My Mother

My Mother is 90 years old.  Her memory has been slipping for some time now.  However, today it took a drastic turn for the worst.  She called me and wanted to know where my father was.  She divorced him years ago and he has been deceased for years.  She denies that she has lived with her significant other for 13 years.  She also tells me that I never call her, I call her every day and spoke with her last night.  She said she wasn't home that she was with her Mother, who is also deceased.  She gets angry and says that she doesn't know what is going on and that everyone is not telling her the truth.  I know an evaluation needs to be made.  How do I proceed with that.  I can call her family doctor, but not sure how soon something can be done.  

[ckr]

Yes, do call her family doctor that is a great place to start.  If this happened suddenly it might be something other than Alzheimer's.  Make sure that you convey to the doctor that this is a drastic turn for the worse.

I just saw your post.  My mother has moderate dementia and there seemed to be somewhat of a sudden onset, too.  But, there was no stroke or other problems and she is on medication now.

All the best,
ckr

[ckr]

Yes, do call her family doctor that is a great place to start.  If this happened suddenly it might be something other than Alzheimer's.  Make sure that you convey to the doctor that this is a drastic turn for the worse.

I just saw your post.  My mother has moderate dementia and there seemed to be somewhat of a sudden onset, too.  But, there was no stroke or other problems and she is on medication now.

All the best,
ckr

[suzyzoosusan]

Yes, I would suggest you sch. an appt. with her Doctor and determine if it is caused from medications or the onset of dementia leading to Alzheimer's disease. There are medications to hault the progression. Sounds like she should not be living alone and is regressing, Alz's destroys short term memory, thus she is remembering people and events of the past; long term memory.

[loty1213]

Well, by age of 90 at least 60% of people will have dementia. It usually starts in a subtle way that can be missed by close relatives in 25 % of the time. Things like personality changes, repeating themselves, irritability are not un common early changes. The doctor will run some tests to check for reversible causes of dementia like B12 deficiency, hypothyroidism, sub-dural hematomas; if all negative then a presumptive diagnosis of Alzeheimer's dementia is made. There is an excellent medicine in addition to Exelon called Namenda; it is a class by it self. Those medicines can slow down the progression up to one year but the overall decline is inevitable.
Delusions can happen and can be controlled with medications but there is side effects.