My mom is exhibiting signs of dementia. She's severely depressed and has crying and screaming fits. There is no reasoning with her. She is very forgetful and will ask the same questions over and over in a 10min conversation. She is adidicted to opioids and the doctor is being fooled. How do we intervene with doctor and get her in the car, to the hospital and possibly get a diagnosis?
Once we reached the hospital and other people were around she held herself together better.
Diagnosis: Depression and moderate dementia
She on a new med that’s helping a lot. No more hitting now, occasional temper fits but not often.
I also mentioned my mom’s meds when she was admitted, to make sure none would have weird side effects or clash with other drugs.
Make sure your hospital has a Geri Psych unit with a psychiatrist!
Have you considered an involuntary psychiatric in-patient admission?
I do not think she'll agree to go in for a diagnosis. I do think she knows something is wrong. She will say something completely off and then try to cover by redirecting us.
She is unable to be around another people. She's very anti social and now becomes very distressed if she's around anyone. She had a crying fit in our guest room during Christmas. She said she's having a breakdown and couldn't stop crying. She was calmed and then that evening got mad at one of my inlaws, went to the guest room and cried and argued for a couple hours. There was no reasoning with her. I was mortified and sick with worry for her.
It happened again at her house when I came to clean up a minor flood (pipes got backed up). She lives with my sister. My mom claimed we lied to her and that I was supposed to be there helping to clean the house. Not her room where the flood was. She didn't want me in her room. She said we tricked her and were trying to take away her independence ...though I was simply trying to clean up the water. She said she was sick and I couldn't come in. She then locked herself in her room. After some back and forth and trying to pry the lock open, she came out, said she was sick and blew in my face to make me sick too. :( She eventually calmed after I sat in her room quietly. She then let me clean up.
Interesting thing is...she does seem to remember incidents and was fretful over it the next day. I then wonder if its dementia.
Then she'll make a random comment about going to Florida (have no idea what she's talking about) or ask some other random question in response to one of our questions or she'll ask the same question 5 times in a ten minute conversation and I think it's dementia.
Her sister passed away from dementia this last summer. :(
Sick with worry.