should not be expected to breach confidentiality, and if this nonsense becomes law, people will simply avoid going to a doctor, and overall health outcomes will worsen.
Yeah to those that think enacting a law is the end all, many drugs have clear cautions about operating equipment while using. What’s the difference? People need to be responsible for thei4 own actions.
There is a whole list of conditions that doctors are required to report to public health that involve communicabiliyy.
Many states have recently enacted laws that IMHO violate HIPPA.
As far as Dr asking about gun, yep, then they offer gun locks. Our police dept was giving away gun locks, the type that went through the barrel of pistols, stopped when they found many were being used as bike locks.
I have musician friends who suffer with dementia. The ability to play their instrument, and play well, is still there. One horn player in the horn section of the chamber orchestra and concert band where I am the section leader has memory problems. If she drives herself to a gig, she often gets lost. I then get a desperate phone call on my cell phone asking for help, and I have to figure out her location. I make certain she rides with me along with the other passengers I transport in my van. This person volunteers to take her turn to drive us in her car, but we tell her we can’t fit all of us and our instruments in.her sedan. She can’t keep the rehearsal and concert dates straight and can’t keep.the music in her folder in order. When someone puts the.piece we are playing on her stand, she plays and plays very accurately. She recently drove herself to a class reunion 125 miles away by herself and made it there and back. She hasn’t had any accidents. She is a widow and lives in a retirement home. Before the dimentia set in, I rode with her while she drove and handled the car well.
I had an elementary music teacher and our church organist suffered with altzheimer and both people didn’t know.where they were. Yet, they could sit the piano and still play well. Perhaps operating a car uses a similar skill to playing a musical instrument and if you follow the rules of the road as you do reading a line of music, you are o.k. driving.
I am 83 and still drive and play my horn. If I had to give up one or the other it would be driving.
If you drive only before a 2 beer limit, A man who told his doctors that he drinks more than a six-pack of beer per day is now fighting to get his driver’s license back because the physicians apparently reported him to the state.Man loses license after telling doctors he drinks
