How To Not Feel Stuck While Waiting On A Dementia Diagnosis
Are you waiting for a definitive diagnosis before making a plan for your loved one’s care? Many caregivers feel stuck, holding off on decisions until they “know for sure” what’s happening.
But the reality is, waiting can mean missing valuable time to take proactive steps.
In Episode 234, we explore a real-life coaching session with Jodi, a caregiver for her husband recently diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Together, we unpack why early action—even before a crisis—makes all the difference.
Why Waiting for Certainty Can Hurt More Than Help
Jodi’s husband received an MCI diagnosis, meaning he’s experiencing cognitive changes but not full-blown dementia. Understandably, Jodi wants to gather all the facts before making decisions. But as she waits for doctor’s appointments and test results, valuable time is slipping away.
💡 Key Takeaway: You don’t have to wait for a formal diagnosis to start making changes that can help slow cognitive decline.
What Can Caregivers Do Now?
If your loved one is showing early signs of memory loss or cognitive struggles, there are proactive steps you can take right away.
✔️ Prioritize Brain Health: Diet and exercise play a huge role in brain resilience. Small changes—like adding walnuts, blueberries, and regular physical activity—can have long-term benefits.
✔️ Create a Structured Routine: Jodi’s husband was a master scheduler before retirement, so using a visual daily schedule helps him stay engaged. Leveraging past habits makes transitions easier.
✔️ Encourage Mental Stimulation: Brain training activities, like Lumosity or Brain HQ, can help strengthen cognitive function. Consistency is key.
✔️ Involve Your Loved One in Decisions: Instead of pushing changes on them, invite them to be part of the process—whether it’s choosing healthy meals or setting up an exercise schedule together.
Faith, Fear, and Moving Forward
Jodi’s biggest concern was uncertainty—waiting for more tests, more clarity, and permission to act. But as Christians, we don’t have to wait in fear. God gives us wisdom to act now.
🙏 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” — 2 Timothy 1:7
Instead of waiting for more certainty, we can trust in God’s timing while taking small, practical steps forward.
Don’t Wait—Take Small Steps Now
You don’t need to wait for a crisis or a definitive diagnosis to start making positive changes. Small, intentional steps today—from supporting brain health to creating a structured routine—can make a big difference in your loved one’s well-being.
Uncertainty is part of the journey, but God equips us with wisdom, strength, and faith to act now. Trust in His guidance, take proactive steps, and know that you are not alone in this process.
Join our monthly free workshop!
“How To Immediately Reduce Dementia Caregiver Overwhelm and Stress In 3 Easy Steps”
Transcript
Are you waiting until you have all the answers or until the crisis forces your hand before you take action as a caregiver? In this episode, we walk alongside Jodi, a recent participant in our Ask the Dementia Coach question and answer sessions where she is seeking clarity after her husband’s diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. Together we uncover why being prepared now before the storm hits makes all the difference as a caregiver. When you’re caring for someone with cognitive decline, it is very easy to feel stuck waiting for the next doctor’s appointments, the next test result, or for things to somehow become clearer. But Christian caregivers don’t have to wait to start preparing for the road ahead. In this Real Life Dementia Caregiver Support Session with Jodi, you’ll hear how taking small proactive steps today brings both practical peace as well as confidence for the future. Whether you’re a spouse, the adult child, or a part of a family caregiving group, this episode will help you rethink what preparation really looks like and why waiting for the crisis is one of the biggest mistakes caregivers make.
[1:26] Hey Christian Care Companion, welcome to Dementia Caregiver’s Support for Christians, the podcast where I teach Bible-believing Christians how to think differently about dementia caregiving. If you are a Christian spouse, the adult child, or a family member of a person living with dementia, and you want more clarity, less stress, and you want to provide better care, this podcast is for you. Here we will provide you with practical solutions, hope and encouragement, and all through a biblical lens.
[2:01] Today you will be getting another glimpse into an Ask the Dementia Coach monthly question and answer session. The registration for our March 27th session is now open. We keep these very small and intimate so each participant can get what they need during these live dementia caregiver support sessions. Come join us, find a community, receive live dementia caregiver support, and leave feeling encouraged as well as empowered with your next step in your caregiving journey. The link to register is found at the website at thinkdifferentdementia.com forward slash ask, And I truly hope to see you in our next Ask the Dementia Coach monthly question and answer session,
Taking Action Before Diagnosis
[2:53] which is coming up on March 27th. But now without any more waiting, let us listen to the episode with Jodi, where we are going to look at how you don’t have to feel stuck while waiting on a dementia diagnosis.
