My 95 year old mom doesn’t make sense anymore. Advice?

My experience with these types of concerns has been that the brain only remembers the old memories and incidents. It shows how much the new memories have been lost. Think of the brain as a file cabinet. The ones in front are the new memories and the back ones are the old memories. In alzhiemer disease usually the new ones are lost first (front files) and the old ones later.
She's maybe experimenting the old memories of the incidents regarding her bike etc. at a younger age.
It must be hard for you dealing with this loss. Try to go along with her and come up with solutions that put her mind at ease. Never argue with her about her issues. Love her and enjoy even these moments with her. I'm going through the same. It's heartbreaking seeing our moms or dads gradually melting away.
Read the book by Mary Newport MD about her husband Steve Newport. She has discovered some new diet changes makes a difference in alzhiemer patient's memory. It's not a cure but it helps.
I hope I could help.
Gof bless you and gives you patience.

Call your local council on aging and talk to them .. Find a Caretakers group. It has helped me immensely. My man agreed to a neuropsychological test 4 years ago and again this past summer . Even though he does not believe anything is wrong with him, the decline has been very noticeable. There are many great suggestions here to track down what might be going on with her . REMEMBER your own physical and mental health, too.
It sounds like dementia. Her brain may be broken . If it is , the more you know about the progression the easier it will be for you to be able to handle it .

as others have mentioned, have her checked out for a UTI, or possibly another medical issue. Also, if she is alone alot, without much external stimulation, this could cause brain issues as well. Check her meds - sometimes even ones that have been taken regularly, can start to cause issues. Have her evaluated by her doctor for dementia and/or alzheimers.

Implied by "anymore", this is a sudden change? You indicate in your profile that she has Alz/dementia, so it is likely she's had memory issues, but this sounds abrupt.

While there can be "step downs" with some forms of dementia, this sounds more like she might have a UTI or an imbalance. I would start with a simple check up with her doctor, including a urine culture and blood work. This can rule out UTIs, other infections or imbalances in her blood due to medications or lack of vitamins/minerals, etc. If nothing shows up, perhaps something to calm her, like anti-anxiety meds might stabilize her. I wouldn't put her through an MRI - those can be scary or claustraphobic for elders, esp those with dementia. The suggestions of neurologists seem a bit overboard, if you already know she has dementia.

While this could also be some form of sun-downing, which usually occurs later in the day/early evening, but can be any time of day, it still sounds suspiciously like a UTI. While this may sound crazy, it isn't. When I first joined the forum years ago, I would see suggestions of testing for UTIs and thought it was odd. Until my mother had her first UTI in the MC unit. Oh boy.... Sudden onset of agitation, insisting she had to get out, go home, had guests coming and set off every door alarm multiple times!

In her case, it was likely vascular dementia (we never did any major testing.) Short term memory was shot (lots of repetition) and loss of capabilities like managing finances and cooking (impact on executive functions?) Otherwise, she seemed like any other "normal" older woman (she was about 90-91 at the noticeable onset.) Once we were able to get her into the MC, she was "stable" for about 9 months - that's when the "step down" occurred. She still knew who I was, even well beyond that, but she started asking about her mother (gone 40+ years by then) and her previous home (sold 25+ years prior.) THIS is normal progression - no real odd behavior, just stepping back in time as more recent memories are impacted. She remained at that 40+ years ago stage for several years before strokes took her.

On the flip side, sudden onset of behavior changes generally indicate something is going on. In many cases, the "usual" signs of UTIs or other infections aren't present or are interpreted by their malfunctioning brains as something else. As noted, mom's behavior was certainly not normal for her. She was like that for several days until we could get her on antibiotics and an anti-anxiety med. The anti-anxiety was the lowest dose and was just enough to take the "edge" off - she wasn't "doped" up, it worked first time, every time and didn't need to be weaned off (Lorazepam, only used during the UTI treatment.)

Once treated, she was fine and didn't need any meds to "control" her. Please DO check for UTI (you can try a dip stick test, but sometimes these show negative, so culture is best.) NOTE: the second UTI mom had a few years after that resulted in night time bed wetting, despite max briefs with a max pad inserted and toileting before bed. Wetting = soaking everything, so yes, UTIs do very odd things to elders, esp those with dementia!!

