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Dad has being diagnosed some time again with dementia and I've witnessed all the usual symptoms many carers have posted. However for three days last week my dad was very sleepy, all the time, even during meals. He was so bad, at breakfast I had to mash a banana onto a slice of bread and cut it up into bite sized pieces so that he could just jab his fork into a piece, but it took forever, having to feed him at times and sitting beside him to catch him as he was leaning over to the side. Lunch and dinner were no better. On top of that he was constipated for on day two, probably following the taking of an antibiotic, but that never happened before. That night I gave him two senokot and had a mighty surprise awaiting me the following morning, on the floor of his bedroom. (Thankfully the floor is wooden). During the three days being very sleepy and incoherant he was also incontinent, constantly standing up even when having a bowel movement. The washing machine and dryer was going non stop as I had to wash and change him multiple times each day. After those three days, he seems to be back to normal, usual cat nap during the day and eating meals with no falling asleep. My question has anyone experienced similar episodes where you think that a nursing home is the next step, and then suddenly being back to some kind of normality, and if so, has it happened subsequently, in other words, is my dad likely to have other bouts like this? Any thoughts much appreciated.

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Senokot is powerful. I always cut the pill in half.; if I have to use it as a last resort. Try ongoing Miralax, but temper dosage as needed. The episode you described would not be solved by a nursing home ( just a different place for the behavior. ) Yes, everyday can bring surprises and hardships. Remember, that no nursing home is a holiday inn.
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Isthisrealyreal, I know what you mean. I knew I would have days of denial (NOT a river in Egypt LOL). So I took a screen shot of his PET scan, and I keep it on my phone. That way when I need it, I can look at the brain shrinkage and be grounded again.
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Vascular dementia is especially associated with sudden changes in cognition, depending on whether there are blood clots moving through the brain on a particular day. Persons with this disorder lose their abilities in step-wise fashion, rather than the more gradual progression of true Alzheimer's disease. For example, one day they can tell time - and the next day, they have forgotten how to do it. (My father had vascular dementia, and he also had these behavior patterns.)

RayLinStephens mentioned that their loved one has "sundowners." I'm sorry, but if your relative is exhibiting sundowners, then they most likely DO have some type of dementia, especially if it is a nightly occurrence. The two go hand-in-hand. You might want to get another opinion from a neurologist (as well as a psychiatrist) who specializes in dementia. There are numerous different types of dementias, and I'm fairly certain that your relative has one of them.

I'm no physician - but I am a psychiatric nurse by training, so I'm fairly familiar with dementias.
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I found that it was a mystery with my late mother, i.e. "please call for the ambulance; I can't stand this pain." Transferred to hospital and nothing was found.
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Nirvana, Check his meds. My Mother went thru something similar.
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Hi All,
Many, many thanks for all your responses. We were in the hospital yesterday getting results of a basal cell carcinoma and a squamous cell carcinoma which were all good, it was the hospital that had prescribed the antibiotic, and I told the consultant about the 3 day incident. Although her expertise is plastics, she said neither the procedure or the antibiotic would have caused it. I have been encouraged to take a leave of absence from work, and over the coming weeks I intend to speak with his GP and the local representative from the Alzheimer's society. My local health nurse has referred us for an occupational therapist review as well as other services, so I'm hopeful that more assistance and information will be available.
Again I take everything you have all said on board, and will keep it all in mind. I'll keep you updated on any progress.
It's mother's day here in Ireland this Sunday, so to all you mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day.
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My dad has gone through this cycle many times. Usually it coincides with him being sick, dehydrated, having some kind of infection. Sometimes he just has off days.

Dad can still have conversations, somewhat continent (although doesn't always make it to bathroom), still eats on his own and gets around with just a cane on most days. Every now and then he degrades where he sleeps all the time, doesn't show interest in anything, barely answers with yes/no responses, sits with his dinner in front of him like he doesn't know what to do with it, has a hard time standing and getting around.

