Geaton777 has what is likely the perfect answer to this early July post down a few posts. This sounds like tardive dyskinesia. Puckering of lips, lip smacking, pursing of lips, clicking of teeth are all quite common with this.
Repetitive patterns can be a sign of obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety - bring her to her Doctor for a memory test and they can refer her to a nurrologist or geriatric psychiatrist.
My mother constantly pursed her lips during her earlier stages of dementia. As her dementia progressed she eventually stopped. A friend of mine who worked in a NH once mentioned it to me and asked if Mom had dementia. At that time we knew her memory was terrible but didn’t know it was dementia. Friend said many of their NH patients with dementia do odd or repetitive movements with their lips. She was right about Mom as she has now been diagnosed with LB dementia.
In orofacial or tardive dyskinesia bizarre movements are limited to the mouth, face, jaw, and tongue. This movement includes grimacing, pursing of the mouth and lips, and writhing of the tongue. These dyskinetic movements often alter articulation of speech. The motor speech signs of orofacial dyskinesia usually develop after the prolonged use of powerful tranquilizing drugs, the most common class of which are phenothiazines. Drug-induced dyskinesias associated with the phenothiazines and related medications may even produce athetoid movements or dystonic movements of the body. Parkinsonian signs and other symptoms associated with movement disorders are also caused by these drugs. Orofacial dyskinesia also occurs in elderly patients without drug use. A rare disorder that includes dyskinesia of the eyelids, face, tongue, and refractory muscles is called Meige syndrome."
"TD is also linked to some medications used to treat gastrointestinal conditions. Signs and symptoms can appear as early as 3 months after a person starts taking antipsychotics or antidepressants, and the risk increases the longer the individual is taking one of these drugs."
Yes! And more like "tics" from tardive dyskinesGrimacing and eye blinking Tongue jetting out Puckering and pursing of lips Lip smacking Jerking of arms and legs thanks Geaton for this "catch".
Pursing ones lips is more of a sign of disapproval than dementia, I would think.
Here is a list of things to look for as early warning signs of dementia:
The signs and symptoms can vary depending on the type and may include:
Experiencing memory loss, poor judgment, and confusion Difficulty speaking, understanding and expressing thoughts, or reading and writing Wandering and getting lost in a familiar neighborhood (advanced) Trouble handling money responsibly and paying bills Repeating questions Using unusual words to refer to familiar objects Taking longer to complete normal daily tasks Losing interest in normal daily activities or events Hallucinating or experiencing delusions or paranoia Acting impulsively Not caring about other people’s feelings Losing balance and problems with movement
Here is a link to a great article from the Alzheimer's Association about in depth things to look for in your loved one you suspect may be suffering from dementia:
In orofacial or tardive dyskinesia bizarre movements are limited to the mouth, face, jaw, and tongue. This movement includes grimacing, pursing of the mouth and lips, and writhing of the tongue. These dyskinetic movements often alter articulation of speech. The motor speech signs of orofacial dyskinesia usually develop after the prolonged use of powerful tranquilizing drugs, the most common class of which are phenothiazines. Drug-induced dyskinesias associated with the phenothiazines and related medications may even produce athetoid movements or dystonic movements of the body. Parkinsonian signs and other symptoms associated with movement disorders are also caused by these drugs. Orofacial dyskinesia also occurs in elderly patients without drug use. A rare disorder that includes dyskinesia of the eyelids, face, tongue, and refractory muscles is called Meige syndrome."
Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/orofacial-dyskinesia#:~:text=Orofacial%20Dyskinesia%20(Tardive%20Dyskinesia),often%20alter%20articulation%20of%20speech.
"TD is also linked to some medications used to treat gastrointestinal conditions.
Signs and symptoms can appear as early as 3 months after a person starts taking antipsychotics or antidepressants, and the risk increases the longer the individual is taking one of these drugs."
Source: https://www.tardiveimpact.com
And more like "tics" from tardive dyskinesGrimacing and eye blinking
Tongue jetting out
Puckering and pursing of lips
Lip smacking
Jerking of arms and legs
thanks Geaton for this "catch".
Here is a list of things to look for as early warning signs of dementia:
The signs and symptoms can vary depending on the type and may include:
Experiencing memory loss, poor judgment, and confusion
Difficulty speaking, understanding and expressing thoughts, or reading and writing
Wandering and getting lost in a familiar neighborhood (advanced)
Trouble handling money responsibly and paying bills
Repeating questions
Using unusual words to refer to familiar objects
Taking longer to complete normal daily tasks
Losing interest in normal daily activities or events
Hallucinating or experiencing delusions or paranoia
Acting impulsively
Not caring about other people’s feelings
Losing balance and problems with movement
Here is a link to a great article from the Alzheimer's Association about in depth things to look for in your loved one you suspect may be suffering from dementia:
https://alzheimer.ca/en/about-dementia/do-i-have-dementia/10-warning-signs-dementia
Best of luck to you.