As dementia progresses, does it usually progress faster as time goes by?

Not necessarily. Each person is different, however, so there's no sure way to predict how fast the symptoms will advance. Also, people can go "back and forth" between stages as they progress. Some days may be better than others. It's not always a straight line. You might want to contact the National Alzheimer's Foundation for support at www.alz.org.
Take care,
Carol

Thank you. That seems to be what I notice. It seems the past few weeks my mom has declined a lot.

It's all so different & dependent on just so many factors. My mom - who has Lewy Body Dementia is mid 90's & in a NH - has had the pattern of episodes of severe decline which involve hallucinations, extreme head pain & confusion. Lasts about a day or 2, then she's back to normal but looses some degree of cognition each time. The loss is subtle, like confusion on whether to use a spoon or fork and inability to chose one and more forward on using either, so one might think she's not hungry but it's not that but her brain has put up a barrier and the NH staff have to put the utensil in her hand and prompt her and then she's able to eat. This maybe lasts a day or so. In the past 4 years the length of time, the distance between episodes has gone from every 3-4 months to every 3 - 4 weeks and longer downtime to get back on track. She is on Exelon, Remeron, a vertigo med and imho the exelon has enabled her / given her an extra couple of years.

As the losses mount up it probably seems like the decline is speeding up, but if it could be measured objectively that might not be the case. Each kind of dementia has its own pattern and each person is unique. All we can do as caregivers is respond to the situation as it presents itself each day.