Can dementia go into temporary remissions?

Well it doesn't sound like it went into remission entirely. What it does sound like is that your illness knocked him out of a depressive state. Suddenly he felt needed and in charge. Let him keep feeling that way.

My experience was that my husband appeared to emerge from Alzheimer's symptoms, but the change was temporary and probably caused by medication that lifted depression. At the time, we were engaged, but not living together, and I wasn't aware of his medical history. I'm still glad we had several years together and that I was his caregiver.

Alzheimer's will never go into remission. There are other forms of dementia though; there is also depression which is treatable. Perhaps he should see a doctor and get evaluated.

There are literally dozens of causes of symptoms of dementia, a few of which (such as B12 deficiency, infection and removable masses) are reversible. There are also all sorts of other neurological and psychological conditions which could affect your husband's ability to cope and, of course, could also hypothetically combine with one or more forms of dementia - Pam's suspecting of chronic depression would be a good example, especially after traumatic surgery.

But nobody "snaps out" of the commonest forms of dementia that tend to spring to mind - such as Alzheimers Disease and vascular dementia - even in the very stressful circumstances you describe; and particularly not once these horrible diseases have been on the scene for ten years.

So whatever is going on with your husband, it isn't a classic presentation of a typical dementia. You mention on another thread that his MD has "sprung" a series of mini mental state tests on him, which he consistently passes. What other neurological and psychological investigations have been done or considered? What other changes - for example, in his medications or his underlying health - have there been?

What was the major, major surgery about, if you don't mind my asking?

First let me say, what a blessing that change has brought to both of you, enjoy every moment as I'm sure you are. I would have to agree with the above comment that nobody "snaps out" of dementia. With that said, perhaps there was a misdiagnosis and that is what needs to be addressed now. I have noticed with my mom that she will plateau for a while and then the digression continues. She has been on a continual digression over the past 6 months. But, there are still moments (and I do literally mean moments) that she is with me. Enjoy you husband and your time together. My prayers are with you both.

Did your husband ever get a diagnosis? Mental decline post surgery and anesthesia is common. It often is linked to depression associated with the very long road to recovery associated with major surgery. Not everyone has the will to make the necessary lifestyle changes. Also, men are especially prone to depression and mental decline when major surgery affects their manhood/manliness.

No. He is more than likely having a string of good days. My father has dementia and he did the same thing. But as the years go by, the good days will become less and less as the disease progresses. It is a hard thing to watch our loved ones go through and my heart goes out to you.

Church mouse, he had his esophagus and a major portion of his stomach removed. Not because of cancer. He started with delusions and "seeing things" while recovering. He kept seeing people and animals in our house for months, though doesn't talk about it any more. Some of the people he saw he got quite friendly with and had discussions with them. I asked him six months ago if he still visited with them, and he said "yes. I just keep quiet about it because people don't believe me."
He still misinterprets almost everything I say, can't remember what I tell him about family phone calls, etc. Yet he can read a book on metaphysics and understand it when I can't!

Kismet - my mother is now more mentally cognitive than she has been for months.
It is good for my planning to know that this may NOT be a permanent change.
She has been declared mentally incompetent and does NOT have alzheimers but DOES have some other form of dementia.

When my foster dad was declining, he would be normal between certain hours in the very early morning and sometime toward late afternoon to early evening before returning to his evening normal

Is it possible that he had delirium rather than dementia? Post operative--or rather post-anaesthetic --I had a delerium of six months duration. During that time I experienced some of the things you are talking about with regards to your husband but I don't remember a thing about those six months even though I was "walking/talking". In fact one neurologist I went to see came out of his office to meet me because he could not believe that someone showing so much brain damage as per the MRI COULD actually walk/talk.

The last factual thing I remember was going into the OR mid December. The next thing I was really aware of was six months later when I realized that I was in New Zealand on vacation. That was about 17 years ago and I still have some symptoms--like not being able to judge distances. That makes it easy for me to find in my car in the parking lot-- it is either sticking out in front of or behind all the other cars!!

All my "delirium" experiences were very real to me. It was "reality" that I had the problem with. I remember nothing factual from those six months because my brain was simply incapable to registering experiences. Along with, or as a cause of, my delirium, I was diagnosed with leucoencaphalopathy which basically meant that all my white brain cells were mush. My husband was told that I would never ever be able to work again--or at least, not as a nurse.

Just to prove them wrong --and not to boast in any way, but to prove the point--not only did I go back working as a nurse but I also attained my national (Canadian) certification as an Oncology Nurse Specialist, Hospice Palliative Care Nurse Specialist, got an undergraduate degree in Nursing (BSCN), followed by a masters degree in nursing (MN) and am now studying for my doctorate (ABD!!).

