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"Caregiver for mom-in-law has dementia, but now seems normal"
Errrrr... Shastagirl, do you mean that you are concerned about your 91 year old mother-in-law, and that it is your mother-in-law who has been diagnosed with dementia?
If that's correct, and you're now questioning the diagnosis, would you like to say a little more about her recent history? How the diagnosis was reached, what has changed recently and for how long her apparent 'normalcy' has lasted, that kind of thing.
My Mom is pretty “normal” maybe 75% of the time, happy, singing, eating, able to converse although very little short term memory. (Aside from being blind and in a wheelchair). Then something will trigger a bout of “off the rails” agitation, insomnia, hallucinations. We think it’s caused by overstimulation, but who knows. After a day/night of that she konks out and will sleep for 24 hours, then be very tired for a couple of days, That pattern is the other 25% of her life, then back to “normal” for a few weeks. This week she was good Monday morning, then off the rails Monday night, couldn’t sleep agitated etc. and they kept her at the desk as she was trying to get out of bed. Tuesday she slept so soundly I couldn’t wake her up to eat. Wednesday she’s tired but getting back to normal. I will expect she’d be pretty good tomorrow, then ok for a few weeks. I have to try not to expect too much however, as things can change on a daily basis.