Has anyone else experienced a dramatic downturn in cognitive ability when placing a parent in a NH?

I suspect that it is just a natural decline in health. My mother is the same age.

My cousin has had a marked decline in her physical health after sustaining several falls and broken bones. She has lost most of her leg mobility that wasn't that poor when she entered. I'm not sure if it's her falls or her condition that is causing this downward spiral.

Have you checked out the medications your mom is taking? Request a list of all meds, doses, times administered, etc. Also, check for urinary infections. She also could be depressed. You might speak with her doctor about that. It also could be a mini stroke. You might see if a neurologist is in order.

I'm sure you'll get lots of recommendations here.

Moving someone her age from familiar surroundings and plopping them in the middle of the mayhem that a nursing home represents can cause great confusion. Her decline MAY not be a rapid as you think. It may be showing itself much more in these new surroundings she finds herself in. Functioning on a high level in one's own home, with all the familiarity that begets, is a little bit different than processing the comings and goings of six or more different care givers, the hustle and bustle that now makes up her daily routine.

Mom was in the hospital . . . declined . . . transferred to a rehab center . . . declined . . . back to hospital . . . back to rehab . . . back to my home . . . decline-decline-decline. No doubt in my mind that once she'd been back here with me, she picked up a bit. But never to what she was before.

Sad.

If she is on pain meds for the injury, she would be confused. Some antibiotics can cause confusion. If her electrolytes are unbalanced, she would have some confusion. Many possibilities here, even the act of moving them at age 95 creates confusion. Glad you are on top of it.

Thank you everyone. Yes, she tested negative for a UTI and her meds have been checked - doctor spoken with. At this point they don't feel it would be worth it to upset/confuse her by doing any brain scans. This is my mother-in- law (who I am very fond of) rather than my own mother, so I am able to have some emotional distance when dealing with the situation. I suspect after living in the same place for over 20 years, she was able to compensate for some loss of memory simply by routine- but with the new place, new people, new schedule, etc - it's overload.

My relative is 96 and is more confused and forgetful and sleeps a LOT. No UTI, strokes, pain meds or strokes. One of the home health nurses says it's part of the "process". I wonder how far into the "process" we are.

LME, is she ambulatory and eating? Once they stop walking, they lose muscle mass until they can't walk anymore. Time is short.
Once they stop eating, a month. Once they stop drinking, a week or two. At that point you really really need Hospice to help all of you.

I place my mother in AL at age 94. She intially perked up, but each month she loses a little more cognition. A year ago, I had to tell her some shocking news about my brother's health, and from that time on she has never been the same. At 96, she is very weak, and has very-little short-term memory left. She will be 97 in two months, and she is not eating very much or drinking very much. She is in Hospice care, so they have relieved me of many burdens. I am just a visiting daughter now.

When my Dad went from his own home to the hospital after a fall... kept overnight because his blood pressure was too high... Dad thought he was in a hotel.

What Dad went though would probably happen to anyone who was brought into a hospital and had to stay the night.... waking up and not knowing where you are isn't all that unusual. I could imagine the confusion if one had to spent weeks in a new place.