My husband has been screened for Alzheimer's/dementia all of which is negative. So why is his cognitive ability decreasing?

has he been checked for Parkinsons? Is he on any kind of medication for his issues? my friends husband (had kidney transplant) is on certain medications that makes him forget easily. Wishing you luck.

Imho, the alcohol poisoning that you mention in your profile that your husband suffered 7 years may be the culprit of his decreased cognitive ability. I suggest an evaluation performed by his physician.

Please keep a log with date/time of day/unusual symptoms.

Arrange an appointment with his primary, show a copy of your log, and explain what is going on; ask for a urinalysis and some routine blood tests for the usual stuff such as CBC/CMP/Thyroid Panel. (In other words, rule out the obvious.)

There are many possible things going on - but he could be developing dementia that is totally unrelated to his previous brain damage. The new "falling" behavior is of particular concern.

Is he seeing a neurologist? Did he have brain MRI?
hugs 🤗

Hello. To make us all aware ... and possibly more paranoid ... ive been reading lately that diminishing hearing and sight can be indicative of developing problems with cognitive impairment.

so that basically it seems we can have problems with those things and still not yet have other dementia symptoms.

First, I would have his hearing checked. It could explain a lot, even the loss in balance. Is he doing any kind of physical therapy or exercise? Is he getting enough sleep? Could he have a B12 deficiency? There could be some fairly simple fixes to the problem.

Although it happens in women more than men, it could be hypothyroidism (low thyroid function). Look up "Framingham Study hypothyroidism" for more detail. Cognitive impairment could be a symptom. Perhaps not, but it wouldn't hurt to rule in out. I attended a lecture from a researcher from Johns Hopkins years ago, and he felt it was crucial to rule out hypothyroid. If his thyroid is low, insist that he's treated to euthyroid levels of thyroid hormone. Doctors notoriously under-prescribe, and don't increase dosages appropriately, because Abbott (makes Synthroid) reps scare them to death regarding Afib. Natural dessicated thyroid tablets are way better than Synthroid. The other thing to check would be hydrocephalus, since you mentioned brain damage. Treatment for that is brain surgery to install a way for fluid to drain into the stomach. (Yeah, I know.) Best of luck and God bless you for your care!

If your husband hasn't been seen by a neurologist that specializes in dementia then please have his PCP make a referral.

My father was diagnosed by his PCP with alzheimers, however a retired nurse friends of my parents said there was no way he had alzheimers which then caused a kerfuffle. I had his PCP refer him to a neurologist who did testing and ordered a MRI. The results dad did have alzheimers plus the MRI showed he'd had some strokes in the balance center of his brain (so I should really thank the nurse friend or we might never have known about the strokes) - so he had mixed dementia - alzheimers + vascular dementia. The strokes explained why dad kept falling - no one ever saw the signs of his strokes - no FACE.

At that time dad had early alzheimers - he could hold a conversation, knew who people were and functioned well for someone in his late 80s - except for the falling part. In fact his dementia didn't take hold of him until he was 91 on hospice in the SNF.

Your husband's brain damage may have worsened or he now may have additional brain issues. Good luck to both of you.

My mom has no plaque on her brain and her EEG came back normal for her age. They say she had brain damage before her pace maker, when her heart was too slow and would acutally stop. This, mixed with complicated grief from my dad dying 4 years ago, has caused dementia symptoms, but she doesn't keep declining. She's been this way for 3 years now. It could be just his brain damage.

Not knowing what is going on with a TV program is in itself not surprising. Some people simply turn on a TV to make noise and motion without really caring about what is going on (and half the time there really isn't anything on worth caring about!). My father used to turn on TVs (sometimes even if wasn't planning to stay in the room--perhaps he felt he wanted to keep others "entertained").

It could possibly be that his body is getting ready shutting down for death.my family passed of Alzheimer's and I would say the last 6 months to a year things went down hill like the Speedway 500 race. Mornings less stressful he was more alert could answer could do something cause their brain and body are rested.As the day goes on the body and brain grow tired therefore they aren't as alert. "Watching" tv , probably not really know what is going on but it is going from screen to screen and making talk. If you want you can turn on easy listening music music smooths the soul. We were all around my aunt's death bed she had been an evangelist singer and church pianist all her life. She was very restless, probably pain I started to sing hymns family joined in and it calmed her down. She passed to her heavenly home while we were singing. God is good God is love.

Did he have a CT scan of his brain. My dad barely fell ( more just jogged his head) and a small bleed started. It took several weeks before symptoms started showing and he ended up in ER with a chronic hematoma. After surgery for that now he is much more demented

The vessels around the brain are more fragile as we age and with a prior TBI this might be the cause. Sometimes they start bleeding spontaneously and falls can definitely cause it

it takes awhile before we fail the MMSE test. Took my dad about a year before they were very concerned at all and wanted him to stop driving.

How's his hearing? See an audiologist and get it checked. My hubby had hearing issues diagnosed some years ago, but we couldn't afford the aides then (but had I known the severe mental breakdown consequences of hearing loss back then, I would have borrowed money from satan himself to get them). He has them now - just a month - and the difference is night and day. He's happier and not withdrawn. He's no longer mumbling and engaging a lot more with us. I'm not repeating myself and he's not reading signs and things to me as much (I just thought it was a cute habit and I love his deep voice).

Have his hearing checked. and if he needs hearing aides, please get them no matter the cost.

It's possible your husband is not far enough along with his symptoms. Did the doctor suggest MCI? Did his PCP do the screening or a neurologist? If it was his PCP, and you conveyed your observations of his behavior, the dr should have been concerned enough to refer him to a neurologist instead of just leaving you hanging. If a neurologist did the screening, he didn't go far enough. A major factor in diagnosing a dementia related disease is for the dr to listen to the patient's personal and family history. His alcohol poisoning, although a long time ago, can be significant in what you see in his behavior today. Do not be satisfied with no answer for his behavior, follow up until you get an answer and know what you're dealing with.

New York Times had an article this Sunday about seniors and others actually only in 50s having problems with scams, with paying bills, and etc. With "Executive Function" skills impaired often as much as 6 years before a diffinitive diagnosis. One woman with probable early Alzheimer's was later diagnosed with FTD. I think there are often signs picked up only by family early on and would, were I you, keep a diary with only this subject. You are likely seeing signs that cannot be picked up, and hopefully a very comprehensive 3 hour testing was done by a good neuro-psych MD as you already know you are dealing with underlying complications from brain injury. Surely do wish you good luck.

You say your husband suffered brain damage from alcohol poisoning 7 years ago in your profile; perhaps that is what you are seeing now..........brain damage that's getting a bit worse, since he's not testing poorly on the cognition exams for dementia.

What has his doctor had to say on the subject?