One year after my surgery/anaesthetic the MRI of my brain was totally "normal"--whatever normal means!! The 17 years in between have not been easy because I was left with a severe depression and PTSD because of some of the trauma I experienced but I am still here, still doing the best I can given my circumstances.

This may not help you with the situation with your husband but is sure helped me to write this down, to admit to what happened to me because I never quite got over the shame of the original misdiagnosis of "attention-seeking". Generally speaking an MRI and neuro-psych testing are rarely incorrect-- which is more that I could say for the physician who made my original "diagnosis". Never say die!!!!

My mother can be clear as a bell on some subjects (usually stuff that happened 60-70 years ago) yet cannot remember where her glasses are or if she took her meds or ate lunch. Dementia is such a varied dx--I think there isn't a one size fits all category for it. (Mother ALWAYS got much worse during a UTI--that is common.)

I would have a pharmacist look at his medication history--some meds have memory issues as a side effect (ex: statin drugs).

Cathberry: So proud of you!!!!!

Brains function better some days than others for any reason or no apparently reason at all. Alzheimer and vascular dementias will get fairly steadily worse, the preserved long-term versus short term memory is more of a vascular dementia hallmark. But so many things mimic dementia, like depression, drug side effects, kidney or liver dysfunction, nutritional/vitamin deficiences, etc. and could resolve or fluctuate. And I do think Pam Stegman's answer was particuarly good - he rallied and roused himself to the maximun of his capacities to deal with a situation, which may be a level of effort hard to sustain over the long haul, or may very well represent a feeling that he does have something to contribute after all. Doing more and being more active are some of the best non-pharmacological antidotes for depression, that's for sure.

Even some fairly severe mental conditions may still be improved or worsened by optimism and positive attitude or lack thereof!

Cathberry, you had something remarkable happen to you, that is wonderful.

However, as you can't judge distances and have trouble parking your car, should you be driving???

Churchmouse covered most likely situations very well.
It's a possibility your hubby might have some level of event/stress related dementia from his serious surgeries, but it could be compounded by medications [assuming he's been taking the same stuff for most of the years since surgery?]
Has anyone checked his medications, to make sure each are compatible with the others? OR, checked for sensitivity to any of them? Warning labels always say stuff like "do not use if you have a sensitivity to this drug" for instance...but how can anyone know, if they never had it before, and no one checks up to make sure it's alright? Some folks must go on a medication holiday, stopping all but the bare essentials; some even stop those, under medical supervision. That allows Docs to evaluate how much of the situation is drug-related, and how much is something else.
Since he had the esophagus removed, as well as mosts of his stomach, did they install a stomach tube to deliver feedings?
What is his food intake composed of? This is a common problem, not only in cases such as your husbands, but in people who get any kind of stomach bands, bypasses, stapling, etc. for weight loss.
Did the Doc put him on replacement B12 and Folate? What about other B vitamins? B-Vitamins control all kinds of neurological issues. Without them, people can develop psychiatric, immune, skin, etc. issues, including what can appear to be dementias. Testing does not gel; but replacing the missing nutrients can and does.
Chewing food starts the digestive enzymes cascades down through the digestive system, more digestive enzymes happen because other ones happened higher-up in the system. As food progresses through the systems, it gets worked on by all those, in turn. If someone no longer has an esophagus and/or most of their stomach is missing, they pretty much permanently lack a whole cascade of enzymes, cannot properly process the nutritional input, therefore don't get much of any nutrients from the feeding, to keep their head clear of neuro symptoms, and prevent loads of other health issues.
Also, anesthesias have notoriously triggered all kinds of long-lasting health issues, despite medicine claiming "they wear off completely in a few days"
....some folks take Weeks to clear those from their systems.
IF anesthesia was a spinal delivery, instead of a gas via airways, if his head was raised sooner than about 8 hours after surgery, the anesthetic in the spinal column will cause all sorts of very long-lasting issues. It's unfortunately common for medical and nursing personnel to forget this fine-point of post-op care, and prematurely raise the person's head up to put a pillow, or transfer them to a bed. Patients who have had a spinal anesthesia, must lay flat on their backs for several hours, at least. People have ended up with very chronic migraines, mental issues, etc., just from having a pillow put under their head.
Then there's the narcotic pain meds, which often can trigger delusions and hallucinations.
It can be upsetting to your hubby too, as he very likely knows something is haywire, and cannot stop it from happening, because it's chemically or nutritionally driven. It can be scary, infuriating, frustrating. Since it's chemically driven, the person experiencing it has a very hard time telling what's causing it; they're inside the problem, struggling through clouded sensorium. Somewhere inside, they still feel like themselves, just, things don't work right.
I hope you can get his Docs to check his meds, and check his nutrition.
If his regular Docs refuses to check his nutrition [very common], you might find a good, and willing, Naturopathic Doctor, to run nutritional profile tests, to learn what's what. I'd bet it has something to do with most all B-vitamins low or missing, maybe D3, and a full spectrum of major and trace minerals.
Please keep us posted what you find!
I hope you both find out, and soon!

