The first onset of dementia was 8 months ago

[resinlady]

My Mom is 82 years old and as of June '07 she seemed fine to me.  She sometimes forgot names of people she met, but she recently moved into a lifecare community in FL from Vegas and there were alot of names to remember.  She has chronic UTI infections and she experienced one in June '07 that made her very confused.  She ended up in the hospital where she became paranoid and hallucinated. After 2 weeks in the health center, she went back to her apt. and other than not handling her medication, she went through 2 cataract surgeries and seemed to be coming back.  3 weeks ago she had another UTI infection that caused edema in her feet as it had gotten into her kidneys.  She was in the hospital for 3 days that caused the paranoia, irritability and hallucinations. She has been in the health center now for 2 weeks - on 100 mg of zoloft, aricept, namenda, seraquil and can't walk, is more confused and very irritable to others.  Not her normal personality.  Her neurologist has just taken her off zoloft, aricept and namenda and increased her seraquil to 25 mg 3 times a day (was 25 mg once a day at night).  I am hoping I am doing the right thing for her.  He is a well renowned neurologist and doesn't know what is causing her problems after looking at her EEG, MRI of the brain, Ultrasound of the caratoid artery and CAT scan of the neck.  I believe he thinks it is being caused by the medication.  Anybody have a similar problem with their parent?

[Sulyn]

Change can be extremely difficult for the elderly.  Just the change in her home situation could put her in a tailspin. I am sorry to hear she also had to be hospitalized with a UTI--another change of environment and I assume in a hospital where she had never been before.  It sounds like she needs alot of TLC.  
As for the medications, it sounds like the doctor is making too many changes all at once.  When my father's dose of Aricept was increased, the doctor waited several months before adding Nomenda.  He also takes Remeron.  Now a so-called geriatric pychiatrist wants to add another anti-depressant.  It appears that Dad might benefit from that, but it would make more sense to me to add it after he has been on Nomenda for awhile, so we know how he reacts to that before adding something else.  I don't know about your situation, but in ours, their are a number of different health care specialists involved.  One thing you can do is coordinate your mother's medication list with all of them and keep them up to date. This might help reduce the possibility of drug interactions.
We are fortunate that we can be there to advocate for our parents.  Some elderly have nobody.  At the same time, we must take care of ourselves so we have the strength to be there both mentally and physically.  God bless you for all you do.

[rbcf]

My husband had a infection - his white count was at 36000 in june and no knew what was causing it.  They gave him antibotes. and Than July he had 56000 white count .  This time fever and the doctors thought it was anmonia and than urinary track infection but they didn't know for sure .  They wanted him to stop smoking and gave him medicine like Welbutern and he started to stare at the walls and stop in intersections, It went on for 5 years and Than he got worring about sleeping in when he had to go to work.  He got up every 15 min. to 1hr. ready for work. worrying about geting home.  worried about every thing plus weird things he did with ice cream and didn't seem to know how things work or like he  never saw it before.  etc.   Picks disease and being a fraid and worring was part of it.  I thought it was the welbutern years ago.  But it wasn't.  Arciept is the one that keeps him going and Namenda.  He started to break out on Arciept after two years and switched him to Execlon .  He went and lost the two years progress in one week.  I got them to put him back on Arciept and it took almost two months and now can do things again except he lost his writing.  I keep thinking the fevers or the meds back 7 years had something to do with the problems.  Picks will turn into Aztimers/sp  later.  Keep testing and get second opinions.  We went through 4 doctors and ended up with a good nerulogist that listens- by the way please write what you have seen her do and things you notice.  I wrote a  five year list of what happened from the infections and when the thing started to happen right after to the day of the appiontment.  That will give them something to go by. I wrote some minor things also.  every bit helps.

rbcf

[ckr]

My mother is going through something very similar.  She moved from the Midwest to the East Coast, after the death of my father, a year and a half ago.  However, her situation involves episodes of a dangerously high b/p and resulting in the same symptoms you describe in your mother.  She is not herself and keeps rearranging little accessories, etc.  She swings between laughing and crying.

I know that UTIs can really through the elderly for a loop, just as you described.