Then... a day or 2 later he is back to what he was before as far as mental and physical abilities.. It seems to be happening more and more now though.. so I wonder if it is part of the decline process.
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My mother also has this. When is hasn't had a bowel movement for a few days, she gets confused and hallucinates. Then after having bowel movement is ok. I was told it's because if she is is not going regularly she is holding on to toxins. Having bowel movements gets rid of toxins.
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I agree if it is possible he was dehydrated and as with constipation if your Dad is taking any meds ; they can build up in an elderly persons body and cause lethargy and other problems can arise. Keep hydrated no matter what ! Praying for you and your Dad .
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No input here. Just very thankful you are all willing to share your experiences as reading them as been very helpful to me in dealing with my own father.
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We have good days and bad, often depending on whether the sun is shining or he has been alone too much of the day, but have not experienced the steep differences you are having. Would get him checked for dehydration and UTIs as suggested.
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My mother goes through this every couple of months. Goes down hill and we think we are close to the end then she rallies back. I think its just part of the disease. Like some days she knows me and some days she doesn’t. My heart and my thoughts go out to you, it’s a hard journey you are on.
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All good comments. My Mom, in Assisted Living for several years, has ups and downs. The downs are worrisome and can be extreme -- once she was convinced I had lost all of money somehow and it took weeks to convince her otherwise. Numerous other less-extreme events, seem to occur about monthly now. She was diagnosed with "mild to medium dementia" 1 1/2 years ago. I've come to realize there are so many types and stages of dementia, that there's no one thing that works for everyone. I've pushed regular exercise, observed that she's a lot better when she gets it. She suffers incontinence, another thing that manifests unevenly, bad days and good (or at least better). I appreciate one comment about dehydration, might explain some of my Mom's worse episodes -- she's afraid to drink water for fear of an accident, compounding the problem. At worse times, UTI and blood sugar have been tested, often inconclusive. Nirvana, this care-giver stuff is frustrating and difficult! It's obvious that you care. You'll try to help with mixed success. Stay positive, and don't kick yourself over the inevitable failures. You'll have some successes, too!
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Just a thought for the bowel issues: Bananas can cause constipation-BRAT diet = Banana, rice, applesauce, toast. Antibiotics can cause diarrhea (kill the good bacteria in the bowel.)
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Yes, all the time. I told my husband sometimes i think I'm imagining things. He is so bad I'm wondering if I should contact hospice, then he is completely lucid and spot on that i wonder if he needs to be in AL. It is a rollercoaster ride.

My dad had a brain scan and it showed that his entire brain has significant shrinkage, this is my balance, no matter what he displays the brain scan showed what is. Hopefully you have had tests or something that can help you know what the physical reality is.

God bless you for all you do for your dad.
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My husband has been diagnosed with Alzheimer He is 75
There are days when he seems almost normal.
Then there there are days when he is totally confused.
I wonder myself how can that be . No infections or flu.
Wakes up in the middle of the night just to ask strange questions.
It is all part of this very complicated and strange disease.
some days my husband does not even get dressed and sleeps on the sofa off and on all day.
Other days he wants to go for a walk..
Big hugs to you.
It is very hard being a caregiver.
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You mention he is on antibiotics. What are they for? If it is for a urinary tract infection, that could be the cause of the sudden decline. UTIs cause dementia patients to suddenly become a lot worse and can even make an elderly person without dementia seem like they have it.

If not a UTI, it could be a side effect of the infection or he could be dehydrated. I would follow up with his GP.

Good luck!
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My Husband had been "diagnosed" with Alzheimer's.
As he declined I noticed that most of the time the decline was slow, like walking down a ramp.
Once in a while I noticed a drastic change, he would be able to do something one day but not the next.
This decline combined with the slow decline sort of looked like going down a ramp then going down 2 or 3 stairs to another ramp.
I heard a neuro-psychologist talk one day and I came to the conclusion that my Husband probably had Alzheimer's AND Vascular dementia. But at that point I did not see what further testing would do, it would not change the outcome nor were there medications to change what was happening. And I would not have wanted to stress him by putting him through tests that would not help.
I guess what I am saying is it is possible to have two types of dementia and one type can have slow declines and another faster more drastic declines. the bigger question is...is it worth subjecting your loved one to the tests to confirm what you suspect knowing that there is nothing that can be done.
(The exception to this would be confirming Lewy Body Dementia as there are medication that one with LBD should not take)
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Yes.
My DH is not diagnosed as Dementia but he does have Sundowners. Some days are better than others and some days he just withdraws and sleeps all day and night.

Kind of like when you get the flu - you have spurts of good and bad.
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Yes, my husband has days like that too. He would be in a nasty mood for a day or two and then back again. I never know who will wake up in the morning: Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde. So far, bowel incontinence does not happen yet, thank God!

One question: Do you want your father to be in a nursing home?
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It’s just such a hard journey. My first thought as I read your post was I wonder too if he may have gotten dehydrated. They can forget to drink water, leading to fatigue, confusion, and constipation-sometimes also to UTIs. A very valuable piece of advice I was given by mom’s geriatric psychiatrist was it is better to err on the side of early than late when making decisions about moving to the next level of care. This helped take some of the weight off my shoulders worrying about when is the right time. I hope it helps you too. You certainly are carrying a LOT of weight. I wonder if your local AreaAgency on Aging provides any respite services for caregivers? Be kind to yourself.
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Nirvana,

In my experiences with grandma I have found that expecially bad days or times corresponded with adnormally highblood sugar levels or a urinary tract infection. Her Dr has confirmed that wither of these two issues would cause isssues.

It may be useful to look into
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In our case mom started with 1 bad day and then nothing for about a year. Then 1 to 3 days a week having bad days. That lasted about a month. After that it was 4 to 5 bad days a week for about a month. Then every day became a problem. But she was not well medicated either because we could not control her. Had she been well medicated much of the problems could have been avoided.
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