Thanks for your help on the last question I asked, but my dad has gotten worse and has started being delusional. He was driving (yes he is still a good driver) but going to our cousins car lot saying they are suppose to "give" him and all us kids a car..etc. He has started handing out coins to people he meets, says god told him to. We "broke" his car last Friday, had a caregiver stay with him for a few hours and take him around town...etc..he said he didn't want her to come back, that he doesn't need help. He babbles on and on the last week or so.. We have started guardianship proceedings and have also filed for emergency guardianship..this has worsened so quickly, and I can't get him in to a Geriatric Dr. till July. He found what we did to the car and fixed it. He is back on the road and going all over town telling stories and such.. he has a meltdown and gets violent when we mention that we don't want him driving. Its not the driving it's what he does when he gets there too! Can dementia progress this rapidly? I don't feel comfortable leaving him alone in his house all night. Local doctors are a joke, they examined him and said, yes he has dementia, but they were no help! Help!!
Sandwich42 is spot on about changing docs if dissatisfied - it has made a world of difference for my FIL. Still have hard time believing his former MD of 31 years had no idea how bad his dementia was. FIL is a GREAT actor and has very definite public and private personalities, especially in front of doctors. Calls my husband foul names, kicks and punches both of us, complains about pain but is a perfect gentleman with " no problems at all" when asked by PMD how he is.
na na na NA
dear old dad , we need to have some words .
your getting as nutty , as squirrel turds .
your driving is gonna be your doom ,
we got ya reservations , in a rubber room .
if your not , a cooperative tennant .
were gonna put you in the home , you saw on 60 minutes ..
Seriously though, Yes, dementia can progress that rapidly.
No, not every doctor is trained on the problems & signals of aging and cognitive decline. It really is a specialty. My mother's GP let a LOT slide that actually sped up her decline. I wanted to throttle that man.
The hard part is asserting yourself with Dad because it feels wrong and upside down. You may very well NOT be able to have a rational, reasonable discussion with dad over anything. You & sibling probably will need to make a plan and put in place around dad, meaning deciding where he needs to live to get adequate care now and as he declines. This will feel wrong and backwards too, but you MUST - let me repeat - MUST - do what keeps him safe. Just mentally prepare yourselves for him to be upset, angry, mean, and feel betrayed, but it will pass. I promise.
The goal outweighs any temporary upset.
Dealing with this is HARD and we do precious little to prepare people for it and support them through it.
Many of us on this site have had to deal with all of this and worse, so you will find a lot of good ideas and support here.
If you aren't getting satisfactory cooperation from the doctor - CHANGE DOCTORS.
I really wish we had a service who would start monitoring people when they turn 70 or get a terminal disease or dementia diagnosis. It would help the family and person understand what's happening, bring in help, and make sure that people don't have to struggle and discover what to do by accident or word of mouth. I think it's just stupid that every single person who comes to this site has had to stumble upon it typically in a crisis. I think that society can do a lot better in this area, but it won't happen until it's a priority. Or we realize it's not 1950 anymore where people don't drop dead in the field at age 60, or die 6 weeks after a cancer diagnosis, and it was assumed that the daughters would just assume the role of stay at home care taker.
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