What should I ask or tell the doctors when I take my mom for a psychological evaluation?

take notice of things that are going on, write them down. Is your mother living with or by her self. Does she forget to take medicines, eat, hide things, bills not paid, checks not cashed. there is so much. I notice with my mom the collection of dresses she had in the basement( price tags on them, christmas gifts not open, it was hard for her to balance a check book that was at age 79, forgetting family member birthdays. The doctor will ask you to leave first then call you in the room. They give a sinmple test at first. Make sure you make the list a any diiferent things you notice and bring it with you, sometimes when things are happening we do forget our selves the most important thing is you are gettting mom tested. take care. i went down the long battle my self I was even hit and yelled at.

Jaye has a point too, granted you can;'t hide really bizarre behaviors but most people when being evaluated can out on good show...at the Elder Care Center the woman managing called after his first day to say my 89 year old grandfather did very well...What she didn't know was he hated being there was mad we "Made him go" and do terrible things like socialize and exercise"....
My grandmother refused to go in with him to hid doctors appointments because she got tired of him lying to the doctor and not doing anything that was recommended...

I would make sure they know what behaviors or situations you are dealing with with your Mom. It is my experience that Doctors do pick up on problems well, however you Mom may hide well. My Mom does sometimes and other times NOT so well... take care and please know that you have support... YOU are doing the right thing!!! take care,

I see from your previous questions in September that your biggest concern is possible dementia. Tell the doctors everything about her behavior and mental functioning that concerns you. Make a list to take with you. From that list several questions will naturally emerge. So write those down also with any other questions that you already have. I would suggest typing this up in your computer and print two copies of it so that you can give one copy to the doctor and keep the other copy for yourself which you will want to take both copies with you when you see the doctor with her in order not to forget anything.

BTW, do you have medical and or durable POA for her. If so, then make sure that you take a copy of your medical POA for the doctor to have on file.

Alot of this depends on her age and health status to begin with.

I agree J as to her meds. You need to do a list of all medications she takes even over-the-counter ones. Also her ability to take med's - my mom cannot swallow big pills as she has scar tissue from surgery in the 1940's so everything has
to be split. Which she cannot do, so instead a different med
was prescribed. Quite a few meds are available in liquid form
which can be flavored if she's picky that way. Also does she
take her meds appropriately time, like 1 hr before meal or
on an empty stomach or with water. This is really important
as some drugs (like thyroid meds) can't be as effective
if their not taken correctly.

You might have to go thru her cabinets to find what's what as she doesn't think of 2 glasses of Metamucil daily as being a drug......
Also there might be old, old prescriptions that need to go away.

What I found helpful to the gerontologist was a description of
what her day is like - time she gets up and what she does, can she get out of bed on her own or does she need to put her weight on the nightstand and push off to rise; does she set an alarm, if not can she actually set an alarm clock which involves
fine motor skills and awareness of time/date; what clothes does she wear and if she was stylish when she was younger is that still there or is it just anything clean or dirty - apathy is a sign of depression; does she dress appropriately for the weather - this is a big clue as they might feel the heat/cold or are told that it's cold but their brain doesn't register that they need to have on a coat or hat.

Can she cut her food if she needed to OR is she only going
for soft easy foods because she can't cut a piece of meat and
knows it BUT doesn't want you to find out. Does she still make
a shopping list for the grocery and can she figure out how to pay & if the change is correct. Can she open & close her purse and handle her wallet/$$/ etc.

The day in the life is really good as alot of elderly are totally OK in their house but really cannot function outside. When you go to visit them all seems OK are they are in space they can control but take them to Target or Luby's and it's all chaos.

Being a hard realist is what needs to happen. If she can stay in her house and her health is fine, then great. But if independent living with amenities like daily meal and transportation is needed, then fine. Or AL or NH. I think the goal should
be what is appropriate because you don't want her to move
to a $ 6K a mo AL when IL would be a better fit.
Good Luck!

Take a list of your concerns about her specific behaviors and what may happen in future and what can be done to assist you, if it could be medication if she needs mediation. If they have experience with the elderly.Over medication is common. Just let them know the specifics and your concerns ...Good Luck!