My mom was diagnosed a couple years ago by her PCP with mild/moderate dementia. She lives in a senior living facility and has dining and cleaning services provided. Normally she has socialization - just not these days. She's very good about keeping herself and her apartment neat and tidy, however her mind has definitely deteriorated at a much quicker pace than before lockdown. These last two weeks has been much more active with periods of confusion and sundowning. Most recently she's been complaining of feeling wobbly and unsteady on her feet. She uses a walker and says she hasn't fallen (I have a camera in her apartment and have not gotten 'motion alerts'). I've asked her if she thinks its time to go to AL or a MC center. She poo-poos both, although she says she knows she can't remember things. She also says she dreams (hallucinates????) about two kids coming to visit her and patting her arm until she wake ups, and then they go to bed while she's left not getting any sleep. They're always the same kids, but not kids from our family - totally random). Yesterday, they ate all her ice cream (I don't even think she has ice cream in her freezer). On good days, she walks the grounds and always gets back on her own, so there is no concern of Alzheimers, at least not yet. But, I don't know where to turn from here. What kind of doctor would definitively diagnose her level of incompetency as far as the dementia goes? She has a rescheduled appointment next Thursday with a neurologist to test for Parkinson's. Do the illnesses overlap? Could it be one or the other, or both? My thought is that she does not have Parkinson's (she's 94) and it doesn't run on her side of the family. Although she has head tremors, I think they're age related and she doesn't have the typical 'finger tremor' associated with Parkinson's. It's difficult to maneuver her into doctor's office and if I'm to take her, I'd much rather go to the appropriate doctor which would address her immediate dementia related symptoms than to use her energy to get another diagnosis which will probably resort to yet another pill being added to the mix. Any experience or insight to help me make an informed decision would be most appreciative. Thank you.
Parkinson's can cause Parkinson's dementia but there are other conditions that can cause Parkinson's like physical symptoms (Parkinsonism). My mom had a tentative diagnosis of Parkinson's that I was always skeptical about (she had lived with essential tremors for years), in her case I feel her symptoms were a result of the cumulative damage caused by many TIAs which also ultimately lead to vascular dementia. I think it depends if her neurologist is narrowly focused on Parkinson's or also is willing and able to look outside that specialty for other abnormalities.