My Mom was doing exceptionally well on Zoloft after her diagnosis of moderate cognitive impairment but, developed severe gastic problems.  It was discontinued.  (Paxil, another, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor did the same years ago).  Lexapro causes her to have hallucinations.  We are hoping that another antidepressant will be started soon.  It sure seems to help.  Mom said that she would even go through severe gastric pain again just to be feeling herself.  She is miserable, cranky and irritable right now.  Doctors are no good.  Meds are no good.  She is not happy.  There is confusion and she sometimes has false memory.

She was also on Namenda but, again gastric upsets occurred.  We are waiting to introduce other meds.  You are fortunate to have such a good doctor to help care for your mother and monitor her closely.

Unfortunately, we can all have side effects from medications.  Sometimes, we have to work through a few meds until we get it right.  I have experienced that myself and sometimes it just doesn't make sense until the right med is found.

God bless you.  You are a good, caring daughter who loves her mother and wants the best for her.  She is very fortunate indeed.

The one thing I would like to suggest, is testing by a neuropsychologist.  It usually takes an hour and a half.  Mom actually enjoyed the testing that involved manipulating various objects, stories, etc.  By being scored on different cognitive functions it helps to diagnose a patient or, verify a diaagnosis.  It proved extremely helpful when nothing abnormal showed up on the MRI, carotid scan and CAT scan of the head.

I know this is a difficult time and you are doing all you can.  We aren't doctors and it is indeed a helpless, frustrating feeling not to be able to help our Moms and other loved ones.

You could get a second opinion or perhaps call in a kidney specialist, too.

Get rest, eat well and take care of yourself.  Okay?  Sorry this is going on for you, too.  Physical symptoms are easier to deal with than dementia.

Much love,

your friend

[caregiver222]

First of all, she has to be gotten off all medications. Being in a strange area can be very frightening to the elderly. Then, square two is to arrange for a family member to be with her constantly holding her hand for the next two weeks. Take your vacations. Rotate shifts. Don't give a darn about your jobs. The next time I hear about a "well reknowned physician" I am going to choke. She needs an endochrine screen from an endochronologist. If the "well reknowned physician" hasn't done this then I imagine he is well reknowned in Bosnia perhaps. Her sugar levels should be monitered. High or low sugar levels cause halucinations. They are called "sugar people". This should have been square one. They can seem very real. When she is off the meds  get an inexpensive glucose meter and take hourly readings. If your "well reknowned neurologist" has not done so, then perhaps he is actually well-reknowned in Zaire. He doies get points for "thinking it might be the medication".  The average first semester nursing student would have figured that out. And who prescribed the four medications simultaneously, Make sure that physician never goes near her again. After all is said and done, only after being cleared of medications and being given tender-loving care and human contact in familiar surroundings (which can be in a facility if a family member is there), can an evaluation of whether or not she actually has dementia or Alzheimers even be considered. Whenever a person has a life threatening situation a "lizardian" personality emerges. This has evolutionary survival value. Often, when the illness is treated the psychiatric issues disappear also. You have a difficult situation, but don't give up hope.

[Frank77]

It is possible that the paranoia and hallucinations could be related to some seemingly unrelated medication she received in the hospital. My wife experienced the same sort of thing in a rehab hospital after her stroke. I had ordered that she not receive any psychoactive meds without my OK and the hospital maintained that they had complied. Then one night just before I left her room they appeared with a unfamiliar med. I rejected it and she had her first nights sleep without the hallucinations. A check of the PDR turned up  hallucinations as a common side effect of the med. I'm glad I caught it because they were trying to get me to OK putting her on a anti psychotic med to treat the hallucinations.

[daprincess21]

I work in an Alzheimers unit, i will say that alot of the time when the meds are first started and patients are just diagnoised that It can go from worse to "better" When they figure out what works best and exactly whats going on with the patient than they can better treat. This disease will allow people to live longer and healthier on medication. I dont suggest going off for a few days only to satrt all over again. God Bless you and your family.

[LLWB]

So sorry about your mom. It does sound if all of her tests are normal, that it could be the medication. When my husband was dying of cancer, his medications made him very confused and VERY paranoid. If there are no brain tumors, or blockage of the arteries, medications could be the culprit. Give it a few days off meds and see if she improves.