My mother suddenly took a turn for the worse mentally. She got up one morning a completely different person ... unable to speak sensibly,

A urinary tract infection can also do a double whammy on a person. My Dad was in a nursing home 200 miles away, when they called to say he had a "mental status change," and were sending him to the hospital. When I arrived, he was still in ER, and could barely communicate; just stare, and shake his head up and down. The ER Physician diagnosed him with UTI. He was admitted, and remained in the hospital for 5 days. A neurologist determined that Risperdol was affecting his gait. He could not walk (stiffened limbs), and could not feed himself. They gave him medications through an IV. He lost his hearing aids. He tried to get up and walk, forgetting about his IV, and pulled it out. But, slowly, her recovered, some. Since he has Alzheimer's Disease, he didn't recover fully, and will not. In fact, since he's considered having Advanced Stage, he will continue to decline. The UTI did him no favors, though. We moved him closer to us, and he regained some ground after many months. But he also suffered some seizures along the way.

You've had some good suggestions above. Mainly, it's important to have a good Physician involved, and perhaps a Neurologist. Even if there has been a stroke, many people regain after rehab. Best wishes to you and your Mom. Take care.

Since this was sudden, I'd get her to the doctor as she may have had a mini-stroke (or more).

The picking at bandages is something my mother-in-law did, and that was an Obsessive Compulsive thing, which can be made worse by dementia.

If a doctor doesn't find anything different in her behavior, maybe he can try anti-anxiety medications or if she not on Alz. meds, there may be something he could give her to help blood flow to the brain.

At any rate, I think she needs to be checked.

Take care,
Carol