She has dementia. My mom does the same thing. She constantly starts asking me around early evening everyday to take her home. She doesn’t realize she is home. You should have your mom checked by her physician and he will probably do a cognitive test to see for certain. Good luck

Chalar: Imho, perhaps your mother should be seen by a geriatric neurologist, who can perform an M.R.I. of her brain functionality.

Talk to her like you understand her. If she is relaxed (and not stressed), she will be the best she can be.

Try your best not to correct her - if she loses her confidence, her communication and her enjoyment of life might disappear.

Of course this is terrifying, but do your beat to remain calm. Check for reasons that may be the cause. Overmedication? High blood presaure? A UTI?

Sometimes when we do not have the previous experience of someone developing Alzheimer’s and dementia we do not understand it and we think it is temporary and it will go away. However that is not the case it just gets worse. It is just a question how much and how fast. It is wonderful that your mother did not develop Alzheimer’s earlier, Now you probably need some professional explanation and guidance from her Primary Care Physician.

So she sounds like the cat lady on "The Simpsons"?

She may have delirium due to another health condition, or dementia of some form or something else. If it is all if a sudden my guess would be delerium.. UTIs are one of the most common triggers but we can only guess here. You need to take her to doctor.

Please have her checked first by her regular doctor for infections and then by a neurologist if this is new and other medical problems are ruled out.

She has dementia and nothing is going to make her sane again. Can you stand this behavior? Is it affecting you and how? What is the impact on others who are with you. Only you can decide do you keep her with you or do you place her? Her mind is G O N E.

As long as she is no danger to herself, don't worry about it. Let her talk about whatever she wants.
For now, You might have cameras installed so you can keep an eye on her 24 7.
I found Nest Cameras were pretty easy to install.

Well, if your mother has Alzheimer's or some other form of Dementia, then of course, she will not make sense any more.

You need to take her to a neurologist, to see what type of Dementia she has. Then, you need to start preparing for the progression of the disease.

She will need help with eating, dressing, toileting, and more. You will need to adapt your own life to care for her full-time, or you will need to seek the help of a home caregiver, or you will need to search for a nursing home. You will need to obtain POA.

Either way, you need to get out of denial and start to prepare now.

If she indeed has dementia, her behavior is part of this illness. Her brain is trying to understand the world around her but when she speaks, it doesn’t make any sense to you. Please read up on this disease and the associated behavior because it gets worse. Try to understand that she’s not trying to act this way, but her mind is not cooperating.

Your mother needs to feel that no matter what she says, you love and accept her. It can be very frustrating to hear "nonsense" talk, but I find that the people who do best are the ones who are comforted and reassured that they are in the right place and with the right person. Elders take comfort in the past because it was a happier time than the present, and it is also more vivid than the present. Try some soothing music from her past, and if she likes TV, old movies. People I know have also enjoyed youtube videos of past places like Revere Beach or Nantasket (here in Massachusetts). You cannot change the dementia, only how you react to it. And really helpful to get a neuro assessment to baseline the decline.

Whats your question, because this is normal at 95?
Its not weird she has memory problems.
Be elated she’s ambulatory.
Maybe you need some respite care, so you get a break?
It’s not a Benjamin Button movie 🎥
Dementia isn’t going to improve.

You put this question under the Alzheimers and Dementia category, and also say in your profile that your mother is suffering from the condition. You are talking about her confusion and senseless talk which is part and parcel of Alzheimers/dementia. Confusion and nonsensical talk goes with the territory; at 95 years old, your mother has likely taken a step down recently with the dementia and that's what you're seeing. Speak to her doctor to see what s/he has to say. And do some reading on the topic at Alz.org to familiarize yourself with the condition and what it looks like.

Wishing you the best of luck.

JoAnn is right. But more information might help. Is this sudden? Or when did it start? Has it got worse gradually, and over how long? Where is 'home' - possibly where she grew up as a child?

You need her checked out for a UTI. If that is not the problem, then there maybe some Dementia involved. Blood work can rule out anything physical causing it.