Mom has a similar decline.... non stop talking after midnight about everything not making sense. She also wants scissors to create or destroy her latest comforter blanket or article of clothing socks too...she dozes during the day for an hour or two... my challenge right now is keeping her awake during the day so she sleeps all night 🙏🏿
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I live 1500 miles from my brother who I strongly suspect has early onset dementia--our grandfather died of it at 69. He recognizes that his memory is poor. He doesn't know what day it and often not even am or pm. It's been a rapid decline. But I can so relate to taking it day by day. Today I had a great hour and a half long conversation with him. He allows me to look in on his banking. Last week he didn't want me to put his phone or power bill on autopay. There's nowhere in his little town where he can drop off payments. So last weekend his phone was cut off due to non payment. Today he agreed.🎉 Christmas Day was a different story, and most likely not due to being alone on Christmas. As a truck driver he typically spent Christmas on the road. But his whole mood and affect had changed from a couple of days before. Flat, disinterested. I'm recognizing that I can only do my best to control things, and try to plan ahead. He has an appointment with a neurologist in 11 days. That will help immensely. He lives alone. There are days when I wonder about assisted living since I doubt he'll be okay with someone coming into his home. Then other days he seems okay. I can't change him but I can communicate as productively as possible with him to make my decisions more palatable to him.
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A French study on benzodiazepine use in people aged 65 and over, started in 1987 and lasting 20 years, links the use of benzodiazepines and dementia.

Benzodiazepines include Valium, Ativan, Xanax etc which are used for anxiety and sleep problems. They are supposed to be used short-term, ie 2-3 weeks but are often used for years..

The study finds a 50% increase in dementia over a period of 15 years among the benzodiazepine users in the study. A cause-and-effect connection is not proven but the association is striking enough to suggest caution in using these drugs among older people.

The study was carried out by the Université of Bordeaux and INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche médicale).

By the way, I just discovered the Beers List, which sadly has nothing to do with beer. It is named after its inventor, Dr Beers. It lists the drugs which are dangerous for use in older people - another tool to help us all age in as healthy a way as possible.
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I have been referring to my mother's mental decline as 'swiss cheese' since the beginning. An apt description.
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Excellent description. I am in a similar situation. Good days and bad days. You do the best you can with what you have and keep watching for groups or blogs with information to help you cope. My biggest regret is that I am losing precious time with my own grandkids who live far away - trying to Skype with teenagers is like herding cats!
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I've never read anything that describes my mother so perfectly. The term 'swiss cheese' is one I thought I made up when talking about my mother's illness. I see it is not unique.
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The man described in the article is in middle multi-infarct dementia - not "early dementia" - as evidenced by his failure to recognize familiar names and forgetting that his sister died. The day will soon come that he cannot dress, feed or bathe himself (severe dementia). At that point, he will need 24/7 care. Start planning NOW for this eventuality and get your ducks in a row. Been there, done that with my own late father.
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My Dad is almost exactly like what you describe. He had his skull broken and his brain damaged back in 1935, when he ran out in the street at age 3 and was struck by a taxi. I feel like that didn't help his chances of getting dementia in his older years. He is very docile and sweet, but it's just like you described - when friends and family call, he has nothing to say besides to laugh and say "You got THAT right!" to everything they tell him. Then he hands the phone back to me.
My biggest questions are about how the decline will go, and how fast the progression will be. This man basically raised me alone and has been my best bud since I was born. I will do everything I can to make him as happy as he can be in these declining years, but I am starting out knowing nothing about dementia, so I'm not quite sure how to do it. This website seems to really be good. Hang in there!
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I think this article is very well researched and written. I have been looking for such an article for a long time. I am in a different situation than most of the cases you have here. my daughter 11 years ago had just finished university with a bachelor of education degree. she had taught school for one year and was enjoying her first vacation. she went for a drive with her girlfriend one day and the girlfriend was driving in a snowstorm. she was passing cars on the highway and as a result. her car spun and hit an oncoming truck. this driver was fine ; but my daughter has a 'tbi' (shaking baby syndrome. I was told that if she was hit any harder she would have died. they had to place my daughter into a nursing home . I visit her every day and I take her home twice a week. I have no support. all of the support has abandoned my daughter. my family tells me that I badly need a vacation. I don't know how I can do that because then no one will be visiting my daughter. I am a single parent who raised my daughter alone.
thanks for your time
Richard
father of injured child
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