I was wanting to know if anyone knows if being nauseous and vomiting can have anything to do with advanced dementia?

Yes, I have seen the vomit, hate to say. Seems she has suffered much. Hate to see her that way. Today we thought we had to take her to get checked again as she seemed weak and little dizzy, but no vomiting today. Received a call from drs. and her test for a UTI was positive so don't know if this could have anything to do with it. Have already picked up her antibiotics and started her on them. Going to see if she seems to get better after taking some meds for the UTI. She is also taking metformin, to name a few of her additional meds but this hasn't seemed to bother her in the past to my knowledge. Hoping she gets better.

It might help to look at her medications...many can cause nausea. The dementia drug Exelon can cause quite a bit of nausea, as can some diabetic meds, like Metformin, I'm told by docs.

Also her diet. We discovered that his ALF/NH diet increased his dairy intake. We've since discovered that Lactaid with milk or ice cream help minimize his tummy problems. I'm also going to ask his Dr to reevaluate his meds to see if we can't eliminate some of them.

My husband had mysterious episodes of nausea with and without vomiting. After much testing he was diagnosed with seizures. This on top of his vascular dementia and mini-strokes.

My husband has episodes of nausea with and without vomiting. After much testing he was diagnosed with seizures.

Whenever my mother would have a "crash" it always started with her being suddenly sick to her stomach. Followed by extreme weakness and very tired.

These were mini strokes. I think that the ongoing damage in her brain was sort of like a concussion...those coincide with nausea too.

Karyll,
Have you "seen" the vomit or does she just tell you that she did it?

My mom has had "headaches" since she's had dementia. Everyday is consumed with headaches. She's been to many doctors, even a brain surgeon. No cause for them. The research I've done suggests that the "headache" is caused by the dementia. The research suggests the sufferers can have noises and sounds in their head and, along with the confusion, it could be perceived as a headache.
Mother shows no signs of pain. She eats and sleeps well. No holding her head, moaning or the like.

Does your mother have symptoms like holding her stomach, refusing to eat, gagging? Have you seen her throw up?

I'm not saying she's fabricating her condition but, in late stage dementia, their condition "seems" real to them. You'd need to go on the evidence.

Her doctor can prescribe an antiemetic (anti nausea) medicine, if it keeps up. Give her a couple of soda crackers (if allowed to have salt or saltless) when she gets out of bed in the morning and whenever she has nausea. 5 small, bland, easy to digest meals are better than 3 large, heavy meals.

You say this has been going on for a week; but what, exactly, has been going on? If your mother has actually vomited, then that's what you tell the doctor - she doesn't need to puke on cue in the doctor's office for it to be a real problem.

Is she able to eat and drink as normal? (and keep it down).

Make a kind of journal of exactly what has happened over the last ten days or so. Then if you're still worried tomorrow and your mother isn't back to normal, call her doctor's office and get advice.

In fact, keeping a daily journal isn't a bad idea anyway. You can log what your mother is taking in and, er, sending out, what her mood is like, how long she's sleeping, all that kind of thing. It's a useful way of keeping track of what is "normal" for her.

I am giving this a little nudge to the top, I am sure someone will be able to offer advice.

Good luck


Edit I see you have some advice by Ahmijoy. :)

When you had her to the doctor, did they do any tests? It’s not easy to “talk” yourself into throwing up. Was she alone for a few minutes and able to make herself vomit? If I were you, I’d call the doctor tomorrow morning and tell them as soon as you got home she started again. Did it coincide with her taking any medication? Eating something? Has someone had the flu in your home? I’ve never heard of dementia causing vomiting, but anything is possible.