Mom's progressing dementia. Any advice?

Thank you, all for your support .My;twin has mom, part of the day mom lives with hubby and I. I will go with her, to next Dr. appt. Cause I see more episodes of changes than sis. Mom is doing good considering She's a sweetie. HUGS

Pat, One useful thing to do here is to check your news feed. It will show you responses to your questions. Also, under "My Account," click on MORE and then Activity to show things you have posted.

Your Mom's situation is certainly scary. Be sure to tell the doctor how it comes and goes. I'm no expert, but that does sound like TIA's.

Mom,was told she had dementia 2 yrs ago.When,we go to Dr.next month,it may be called Alzheimer's/Dementia,which Iv'e read are so close related.
HUGS to all&Blessings,for being there for your loved ones

My mom has had five UTI's this year. The first four were either a backache or increased confusion. The fifth one landed her in the hospital for a couple of days. I called 911 on that one because she was exhibiting stroke symptoms, couldn't walk, speech very garbled, frightening to see. EMT's also thought stroke as did the medical staff in the ER. They finally put her on a 10 day course of antibiotics instead of the traditional five. That finally took care of it. That was back in September, now confusion is increasing again will get her a UA for Christmas! ;-) but probably not until Thursday.

I wish I was looking more forward to Christmas, but it is so damn hard when constantly being scrutinized by family members.

Oh yes it is absolutely shocking to me how much my mother's dementia symptoms increase with a UTI. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself and how much she recovers once the antibiotics kick in. I wish doctors for elderly patients with dementia would institute mandatory monthly urine tests just to make sure a UTI never sneaks up or brews in the background.

Yes, gladimhere, a uti really did a number on my mother, too. In her case it wasn't about her ability to recognize people, but she got pretty delusional. How did it effect your mom? In my mom's case the effects didn't come and go -- they came and stayed!

But it is probably a generally good rule to check out elders for a uti when sudden changes occur in their behavior. Thanks for reminding us.

Make sure she is checked for a UTI! These really have a huge impact on my mom!

It's worrisome to have acute changes that resolve as this could be other than just progression of dementia (e.g. TIA, seizure). Worth getting a medical evaluation to see what could be going on that could be treated.

Pat, was she told she has dementia, or specifically that she has Alzheimer's dementia? Different types of dementia have varying degrees of declining recognition of people. I understand it is common in Alzheimer's to forget people or not recognize them. This is partly associated with age regression. For example, if Mom now thinks that she is in her 50s, then a picture of an "old" man can't be the same-age cousin she played with as a child.

On the other hand, some of us have a hard time with names and faces even without dementia! How was your mother at that before she developed dementia?

For the next few weeks, why not keep a little notebook of these episodes so you can discuss them with her doctor? In fact, it might be good to mail him a list of the new or increasing behaviors and your concerns, before the appointment. Some clinics accept emails.

Dementia gets worse. That is a certainty. Whether these episodes will come more frequently remains to be seen. I don't think that having them occasionally necessarily means she's on a fast downward slope. This is something to discuss with her doctor, but I predict the answer will be, "We don't know. It varies a lot from one individual to another."

Thanks for replying.We,took her,when she had her 1st spell of this(2yrs ago) she,was tested&yes,she has it.She,has appt. in January.She;is in great health,also.
Have a nice Holiday! Pat

You should go with her to the doctor's office and have a long chat about her health.