[3:11] Let’s say it’s about six months from today and things are easier for you as a caregiver. What does that look like? For you? It looks like seeing that we go to the doctor next week, I mean, by then we will know what we need to know or most of what we need to know. And we will have a plan in place and we will be doing everything that the doctors recommend and whatever it may be, at least we’ll know more than what we know now. Okay. Everything that the doctors recommend. And so for you right now, Jodi, the big thing is the diagnosis, right? So just having a definitive diagnosis. Right. So what’s the biggest thing other than the diagnosis that is holding you back? Do you feel it’s just the diagnosis part of it that that seems or feels like super overwhelming? Or is there something else that you feel might be holding you back from achieving your goal, which is knowing that there’s a diagnosis and that we’re doing everything that the doctor had said. I kind of wanted to ask you about a plan in place. What did you mean by that?
[4:26] Well, if there, okay, depending upon what they tell me, right now, the neurologist just told us a few weeks ago until, well, a month ago, whenever it was, that he’s just titling it mild cognitive impairment right now. That’s just what he said. And I’m a 21 and a half year breast cancer survivor. And I am a need to know type person. I researched so much when I was diagnosed with that. And right now I, well, I was researching a lot about this, but I don’t even know what this, and sometimes, I mean, and this is a good thing. I mean, he’s been acting better.
[5:09] And so I’m like, what is this? I mean… So is there maybe nothing wrong? And it’s just, you know, I’m just, I don’t know. This is actually really helpful, Jodi. Thank you so much. I, if it’s okay with you, I’m going to paraphrase because I actually heard your question. Even though you weren’t able to necessarily formulate a question, I can piece together out of what you just said, what I believe in. You can absolutely correct me if I’m wrong. But here’s what I’m going to paraphrase out of what we just talked about. Like the first six months, things are easier. You know, there’s a diagnosis. You can plan ahead because you now have a diagnosis. You can do you, which is research and learn about what’s going on and that the doctor will have given you some medical indication of what to do. And the biggest thing that’s holding you back right now is that you can, in essence, let yourself go on the researching because you don’t know what to research because to you it’s like out there and there’s not really a diagnosis.
[6:21] And now your sweet husband is showing inconsistencies, things that you’ve seen before that maybe you’re now like, was I imagining it? You know, kind of going through your head. And so that’s kind of what I heard. But the other part of what I heard is that you did mention that the neurologist actually has said he was diagnosed with MCI, which is mild cognitive impairment.
Understanding Mild Cognitive Impairment
[6:48] Did I summarize that correctly?
[6:50] Yes. Okay. So let us talk about mild cognitive impairment. It is a great question. What is mild cognitive impairment? So I want you to picture a line horizontally across the page, like the horizon.
[7:07] Above the line is, this is not dementia.
[7:13] Then the line and underneath the line… This is dementia. Mild cognitive impairment is right above the line, okay? Which literally just means he’s starting to show difficulty with his higher level thinking processes. So it is not technically a dementia yet. About 20% of people who have a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment over the next five years, year over year, will develop dementia. Then underneath the line is mild dementia, moderate dementia, and severe dementia. So what you have told me is really good news because you do know that it is at the very least mild cognitive impairment.
[8:07] Right, not dementia, because the neurologist has done some testing that says it’s still above the What does that mean for you? It means the following things. Number one, there’s a lot you can do from a preventative and let’s maximize his abilities and doing things like brain training games, like true brain training games. There are several platforms out there. One is called Lumosity. One is called Brain HQ. Diet and exercise.
[8:45] Researching, since you’re a researcher, Jodi, really researching what are brain protective diets. Changing your lifestyle. Changing what you guys eat. How much he exercises and exercises his brain. Looking at some of these books, one of the ones, I don’t know if I mentioned it last time, it’s called The End of Alzheimer’s. It was written by Dale Bredesen, B-R-E-D-E. E-S-E-N, I believe is how it’s spelled, Dale, D-A-L-E, Dale Bredesen, really researching how to prevent further cognitive loss, right? Because if he’s been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment.
[9:31] Yes, there’s something there. It’s typically the higher level things like planning and organizing and short-term memory is impaired and all of those, what we call the executive of functions, right? But at the same time, it is not dementia yet. It also means that if you are active in this process, maybe it doesn’t turn into dementia over time. So you have a window of opportunity to be able to really maximize your husband’s resilience, his absolute brain resilience by putting in these structures in place. It’s kind of like when you’re pre-diabetic, you know, when you change your diet and you change your exercises and things like that, then you don’t necessarily become a diabetic, right? So mild cognitive impairment isn’t great per se because there is something going on, but it is an opportunity for you to actually do something to mitigate the effects.
The Importance of Preventative Measures
[10:38] So I think that’s tremendous good news. I think that is very, very good news. So even though you don’t quite have a formal diagnosis, you do have a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. MCI can last five to eight years before it changes. How old is your husband? 77.
[10:59] So the second thing is he’s 77. If he lives another, you know, we don’t know if he’s going to live another 20 years, right? We don’t know if he’s going to live another five.
