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As it happens, I just heard a story the other day of a man whose wife could not find her way home from the store. . . Her husband picked her up and took her to the ER. They diagnosed her with some sort of urinary infection. Apparently this can cause dementia like symptoms??!! At any rate, lady is now FINE after some simple antibiotics! I am no doctor but certainly easy enough to make sure to ask about them to check this while they are testing!
This happens all the time. 40's is "early for Alzheimer's", but in reality, it's not that crazy. We see the same problems (memory loss, coordination loss, overall loss of nervous system function) and worse in childhood diseases (like severe autism, and other neurological disorders) today. In people of all ages, in fact.
Long-term deficiency of B12 is linked to brain atrophy which is mostly irreversible. Even normal levels of B12 is linked to brain atrophy which indicates that the normal range for the elderly is too low.
I'm finding that there may be sleep problems associated with supplementing vitamin B12. I've been researching it since I'm finding that she's staying up late at night, waking in the middle of the night to read, and then sleeping into mid day. Per the grey information box in the following article and other information, taking vitamin B12 at night may be disrupting the melatonin production cycle necessary for sleep.
The doctor's office's recommendation is for 1000 Mcg for age 60 and above without any specificity as to time of day. The recommendation wasn't forthcoming until I notified her last year I was adding the supplement.
All of her other medications are recommended for night-time.
Generally speaking, people with bona fide mental health issues, on or off medication, are at a higher risk for dementia. This makes sense when you think about it. Brain disorders.
I think you really need to get to the ER ASAP and have brain imaging done. Look, this is serious if she's at the point of driving on a sidewalk. Plus, she has a dying lady in her care, and hospice won't be there every day or around the clock. What if she forgets to do something for the lady? Even if it's a lapse that does no harm, the family could be really pissed if she's not on her game. They are paying her $5 grand a month for her to be on her game.
If this was just about her not being able to handle her affairs, maybe you could wait for a psychiatrist to adjust the meds or investigate hormonal stuff -- but the safety of others is now at play.
I really feel for you, this is frightening stuff. I honestly hope it's something that can be fixed easily.
Agreed.
I just noticed this thread.
I can't recall anyone with this as a symptom of regular old dementia/Alz.
Quote:
She told me she went to go pay a bill, and she was trying to say "four hundred" but couldn't stop saying "four."
The first thing I thought of was brain tumor or injury.
FWIW.
She totally should have been to a neurologist by now.
Unless her psychiatrist is not typical, she's going to have to go back soon for any refills on all those drugs, too.
<>have your mother checked for a urinary track infection. It's a long shot but sometimes something so simple as a urinary track infection can cause havoc to a person's mental health.
+1 on this. That is what brought on the crisis for my FIL.
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