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FIL had severe dementia. Hallucinations, incoherent, sundowning, everything. He died a few weeks ago. Now MIL has been having hallucinations. She is nearly blind, so hard to tell if this is the reason or it is a brain thing. She had a UTI right around when FIL died, so thought that might have been why she was acting that way. But I have been giving her cranberry capsules and she was on antibiotics so how could she have another one? Does anyone know about hallucinating in early stage dementia? Or if you can still get a UTI after a run of antibiotics and cranberry and more water? The UTI was only a couple of weeks ago. The last time we were at the ER she was given the dementia test and failed it. Well, failed meaning she was not able to answer most of the questions. And this was right after the UTI. The ER said she didn't have one right then. Not sure what to do here. If it is just that she can't see so thinks she is seeing things that are different than what she can see, if that makes sense, I can deal with that. I have been keeping the house with more lights on, thinking she can see a little better that way. And if it is a UTI again, so soon? Or is it dementia? Just went through all this with FIL and now I am nervous. Thanks for listening

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Earlier this year, my mother had a UTI and was given an antibiotic which she took for the prescribed period. But she still had symptoms and was retested and a culture was done to see what antibiotic the bacteria was susceptible to. With this important information in hand she was prescribed the proper antibiotic for this particular infection and she recovered and no longer had the symptoms. So, it is possible to continue to have the infection continue after a round of antibiotics if the antibiotic isn't geared towards the bacteria present. I would return to the doctor and ask them to do a sensitivity culture this time so that they can give the right antibiotic. I hope that helps her (and you). Also, it is my understanding that cranberry supplements are possibly helpful to avoid getting a UTI but not clearing up an already active infection. I believe also that water is helpful but not curative. Good luck and I hope for the best for you both.
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According to the Mayo Clinic website,
"Primary progressive aphasia is a type of frontotemporal degeneration, a cluster of related disorders that originate in the frontal or temporal lobes of the brain." You can read more about it here: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/primary-progressive-aphasia/basics/definition/con-20029406

I suggest you start a new post, prayerservant, and ask your caregiving questions. There are probably members who have experience with this.
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prayer servant, go up to the Search Site box and type in "progressive aphasia" , hit enter and lots of information will pop for you.
camaryllis, take mom to the doctor and tell him what is happening. He should be able to help you make her comfortable. See him monthly if you can.
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im having a hard time with my husband caring for him since 2010 he became like this after losing and caring for his parents now he has progressive aphasis does anyone know of this form of dementia?
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It really could be a UTI. Keep following up on that. A UTI could temporarily cause her to fail the tests and to hallucinate. My aunt who died at 100 was perfectly lucid until the day she died EXCEPT when she had a UTI. Then her behavior might have been mistaken for dementia.

The combination of having recntly had a UTI and losing her life partner and also having low vision would be enough to cause very strange behavior. I seriously questioned whether I had dementia myself in the first few months after my husband died. Professionals kept assuring me that while it isn't typical it is perfectly normal for grief to affect us cognitively.

It is possible that she does have dementia. One kind of dementia that has visual hallucinations as an early -- often the first -- symptom is Lewy Body Dementia.

This poor lady has a lot to cope with right now. She is lucky to have you to be looking out for her. I suggest that you keep on top of the UTI possibility but other than that you give her plenty of time to mourn and to heal. If she displays other symptoms of dementia, keep track of them in a notebook so you can remember and discuss them with a specialist at a future time. I don't think there is any urgent rush to determine the dementia question right now.

Hugs to you, and condolences on the recent death of your father-in-law.
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