[11:09] He’s 77 years old. So the other part of it is that your husband’s a little older by the time all of this is coming out. So I think this is very positive, very, very positive news for you. How does that sit with you? What does that make you think? Well, I mean, I can’t really, I mean, yes, I can start doing all of these things that will prevent further decline. But it’s like a week from today, we’ll know, you know, what the MRI shows and what the PET scan shows. So let’s talk about that just for a sec. Okay. What the MRI and the PET scan are going to show is physical changes to the brain. Uh-huh. Right? So it’s like taking a.
[11:57] A picture on the inside of what does the brain now look like, what the tests that the doctor did that gave him the ability to say it is mild cognitive impairment because they had to have done some cognitive testing, right? That tells you the function behind the scan. So you can already assume and know that there are going to be actual physical changes in his MRI and PET scan. The only possible additional information that they could maybe give you off of the MRIs and PET scans is if they truly see a pattern that indicates it is a specific type of dementia coming on, but he’s still in the MCI, right?
[12:47] Did that make sense? Yes. So for example, my dad who has a diagnosis of MCI, his is likely related to lifestyle choices over decades. Okay. Okay. So the lifestyle stuff has gone away, but the remaining changes are there. So he isn’t necessarily progressing or changing because the damage was from an external factor. Okay. Right? So, for example, if your husband truly has a specific type of dementia that they can see effectively on a scan, then you might know he has mild cognitive impairment, not dementia. They think it is Alzheimer’s or frontotemporal or Lewy body. And you can maintain and then research one of these different types. To manage your expectations, though, it is my experience that they do not necessarily know and or tell you without a whole bunch of additional tests what type of dementia it is, okay?
[14:00] So I’ll use this as an example since You mentioned it at the beginning, right? You mentioned that you’re a breast cancer survivor yourself. 50, 60, 70 years ago, when a person got a diagnosis of cancer, the science and the technology wasn’t there yet to do all of the different type of gene testing, etc., etc., to break it down into the microscopic type of cancer. That now they have targeted therapeutics for, treatments for.
[14:33] Dementia is in that beginning phases that the science hasn’t. It’s better than it was 30 years ago, but it’s not a blood test yet that we can test and say, this is the type or this is the this or whatever.
Action Steps for Caregivers
[14:48] It is coming, but it is not here yet. So your homework, your best homework still, because you’re a homework doer, is truly researching what you can do as a family to maintain his cognitive abilities, build in the resilience, and then if you have more of a definitive diagnosis later on, then research that specific one. But you’ve got so much going in your favor that I’m, you know, cautiously optimistic for you that this is something that you can stave off for a period of time if you just take action and work on some of those kinds of things. Okay. Okay. So what’s one step that you’re going to take after tonight that’s going to move you closer?
[15:40] I’m going to focus on looking into the diet and exercise changes that, you know, a couple of months ago, I said, okay, I’m, I’m a, you know, we really need to go do some water aerobics a couple of times a week. And we, and he says, Jodi, right now, I don’t want to do anything until I get all these doctor’s appointments taken care. And I’m thinking we’re never going to be fined. I mean, you know, between, he’s a kidney cancer survivor and between everything else, it’s like, oh my God, there’s so many appointments. And, but, and I, I don’t know. I’m just going to have to go do what I need to do, and then maybe he’ll follow suit. But I’m also going to say, now, remember, studies show, you know, I mean, and he’s on board. He bought walnuts recently. He loves blueberries. So we’ll just continue in that vein and then we’ll get the exercise going. What was his vocation? He worked at the same company for over 25 years, and it changed hands about four times. And he’s been retired for a number of years.
[16:40] But what did he do? a product uh he was in the telecommunications business and he was like a master schedule okay that’s what it was so if he was somebody who is very good at schedules give him a schedule okay and see if that helps so you schedule it out like as opposed to we’re gonna exercise you schedule it out you get a blackboard or whatever in the kitchen you do a week schedule and your exercise periods are on there. Okay. And you guys exercise together. People who are really benefiting from the community are the people who joined earlier on before they need it and that have been active and are participating in the community because then they already know what questions to ask and they have a place to come and they’re not constantly wondering, what do I need to do? How do I need to do it? So people listening are interested in tapping into or learning about the community, I’d invite you to just go to the website, thinkdifferentdementia.com. There’s a link for you to schedule a 20-minute call. There’s no pressure. I’ll serve you regardless of whether you join the community or not. But it is a way for you to take this relationship a little deeper, a little bit more hands-on support, because really the research also shows its longitudinal support over time. Absolutely.
Closing Thoughts and Encouragement
[17:58] Yeah, for sure. I would highly recommend Lizette. she’s not so i see i appreciate that endorsement you are well thank you everybody for listening today and as i try to remember my i try to remember i don’t always remember may the lord bless you and keep you and come back and listen some more I’m hoping to do more of these coaching style episodes so come back in and check us out and thank you for being here today.
