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My Mom has dementia or Alzh...not sure of the diagnosis yet, as Im waiting for Medicaide paperwork and an evaluation. I go by everyday and feed her and check on her. She no longer knows who i am and today as I was sitting and talking to her she started using several words, in complete sentences, that dont exist!! that went on for over an hour. She was speaking cleary, but there are NO SUCH WORDS!! She also speaks of all the ppl that are in her apt and there is no one there....last night she left me a phone msg saying "Patty did not come home from school and its dark and cold out!! ...Im Patty and Im 52 yrs old...but yesterday she called my son and he told me "GrandMa is fine...she said shes mad because you sold her car...that was over a yr ago...and she sounds totally normal"...i KNOW that she cannot or should not be alone...im working on that ....but has anybody heard of the words? its not like she was making them up...they were just coming out of her mouth!!....bizarre!!

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Teepa Snow is so wise-I contacted her,mom has alz/dem but its the aphasia no
one seemed to get- in the begining, mom knew what she was trying to say- but the words were coming out different .
connections not connecting-
i emailed teepa and she was gracious enough to email me back- she answered so many questions- i love her!
i was the only one who could understand or get the gist of what mom was trying to say-
thats why it breaks my heart that my bro took her away and put her in a nh 4 hours away from me and her friends- she was so verbal- a teacher,artist,therapist,and more- i know she has had a hard time up there-
i used to get these ridiculous reports from my bro and the nh that she was doing fine- getting her hair and nails done-which she never did because she was allergic to s many things-that she was getting along- not complaining-not aggressive- but i have been with mom and this disease the last 12 yrs. and i knew better- i was told how wrong i was and i was too "anal" about what was happening at the nh, that i asked too many questions- it was a mess- still is, it wasnt until last week-,shes been there almost 2 yrs,that finally i was told-oh yes she is combative and abusive-DUH! oh course- stupid idiots- i am so mad at mybrother - he doesnt get it-she is so medicated, by now so much damage has been done- between the disease and the anti psychotics-all i can do is be there when i can-i have my own health issues-and its an 8 hr = round trip visit-
i cry, and i try to work on what i have allowed in -that has taken it toll physically and i am working on -trying to let go- not an easy thing -
i dont know if i am saying this clearly- but thank god i found this site- you guys are wonderful and been so helpful for many years-even if u hear the same complains and frustrations over and over- at least i know i am understood and all my work is recognized-taking care of her for so long-and that i am worth a great deal more than the disrespect i get from bro -the only family left for me-
oh well.-i got a bit sidetracked eh?
love u guys-
k
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Arjones, hello!! There is a link on this site , which was completely helpful. Its under "the 7 stages of Alzh"...it tells you what to expect....and it was very accurate, so far. They say that ALL types of dementia are similar in stages 5-7, (except everyones time frame is diff) and it was helpful even before i had her official diagnosis. Hang in there, Hugs!! Patty
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Msdaizy, I'm very glad you posted here. Even though I've been caring for my grandmother (103) for year and a half, I don't know as much about Alz and dementia as I should, and the info is obviously out there. And your post, even though its VERY sad how quickly your mom's demise seems to have been, tells me that individuals handle the disease differently and I need to become more educated about it. I did learn a lot about hearing loss, macular degeneration, proper diet for 103 yr old (if there is such a thing, lol, doctor tells me to let her eat whatever she wants, pretty much), how to care for her skin, prevent UTIs, etc. I guess I've taken grandma's dementia for granted. Even though I've only been here full time for 18 months, I've always flown in for visits 1-2 times a year, and 20 years ago my grandma was already calling me by the wrong name during visits. So I think I passed over doing research on dementia because to me, this state was "normal" for my grandmother... it wasn't something to learn about, it just was, and has been, for a long, long time. Anyway, I feel kind of selfish rambling on about my grandma in light of your mom's quick demise and recent death. But you are so generous with your support of others on here, and the helpful info you share, and I just wanted you to know that reading your posts under this thread made me realize I need to learn what I can about dementia. My grandmother may be at end stages, but my dad is just at beginning, and I need to know what to watch for with him. Btw, to be clear, my dad hasn't been diagnosed as Alz or dementia, but I see that he has big problems with short term memory, long term memory, and basic understanding of things that he should be familiar with. Should I ask one of his doctors to screen him for Alz? And how is this done?

