Let me start by saying my dad was the caregiver of my late mom and recently deceased brother. He has heart failure and is living with my husband and I.
My question is this; at times he seems quite rational and clear thinking (sometimes more than me) then at other times he can't button his shirt, use a knife and fork and walks with an uneven step behind his new walker. When he is 'clearer' he forgets the walker and walks across the house before he realizes he doesn't have it. It's been since Feb of this year. I know for certain he has dementia....too many signs ...but the question is why is it sporadic? Is that normal? I'm at all the dr visits with him and while there, don't want to insult him or embarrass him in front of the dr.
He also has been hearing 'singing voices' at times. I researched that and found that it could be 'musical ear syndrome' but the audiologist had never heard of that.....
Some dementia patients seem to have short circuits in their thinking. Sometime everything works OK, but if the “wiring” is just a little off, full blown dementia is apparent.
If you haven’t considered an exam by a specialist with training in identifying dementia, it may be a good time to start searching for someone.
His medical doctors can help direct you to local specialists in psychiatry, psychology, and other specialist who can give you a sense of where he’s functioning now, and how to deal with any issues that may come up as his condition progresses.
There is a condition where Spinal Fluid backs up in the brain (hydrocephalus) and in an older person some symptoms are very much like some forms of dementia
Even if this is a long shot. (the old saying when looking for a diagnosis..if you hear hoof beats think horses not zebras...well sometimes it is a zebra)
Most doctor's offices have a Patient Portal where you can send notes and ask questions. This could be done without your dad realizing. But...my opinion here..if you are with your dad during these visits you are acting as his advocate all you are trying to do is make sure he gets the best care possible there is no intention of embarrassing or insulting him.
Also not that you asked but even I have heard (no pun intended) of Musical Ear Syndrome (and I just tried this..Google "Musical Ear Syndrome" and you get in 0.74 seconds 6,480,000 results. you might want another audiologist...one that knows how to Google)
thank you and good luck with your mom
I like Grandma1954's advice. Inform his doctor of what you've observed and see if he can be helped.
With my Mom I kept notes on my computer about new things going on and her progression. Then I organized these notes in a short note to the doctor. A paragraph for each different thing. I typed in in large font, 14 or 16, so it was easy to read. Kept each paragraph short and simple. One page only. This way when we when in for the appt. the Doctor could ask questions based on what I wrote. And he did refer to my notes.
People with Dementia in the early stages can "showtime". This means they are aware they are having problems, and for a short period they can act normal. So giving your notes to the receptionist and asking that the doctor read them before your appt will help with a doctor's diagnosis.
Also make sure he doesn’t have UTI or some other underlying infection, get a blood work up to make sure there isn’t a deficiency or surplus throwing things off, it can also tell them something about heart issue and pay some attention to how much water he is getting and the affects, if there are any, the exercise he gets or doesn’t and if there is a particular time of day things decline or if his sleep affects it. These are all things you can control to some degree and he might even grasp in his sharper times and hear our brains become more sensitive to these changes as we age.
If someone cannot draw a picture of a clock showing a certain time of day, say 8 o'clock, it means they are having an issue with their Executive Brain Function. The Executive Brain function is like the conductor of the orchestra....if it is compromised, the players have no idea WHAT to do or WHAT is going on. A compromised Executive Brain function indicates dementia and/or Alzheimer's is going on. My mother was diagnosed in 2016 and her version of a clock was a blob......and didn't resemble a clock in any way, shape or form. She was also having a lot of trouble with everyday tasks and remembering things in general. But it showed primarily that she was unfit to live alone and needed help with ADLs.
While she's declined cognitively since 2016, she still has times where she is perfectly lucid, tricking many people into thinking she's fine & dandy. Like WHY are YOU here in a Memory Care facility??? There is obviously nothing wrong with you! Ha. That is known as Showtiming, and my mother wins the Oscar Award for that talent year in and year out. She can make great small talk, relying on embedded memory of old chit chat learned years ago, and sound like she's 100% normal. In fact, she's been very lucid in general the past 3 weeks, coming off of a few month period of word salad and general confusion and misery 24/7.
My point? The confusion comes and goes. Each day is different, keeping everyone (including the patient) completely off kilter and not sure WHAT'S going on. Which is one of the reasons dementia sucks SO bad and robs everyone in its path of a good life.
Keep your dad comfortable and as happy as possible, that's my suggestion. Don't drag him back & forth to tons of doctors for lots of different medications and diagnoses. For what? To extend his life by a short while? Instead, allow him the privilege of enjoying to the fullest what's LEFT of his life. Dementia and CHF and lower bundle blocks (my DH just had a pacemaker put in last July for that, by the way, after fainting and falling off the back of a truck, but he's 62) and kidney disease will rob him of his life anyway. Why wreck what's left of it with doctors and needles and tests and all that crapola?
When my dad was 90, he fell and broke his hip. At that time, we found he had a brain tumor via an MRI. He hated that test SO much, he was SO stressed out and traumatized by it, that I promised him Never Again Dad. And I stuck to my word, right to the very end of his life when it became necessary for another MRI to keep him at his ALF with hospice. I was told to get him an MRI every 3 MONTHS. And I said WHAT FOR? He was living his last days as it was. Why stress him out further?
So he lived the last 11 months of his life in peace and happiness with my mother, never realizing his brain tumor was killing him. And after his last MRI at the ER, the tumor took his life in 19 days. He was kept totally comfortable with hospice care, and I will be forever grateful for the route we took with him.
Allow your dad's last days to be as peaceful as possible, my friend. Bless you for all you're doing, and for giving him a dignified life, right to the very end
"last days to be as peaceful as possible". Yes.