My mother has lost 95% of her short term memory; her long time memory is pretty good. She has developed severe incontinence, she sleeps a lot and tires very quickly. No mood swings and she has lost interest in many activities and is content to just sit and stare. We have gotten an aide each day to help get Mom ready for the day (1 1/2 hrs per day). Mom is 90 and my Dad is 92 and helping some, but he is not capable of doing much because he has mobility and processing issues himself.
So mom is even more tired than before? Have you spoken to her doc about this? Do you have an Oxygen saturation monitor at her home? Low O2 sats can make you feel VERY tired.
It’s not easy, but I think it’s time.
But if it is dementia, does it really matter what kind it is? If you knew it was Vascular Dementia or Lewy Body Dementia or Alzheimer's Disease would that make a difference in how you help her or how you cope with it?
Has your mom been seen by a geriatrician or neurologist and had a workup which ruled out treatable things like Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus and various vitamin or endocrine deficiencies?
Treating dementia, it seems to me, is mostly a matter of treating the "treatable" symptoms ( anxiety, depression, agitation, paranoia) and giving the primary caregiver support and respite.