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My question is has anyone seen or heard about an elderly person who was living independently six months ago, and then suddenly becomes totally dependent upon others for all their care in just a matter of a few months? We are baffled has to how someone can go from a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment to severe dementia this rapidly.

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It blows my mind what some doctors call "Mild Cognitive Impairment"............when the person is exhibiting all the symptoms and signs of FULL BLOWN dementia!!! And maybe even moderate dementia at that, not early dementia.

Providing your mother does not have a UTI, or that she took a bad fall or had a stroke, which is a real possibility, then her dx of MCI might have been way off the mark when it was handed out. Bear in mind, however, that a stroke is often silent. My mother had a moderate stroke and nobody knew anything about it really. We did notice her balance was a bit worse, her eating was sloppier (spilling food all over herself while eating) and a few other things that weren't too bad. Turned out she did have a stroke, which we found out about 7 months later during a hospitalization and a brain MRI. Her dementia definitely declined after the stroke, but not to the point of being severe.

If you are able to get her a brain MRI, that may answer a lot of your questions.

Wishing you the best of luck!
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SunburyGal Feb 2020
Thank you for your response. My sister who is a nurse was thinking she may have had a stroke. We will certainly look into it.
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Seems like there is likely to be an underlying cause. It is possible that it is just old age catching up with her or maybe the symptoms were there previously, but so manageable to not really be noticeable.

Has she been to the doctor lately? Maybe she needs you to take her to one to lobby for some tests, at least some blood work.

Your description says she has/gets UTIs so as others said, that's definitely a possibility.
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SunburyGal Feb 2020
Thank you for your response. She has seen a doctor several times and has had blood work done.
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SunburyGal, do you know if Mom has had a major fall where she could have bumped her head? I realize our older parents don't like to tell us these things, my parents were that way.

My Mom had a major fall with head trauma as 911 needed to called, and Mom went from being quite independent to moving into long-term-care :( And it turned out from brain scans, this wasn't her first major fall where she had head trauma.

Another possibility is an Urinary Tract Infection, as cwillie had mentioned in her post. An UTI can mimic dementia in older adults, along with an array of other issues. So, have Mom tested for a UTI, at least that can be ruled out or be the actual cause. Antibiotics will help clear up the infection.
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SunburyGal Feb 2020
Thank you for your response.
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Too often MDs look at the age on the chart and fail to see anything beyond that, do you trust her health care team and has her doctor looked for a cause for this rapid decline? Places to start would be:
stroke or the accumulative effects of multiple TIAs,
acute infections, especially a UTI,
reversible dementias like normal pressure hydrocephalus,
brain tumours,
complications arising from heart or kidney disease,
thyroid problems
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SunburyGal Feb 2020
Thank you for your response.
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