Moody had his annual physical exam today and also got the results from his brain MRI from last Friday. The MRI showed no sign of strokes or problems with major arteries, but the small veins show signs of sluggish blood flow. There is also less white matter. This is essentially the same result as his previous MRI. They called it "small vessel disease" and recommended continued aspirin and lovastatin. The medical term for the white matter decline is Leukoaraiosis. Patients may develop subcortical dementia syndrome.
Moody has lost about 8 pounds in the last 2 weeks which I think is directly related to the observed decline in appetite. He's eating about half of what he was eating 2 weeks ago. He also complained about pain in his shoulder and rib, though there is no evidence or memory of a fall. He has a fair amount of fatigue and sleeps most of the day. When Don and Kathy were here, he moved his plate away and put his head on the table to "rest". He also seems to need more help than before as in dressing, bathing, and even standing from a seated position. He was faithful about washing the dishes, but he has not done that in about 2 weeks. The doctor gave a prescription for a new drug (an antidepressant) to help with resting more at night and that will help increase his appetite. She wants to see him again in 2 months. She also put in a neurology consult, but I have not heard from that person yet.