There are times when dementia can "seem" to get better, but other medical factors may be in play which corrected themselves. But in answer to your question, there are no clinical studies to prove dementia can be reversed.

He can "understand" a book on metaphysics and he has lively conversations with people who aren't there, though he is rational enough to comprehend other people's probable reaction to these and therefore doesn't discuss them. I don't like to press you concerning the background to such radical surgery, but there can only be a limited range of possibilities, really.

I am making a wild guess at a pre-existing psychiatric and/or neurological condition, which you may well already be aware of. It seems unfair and it is sad to think it too, but neither would prevent a person from also developing dementia - some, or the treatment for some, might conceivably even make him more vulnerable - which returns you to Square One with your question, I'm afraid.

What is it that you really want to know, though? If you want to understand your husband's medical history and prognosis better, and assuming your husband would be happy with the idea, then make an appointment with his GP and take a list of questions. It won't help you, and it isn't all that fair to your husband's practitioners, to select one or two aspects of his obviously complex condition and seek opinions out of context from us amateurs.

But I do wish you both many more "good days." Best of luck.

Lassie, thank you for your concern about my driving! My problem is not so much to do with an old brain injury but more that I did not start to drive until I was in my mid 30s and, as such, have always been quite a cautious , or very careful, driver. I did not drive for a year after my brain injury and only when I got the all clear from my neurologist and my insurance company. I am happy to say that in those 17 years I have never been involved in a collision of any sort. My insurance record is clean and I have only received one speeding ticket --a few months ago--when I was doing 62kph in a 50 zone-- which I thought was a 60 zone.

Not that I gave never been guilty of speeding--I just never got caught, but that, too is becoming almost impossible given the rapid increase of speed traps, lasers, cameras etc. and now "roving" speed traps whereby the cameras are on board a moving vehicle in the middle lane and, if you pass it -CLICK. Welcome to the world of Big Brother, the latest "cash cow" for municipalities.

Thanks, chimonger, for your length in-depth response. I only wanted to know if the last six months of cogent participation 9n life after years of problems was normal or not. Some things remain a problem, but most of them are motor skills and others like using the computer and dialing a phone, what day it is, etc., and short term memory loss. The things he's always been interested in are clear as a bell, like that pathway of knowledge remains open.
His MD regularly goes thru' his meds to see if they need adjusting. Recently added Mirtazapam has helped tremendously as an antidepressant. The others offer a precarious balance of anxiety meds and pain which he's been told he'll have forever from all the adhesions in his abdomen from multiple surgeries. He had no previous to surgery issues both psychiatric or neurotic. He had a completer workup with a neuro-psychiatrist who first determined he had dementia.

Thank you everyone. I've learned so much from all the questions and comments from all of you who deal with this stuff every day. A truly great support group!

No, I don't believe dementia magically gets better. Perhaps there is a brief period of wellness, but it does not last.

I agree that some elders can snap out of the dementia or Alzheimer. My Mom was diagnosed with dementia and them later with Alzheimer's. she declined in her mental memory for 3 years. Then one day (2 days before she passed on) she remembered everything. She hadn't known who I was for 3 years. When she would get upset or confused she call out for me when I would get to her she didn't know me and got angry if I insisted I was who I am. (if that makes any sense LOL). But on that day she knew who I was. I walked into her hospital room and she says" Hey Judy:". I'm like Mom!! You know who I am. She says, " of course I know who you are. what are you talking about. I was so astound I wanted to stay at the hospital pass visiting hours because we were talking normal and conversing like she had never been sick. I lost her 2 day later. But I cherish those few hours and Thank GOD for those few hours with her knowing me and everything else.

I'm surprised no one mentioned UTIs and the dementia imposed by infections. Once these are cured, I suppose one would have lingering effects for a while. But I know of many people who seem completely gone, only to have had a UTI or flu, these lasted only a few days. Also, dehydration can do that.