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My question: I talk to my dad every evening. He sundowns a lot. He was very articulate when he told me he had been kidnapped was being held for ransom (he had be a politician in DC).


Recently when I talk to him, it's more like read stream of consciousness monologue. I told him about eating out at our local taco truck (the only one in my VERY rural county) and it went from "what did you eat" to "things will settle down and they will get the shooters" I suspect that news was on the TV. Also our conversations have gone from 15 minutes a night last May to 7 minutes a night. He use to be about to do the politician thing of asking questions about subjects he didn't know about (_boar taint_ sounds like a difficult problem to cost effectively over come, how did you decide your course of action? fill in underlined area with your choice of problem) to "uh huh, that sounds interesting" Is this what language loss is? Or is this just sundowning and will get better as the days get longer?


I'm a teacher, I'm up and out before he is out of bed. By the time he comes back from dinner, and has watched Jeopardy and Wheel of fortune ( he loves those two shows) it's dark.

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Who is caring for your dad? Is he in a facility?

Has he been evaluated by a geriatric psychiatrist who is well versed in dementia?
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K43d35 Feb 2019
My dad is in the first stage of an assisted living facility. He is on the wait list for a memory care space. He is living with my aunt. He has a part time care giver. Where we live is waaaay to rural to meet my dad's health needs. We are lucky to have a doctor, much less one who is a geriatric psychiatrist.

Dad was evaluated (mayo clinic I believe) and does have Alzheimers. Is this his ALZ getting worse or just it's dark at 5:30 and he is sundowning.
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So, I'm no expert. Sundowners can happen at any time of day but it tends to be consistently at a certain time. And I dont believe that it act has to do with it getting dark. Has he been checked for uti?
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K43d35 Feb 2019
I think so. He has regular health checkups ( including a urine analysis) once a month through the ALF.
The health checks once a month are not terribly extensive. Height , weight, blood pressure,listen to the heart and lungs, pee in a cup, vision. If anything looks weird a blood test is ordered.
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Sundowning can happen anytime in the day really but you seem to see it late in the afternoon. I think the brain is just tired. Some people are good at "showtiming". Meaning they can put on a good face. But then the brain gets tired. What your Dad is doing is normal. He will seem with it and then he can't keep his thoughts straight. I don't think it will get better because it stays lighter longer. His brain is dying. What you are discribing is exactly how ALZ/Dementia works. I could not hold a conversation on with my Mom. She would ask a question. By the time I answered her mind was on something different and she would look at me like I was nuts. She would just ramble. Not saying Dad won't have some lucid days or moments. But don't let yourself think its a sign of things being better.
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