Is sleeping all day and refusal to get up one of the stages with dementia/alzheimer. The care giver tries all day with no luck. I will call home and tell her I'm on way home so we can leave the house and she will get up for a short while.
clarinetcathy, did you know that memory loss is often NOT the primary symptom in LBD? The doctors should know that and not be surprised. My husband had to take pills to sleep at night and also a drug to combat excess daytime sleepiness. I know that not everyone "believes" is using so many drugs, but but my husband had a fairly high quality of life for his 10 years of LDB. He golfed and bowled and went on vacations with me, including cruises. He attended Adult Day Health Program.
He didn't have a "mild" case, although his symptoms were mild. The autopsy showed a very severe case of LBD.
Sleep is a particular issue in LBD (it is in many forms of dementia, but LBD has its own challenges). Once you are through the diagnostic process, I hope you can find a doctor highly knowledgeable and experienced specifically with LBD. That makes a huge difference, in my experience.
Check her for dehydration. Gently pinch up the skin on the back of your hand and notice it quickly flattens out. Now go check hers. If it stays up, get her to the ER. If it goes down slowly, give her fluids orally.
My mother is the same. She is in the midst of being diagnosed with Lewy Bodies Dementia. She sleeps all day and all night. Apparently long naps are part of it. Could your mother have the beginnings of dementia? We used to bug her about it but have given up - this is due to a change in her brain. She will get up when we come and we do take her out for drives and dinner. she enjoys that - her memory is still quite good which si confusing the docs, but she has several other of the symptoms.
It could well be her heart working to keep her alive. That's what our hospice nurse tells us. At this stage a body is very intelligent and knows when it needs bedrest.
Giveahug How did you get the diagnosis of Lewy Body dementia? I am curious. I believe that is what my 80 year old mom has. Her doctor diagnosed her with early onset Alzheimers but I really believe she has all the symptoms of Lewy Body. Prior to anyone noticing anything different she had hallucinations where she saw animals on her bed. She was then saying a few things that raised a few flags with my sister and I. She was mixing up the generations of people in our family. But she has had a tremor in her hands for quite a number of years which has goten worse and a neurologist diagnosed her as having essential tremor. Her legs have been weak for a few years where she could not walk very far at all. She would complain of feeling dizzy when she stands up. She has fallen in the house this past year at least four times. Thank God she has not ever injured herself or broken any bones. There are days when all she wants to do is stay in bed. She can seem fine for a few days or even a week and then all of a sudden she has a day where can ban barely hold a spoon from her shaking and she cannot walk without losing her balance. She starts to walk and its like she freezes in place and can't move forward without someone holding on to her or showing her how to walk. Yet her memory is fine. She knows who everyone is. She is not repeating herself. She does not have any sundowners, she doe snot wander off. She sleeps all night thank god. She is on namzaric (aricept and namenda combo pill) and remeron which were prescribed by her psychiatrist. She has orthostatic hypertension (another symptom of Lewy Body) and takes midridine three times a day. But yet no one will come out and diagnose her with Lewy Body. Thank God she is still very pleasant. She is living with me but she has a caregiver with her while I am at work. She can stay alone for a few hours but I am uncomfortable leaving her for any great length of time. Why is Lewy Body dementia so hard to diagnose?
The short answer is that LBD can only be determined through autopsy.
My husband was first diagnosed with Parkinson's disease but a few months later, following neuro-psych testing the diagnosis was changed to LBD. One of the main differences between LBD and other dementias is that hallucinations, especially of animals and children, are common in LBD. It was partly their presence that the diagnosis on LBD and Parkinsonism was made.
Definitely check out Lewy Body Dementia. I understood hallucinations are typically the key to diagnosis. Frequently about children and animals. We figured out my mom had LBD before the geriatrician was willing to diagnosis her with it. She also has some parkinsonism. Also check out www.lbda.org for info and caregiving help. My mother definitely now acts like the example in the video. It is also extremely variable--throughout the day and day to day.
NYU Langone Hospital in NYC has done a lot of work on it.
Have you taken her to a neurologist/ psychiatrist? LBD is not total progressive memory loss. They can be very lucid at times. My Mother was diagnosed and then just recently another psychiatrist said he thinks She has vascular dementia. They don't k ow without autopsy. My Mother s on Exelon Patch now and it is working tremendously. It increases the chemical in brain that allows the nerves to communicate. P
He didn't have a "mild" case, although his symptoms were mild. The autopsy showed a very severe case of LBD.
Sleep is a particular issue in LBD (it is in many forms of dementia, but LBD has its own challenges). Once you are through the diagnostic process, I hope you can find a doctor highly knowledgeable and experienced specifically with LBD. That makes a huge difference, in my experience.
How did you get the diagnosis of Lewy Body dementia? I am curious. I believe that is what my 80 year old mom has. Her doctor diagnosed her with early onset Alzheimers but I really believe she has all the symptoms of Lewy Body. Prior to anyone noticing anything different she had hallucinations where she saw animals on her bed. She was then saying a few things that raised a few flags with my sister and I. She was mixing up the generations of people in our family. But she has had a tremor in her hands for quite a number of years which has goten worse and a neurologist diagnosed her as having essential tremor. Her legs have been weak for a few years where she could not walk very far at all. She would complain of feeling dizzy when she stands up. She has fallen in the house this past year at least four times. Thank God she has not ever injured herself or broken any bones. There are days when all she wants to do is stay in bed. She can seem fine for a few days or even a week and then all of a sudden she has a day where can ban barely hold a spoon from her shaking and she cannot walk without losing her balance. She starts to walk and its like she freezes in place and can't move forward without someone holding on to her or showing her how to walk. Yet her memory is fine. She knows who everyone is. She is not repeating herself. She does not have any sundowners, she doe snot wander off. She sleeps all night thank god. She is on namzaric (aricept and namenda combo pill) and remeron which were prescribed by her psychiatrist. She has orthostatic hypertension (another symptom of Lewy Body) and takes midridine three times a day. But yet no one will come out and diagnose her with Lewy Body. Thank God she is still very pleasant. She is living with me but she has a caregiver with her while I am at work. She can stay alone for a few hours but I am uncomfortable leaving her for any great length of time. Why is Lewy Body dementia so hard to diagnose?
My husband was first diagnosed with Parkinson's disease but a few months later, following neuro-psych testing the diagnosis was changed to LBD. One of the main differences between LBD and other dementias is that hallucinations, especially of animals and children, are common in LBD. It was partly their presence that the diagnosis on LBD and Parkinsonism was made.
I understood hallucinations are typically the key to diagnosis. Frequently about children and animals.
We figured out my mom had LBD before the geriatrician was willing to diagnosis her with it. She also has some parkinsonism. Also check out www.lbda.org for info and caregiving help. My mother definitely now acts like the example in the video. It is also extremely variable--throughout the day and day to day.
NYU Langone Hospital in NYC has done a lot of work on it.
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