My Mom has been in an ALF (a new one) for 6 weeks now. She has Alzheimer's/Dementia. Over the past few days, she's showing signs of increased dementia. Woke up the other morning and honestly did not know where she was, no conception of time and does not remember anything from one day to the next. Does dementia creep in and then get worse within a short span of time? Should we prepare ourselves for the worse??
Thanks....
Sometimes change can make things worse for awhile, and sometimes they never return to the place they were before the change (this is particularly frequent with hospitalizations and surgery).
Since she's worsened in the past few days, and the change is six weeks old, however, the change may not be part of the equation at all. She just may be at a turning point with her AD. I'd contact her physician and see if there's anything that can be done to help her. In the end, you may be seeing a new, deeper phase of the disease and you'll have to learn to cope with these new behaviors.
Take care of yourself, too,
Carol
My mom went through a major stressor a little over a year before she died and I popped her into my bed and we watched tv together. When she slept it was in a fetal position and I too thought that this was it. She rallied and we went on for a few more adventures after that so don't lose heart!
Stay here with us and write out how you feel. That will do wonders for how you cope. We're here.
lovbob
I'd ask for help from the ALF and the aids---they certainly have more experience with these things than we do-------Hang in there and know that you are doing the best you can for her
My Mother is on the Exelon patch, 9.5 mg, which is the strongest. There is a 4 or 4.5 mg, too. She was diagnosed with Lewy Body dementia about 3 1/2 years ago. We change it every 24 hours, she also takes Seroquel at night for sedation. The doctor wanted to put her on Namenda additionally, but I have learned to trust my intuition in many area of life, and TOO MUCH is too much.
I took her off other meds that she had been on for years and were starting to work in the opposite direction, (thanks to my own research and reading articles here on Aging Care about Detrol causing dementia or D-like symptoms!). She remains on Levothyroxine for her thyroid, and Nexium for reflux. She has been with me for 6 months after spending 1 1/2 years in a residential care home, where they drugged her so much for THEIR convenience, let her fall all the time, and yelled at her.
That's enough of THAT.
She acts better most of the time than she has in 20 years, when I suspect her dementia began to take over her Narcissism. She comes out smelling like a rose in every chapter of her life. More power to her, and to you all. Hugs, Christina
Can I get to a PDR online as I don't have an actual book. I wanted to find some real people who'd tried it and reported on success or failure.