Is this dementia? Print E-mail

Our Community forums offer a place to share valuable information with others in similar situations - personally or professionally - and also the chance to share stories, which can make a profound difference in the lives of members of our community. 

Questions, such as the one below, are answered by professional and home carers or people experiencing like situations. We invite you to visit the forums for helpful advice and solutions, to pose/answer a question or share your story, and also to view further responses to this featured question.

 

Jenny
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Is this dementia? - 2007/03/08 00:00 I wonder if anyone can tell me if my Mum has dementia? As a family, we’ve been noticing some odd changes in her behaviour for awhile. She’s forgetful. But not just like with dates and things. Last week she forgot my sister’s name. Also, she’s asked twice now when my dad is coming home and he died seven years ago! At first I thought she was putting us on, wanting attention or something, but now I’m not so sure. If I try to ask questions, she gets really stroppy and either sulks or gets angry. What is going on? Please help? Jenny
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Chris B
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Re:Is this dementia? - 2007/03/09 17:22 Hi Jenny. Thank you for your question. Since these discussion boards are new, DCA will respond to initial questions and comments until our community is up and running. In future, we know many of our readers will have the best answers by sharing similar experiences – personal or professional.

We can all be a bit forgetful and lose our car keys. The difference for the person with dementia is that he or she may find the keys but not know what to do with them. If your Mum is experiencing early stage symptoms of dementia, she will no doubt be frightened; both not knowing what’s happening, but also terrified that she just might know. She will be fighting to hold onto control and her current reality where she doesn’t have dementia.

The best advice we can give at this initial stage is to recommend a thorough medical examination to check for any treatable underlying causes. There are many curable conditions that can generate symptoms of dementia in the elderly, for example: dehydration, urinary tract infection, depression or medication poisoning, plus many more. Once these treatable conditions are cured the symptoms may disappear or return to an earlier level.

We would love further responses to let Jenny know what your experience of this situation has been and what you have found worked best. The DCA team.

 

 
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