Lol, I'm going to venture a guess that I'll know the answers to those questions after I look up "Teepa Snow" and start my research.
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I'm not sure what happened with mom she moved in with me in July after a fall at her apartment. The stay in the hospital they ran all kinds of tests and the Doctor recommended then that she not live by herself any longer. She was pretty good then...truthfully I know she was in the middle of the dementia by then. She knew all of us at that time. But as soon as she came home with me. Things when progressive fast. After only 2 months she went from knowing all of us..to knowing no one. Funny thing is she remembered my sisters and brothers who would come visit. But as for us...it was really weird. By that time I think she was in the end of stages. Hospice was called after October and from there it was only about 2 months. After Christmas she stopped walking, hardly ate, slept most of the day and night. We had a respite week planned in the first Weekend of January. But by the New Years day she stopped eating and drinking. I kept the respite and she spent the last days under the wonderful 24 hour care of the Hospice nurses. I stayed along with 2 of my sisters and were there for mom in the end. It was a grueling experience but finally she was at peace. I am doing amazingly well considering it was a little over a week that I lost her. She past away Jan 9th 2013. But in all honestly I mourned my mom over 3 months ago. She wasn't the person I knew as my mom...knowing what this disease did to her, was horrible. I love her so much..but I feel really good that I never gave up on her..no matter what. I knew she needed me and I was there until the very end. I kept a journal of my journey..and it has helped me get through the worst of it. I highly recommend it if you want to keep a daily log of her episodes. Gives me something to share with my siblings who were not able to be here for her. Plus I prayed for her daily in the journal. Good luck with your mama. I hope for peace and understanding for you too. God Bless.
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Thank You thank you MsDaizy!!! You know i had afeeling it was something like that!! Ya see, i thought aphaisa was when they simply dont know words any more...isnt it crazy how the brain works?? She was diagnosed by a Dr the other day and said she has Alzh around stage 5...how long/fast did your Mom s progress?? what type of dementia?? im sorry u had to suffer watching her, also. Was it kinda a blessing when she was gone??
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Patricia1...Dementia will interfere with brain chemicals...it makes a disconnection with the signals. it's called sensory aphasia...so even though she is speaking as if she understands everything she is says..her brain is sending out words that are unrecognizable, Jibberish. Mom would wake up and start talking this jibberish to me and then say, Well? you satisfied?...so I would just shrug my shoulders and say? I don't know mom? Sometimes just agreeing..or simply nodding your head. It's easier to agree than to disagree with them. The last month my mom's dementia progressed to almost no speech at all..very little was spoken that was audible. I'm so sorry..it's so sad to see your loved one go this way. The worst disease ever, as far as I am concerned. Just learn as much about it ..it's the only way to know how to truly care for her. Google: Teepa Snow..she is a nurse that teaches about the disease and is very informative on how to react in certain circumstances..I learned a great deal from her. Good Luck and God bless.
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One morning, my father, then 92, came to breakfast, fully dressed and ready for the day, speaking what sounded like a foreign language. He spoke in an entirely natural way, conversationally, enunciating clearly, with exactly the same pleasant intonations and facial expressions as he used every day. I took him to the emergency room suspecting a stroke, but the problem had cleared up and his MRI showed nothing at all. A few days later, he had the first of a series of TIAs ("ministrokes"). I imagine he had already had a small TIA when the language event happened. He lived for almost three more years after that, completely himself though progressively weaker, with no signs of dementia, and even able to joke and sing until the last month or two of his life. Have your mother evaluated for TIAs/strokes, and speak calmly and reassuringly to her if it happens again. Good luck.
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My 103-yr-old grandmother has advanced dementia. She currently says more words that DON'T have any meaning to me than she says words that DO have meaning to me. I learned that dementia can cause elderly to revert backwards in their memories, as well. My grandmother doesn't know who I am at all, even if I remind her daily that I am her granddaughter, but she does speak of her father and mother a little bit. She says words that sometimes I think are Italian, which is what was spoken in her home as a child. But even given this as possible explanation, she still says endless things all day, every day, that have no meaning.
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Patricia, about the people in her apartment. If she believes there are people there and there aren't, that is called a delusion. If she sees these people, that is called an hallucination. Both delusions and hallucinations are common in some times of dementia. They can also be caused by a uti. Has she any other symptoms of urinary track infection? It would be worthwhile to have her checked for this.

I suggest that you don't try to argue with her or talk her out of these people being there. If she is not disturbed by them, just go along with it. If she is afraid of them or in distress over this, try to get over there and comfort her, and sternly insist that those people leave right now! I am glad that you are working on having her not live alone.

Your mother must have been very distressed when she thought her young daughter had not come home form school. In her mind it was obviously 40 years ago or more. It is best not to argue and try to convince her that Patty is all grown up and that you are Patty. Instead try to reassure her and calm her down. Tell her that you know Patty is staying with a girlfriend overnight.

I think this MIGHT get a little easier for you once you get an evaluation and have a little better idea of what you are dealing with. Then you can begin educating yourself on ways of caring for her. Your mother obviously has some kind of dementia, and it sounds like the kind might be Alzheimer's, but the evaluation may be able to confirm that or suggest a different kind. (My husband had Lewy Body Dementia. There are approximately 50 different kinds. Alzheimer's is the most common.)

My heart goes out to you.
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Ah yes. I recently experienced this with my husband. I had read about it, but it was the first time in going on 10 years of dementia that he talked in gibberish. It sounded like he was speaking a sentence; the inflections were right. But I couldn't even make guesses about what he meant. "I need the comrod to zeazle with." If I asked him to repeat he could, using the same nonsense words. He had no clue that he wasn't making sense.

From others, I understand that this can occur at any point in the progression. It may occur repeatedly or seldom.

I'm afraid that isn't very helpful, but it at least tells you that you are not alone.
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it was like she was speaking jibberish!! and talking in circles and said these words naturally, but they were not real words...they just came out
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I wish I had an answer for you on this. Maybe it is something from her distant past. Dementia/Alz is so difficult to understand at times. If she watches TV, it could be something she has confused with reality. You could talk with her dr. about it, he/she may know more about this if it becomes really troublesome. My heart goes out to you as I know how difficult dementia/Alz can be. Hugs to you!!
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