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Can a psychiatrist help someone who is losing their memory?
My father is 80 years old and is losing his memory. This makes him anxious and sad. Can a psychiatrist help with my father's problem?
8 Answers
There are medications, supplements and life style modifications which can be helpful to slow the cognitive decline. So yes, see a psychiatrist.
The memory which was lost already can not be regained. You may try to decrease loss of memory by giving medications.
Yes, it is sometimes helpful to treat the anxiety and sadness.
There a medicines that can slow the progression, but he needs neurological and medical check-up to look for treatable forms of dementias. It isn't always Alzheimer's.
Of course, that is one of the aspects of care that a psychiatrist would be trained for employing the holistic approach to the problem combining variety of treatment strategies.
Yes, absolutely. There are often multiple possible causes and therefore a psychiatrist with experience in neurodegenerative diseases can provide the most accurate diagnosis and set of solutions.
Marc Cantillon, MD
Only if that person specializes in dementia. Any counselor can help with the anxiety and depression.
Yes, it depends on the cause.