Three months ago, my mom was admitted to the ICU for acute kidney failure. Since that time she has suffered with an extreme case of delirium. Before entering the ICU, my mother's mind was very sharp but she was beginning to become a little forgetful. Now, after three months, she resides at a rehab facility. The doctor and staff are treating her as if she has full fledged Alzheimer's or Dementia. I have been a caregiver for my mom for over three years now and I know her inside out. I can recognize when she gets a UTI or becomes delirious. I do not agree with the medical staff at the rehab center where my mother currently resides - especially since she was recently put on a drug (scopolamine) that is notorious for inducing delirium in elderly patients. So, can Alzheimer's or Dementia progress from being slightly forgetful to talking about weird things that don't exist or make any sense over the course of three months? I know Alzheimer's progresses slowly. But what is considered slowly? One month, six months, a year, two years, ten years?
Blessings,
Jamie
I began doing some online research on Alzheimer's. Before my mom went into acute kidney failure three months ago, she had difficulty recalling words while conversing - mostly words associated with specific names of things that she knew very well, like hydrangeas, nutmeg, crocheting. Also, she expressed her frustration on her inability to recall these words. From what I gathered, this type of memory loss is a classic symptom of early Alzheimer's.
Getting back to my original question, I read an online article. (I would post the link to the website, but I am unsure if doing so is allowed here.) In any case, the author did a nice job outlining the timeline and "the seven stages of Alzheimer's. In this article and others, timelines for each of the seven stages are given in terms of years. That's why I was skeptical about the drastic change in my mother's cognitive abilities over the course of three months.
I learned the difference between dementia and Alzheimer's. Many people incorrectly use these words interchangeably. If I am correct, dementia is a general term that refers to a condition of cognitive decline. Many diseases (such as Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer's) can cause dementia. So, I suppose Alzheimer's is a specific disease that manifests itself as dementia.
At this point, I know that three months ago (just prior to being admitted to the ICU for acute kidney failure), my mother had early Alzheimer's, and, since that time, she was and still is struggling with delirium. I am hoping that her current status is a result of both Alzheimer's and delirium. I say this because if she recovers from delirium, she would revert back to her status prior to being in the ICU - which is early Alzheimer's. If this happens, then I can at least have a conversation with her again. Everything comes down to "if" - is this wishful thinking? Although my mother is alive, I feel like I have already lost her.
Falls can also fast-forward memory issues. I noticed any time my Dad had a fall his memory slipped a little bit more... it wasn't affected by any small tumbles.
My Mom went from being fairly clear minded into accelerated dementia after have two major falls two weeks apart that had head trauma :(