You'll NEVER guess who turned up at our door on Friday, so I'll tell you. It was Dr P, my DH's Consultant from the Geriatric Mental Health team, whom we had seen a week before at the clinic. He was accompanied by a CPN, who immediately said to DH that she had heard about our big Fruit and Veg garden - would he be kind enough to show it to her? Even DH jaloused that this was a ploy to get him out of the road so that Dr P could talk to me alone.
At the clinic appointment Dr P had explained that DH's brain scan had been strongly indicative of FrontoLobal Dementia whereas DH's behaviour and extreme short term memory loss pointed strongly to Alzeimers and he had decided to give a diagnosis of Alzeimers so that DH could have a trial month on Donepezil, which is licenced for Alzeimers but not for Frontolobal. He had noticed during the consultation that I was uncomfortable and guarded when he enquired if I had noticed any behavioural changes and later realised this would be because I could not say anything with DH sitting there.
When I was dropping off DH at Day therapy on the Wednesday, the Nurse Practitioner asked me to have a word in private and then I was able to detail the changes that I have been aware of but never felt able to speak about before. She passed this information on to Dr P immediately, hence his unexpected arrival on the doorstep.
He was falling over himself to apologise, said that it had been a 'lightbulb moment' and assured me that henceforth he would always ensure that he spoke privately to the main carer. The new information combined with family history (FLD is highly heredity) and the brain scan confirmed the diagnosis. Dr P was surprised that I knew all the implications (google is my friend) and we discussed whether I should tell our DDs. He surmised that they would already know but not want to worry me - this proved to be the case when I phoned my DD later. He reassured me that the 50% chance of inheriting the disease is mainly on the male side, far less common for women, which is borne out by the family history i.e. it was DH's Father and Uncle but none of the 3 Aunts who developed the disease.
Dr P, after much consideration, has decided that the diagnosis will be FLD + Alzeimers so that DH can continue to take the Donepezil, which has already seemed to make DH calmer, less anxious. We have to see Dr P again in a month to review progress. The other good news is that as a result of this and the need for regular monitoring, DH's care and support for me will continue with the Geriatric Mental Health team whom he knows and likes, instead of being handed over to unknown Social Workers.
NHS Scotland at its best. Has anyone ever had a CONSULTANT turn up on their doorstep, admire their family photos and productive garden? BTW Dr P is drop dead gorgeous as well as kind and caring. If I were 40 years younger ........ 
)The difference between Wealth Tax, Inheritance Tax and Income Tax
Retiring and living frugally in money from downsizing after years of stress
