hello my nan came out of hospital a month ago after she had a very small heart attack, me and my mum do half the week each to take care of her because she has started to get confused and do and say strange things, like putting her underwear over her clothes, thinking its breakfast time late at night then going to get herself dressed, she has weed on the floor and the list goes largely on, we don't know what to do or how to cope, she is going to have a mental test but that can take months and we really need support on what to do now, she also sleeps all the time if that's just old age i don't know but she never did that before her heart attack. thankyou
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Your nana's heart attack traumatized her body, but the hospital stay traumatized her, as well. It's unfortunate that hospitalization of elderly people can sometimes trigger dementia symptoms. Sometimes people recover, but many times they do not. The hospital atmosphere of noise, busyness, impersonal treatment and so many unknown's - plus being away from family in an unfamiliar place - can be very hard on elderly people.
Another thought is vascular dementia. Her heart attack brings that to mind, though vascular dementia is more generally more likely following strokes. Whatever the cause, you can only do so much.
I hope your nana recovers. Meanwhile, you are right in getting her tested. Learn all that you can about Alzheimer's (which is just one kind of dementia) by going online to organizations like the National Alzheimer's Association here in the States at www.alz.org. Be patient and understand that your nana can't help these changes. Alzheimer's disease is very slow to develop and she may have been developing the disease which was then triggered by her trauma.
Take care,
Carol
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