I have lived with my mother all my life.
She has tumbled up her bedroom and then accuses me or other people of using her clothes and putting them back. She untidies a room then says people have disorganized the room. Only two of us live in the house.
She also accuses me of bringing a woman to live in the house and we party in the front room or upstairs.
Is this an example of dementia? She does recognise people. When she was young she was very sensitive and going over and over past hurts.
What are the signs and symptoms of dementia?
Signs and symptoms of dementia result when once-healthy neurons, or nerve cells, in the brain stop working, lose connections with other brain cells, and die. While everyone loses some neurons as they age, people with dementia experience far greater loss.
The symptoms of dementia can vary 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
~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
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities can also develop dementia as they age, and recognizing their symptoms can be particularly difficult. It’s important to consider a person’s current abilities and to monitor for changes over time that could signal dementia.
Paranoia and hurling accusations at loved ones is particularly apparent with folks who suffer from dementia. They can also tend to pack up their rooms, rummage through drawers 'looking' for something they don't ever find, open and close doors or other repeated behaviors, stay up all night, become suspicious of others, accuse loved ones of stealing money or belongings, put items where they don't belong (ie: Keys in the freezer), call people by the wrong name or the wrong title (my mother used to refer to me as 'her mother' all the time when I was her daughter), thinking people on TV are speaking to them, think reflections in the mirror are real people, and lots of other odd behaviors too numerous to mention.
What your mother is doing, messing up her room & blaming someone else, is definitely a sign of dementia behavior, along with accusing you of partying with others in the front room. It's her reality that's changing, making her feel these things are TRUE.
She is in need of a cognizance test such as a MoCA or SLUMS test (mostly oral and a question asking her to draw the face of a clock showing 3 pm). Scans and MRIs rarely show much of anything in the way of the dementias, although once in a while plaques will be found in the brain of an Alzheimer's patient. My mother had dementia and her scans were totally normal for the entire time she was afflicted with it; it was her MoCA scores that started at 18 (out of 30) and decreased down to 10 the last time she was tested. THAT is what determines their mental aptitude.
Any time an elder exhibits odd/unhinged behavior, you'll be told to test her for a UTI, which is always a good idea. A urine culture is an easy thing to have done and sometimes an infection IS present. My mother had a total of two UTIs in her entire run with dementia over a 5+ year period of time.
Wishing you the best of luck as you try to get mom evaluated.
The neighbors she used to tell me she loved so much are suddenly all evil people with serious plots against her.
YES! My mother, now with advanced dementia, used to come into my house almost every day, to rehash old slights, particularly about her MIL (dead almost 50 years) and my aunt. Same stories over and over. My memory isn’t great either, but I guess that behaviour started maybe 10 years ago. 12 years ago, at the most.
Her rummaging behaviour became very noticeable maybe 5-7 years ago. It was tough to tell when she crossed from “sorting stuff” to simply dumping it all over. For the past 3 years she’d place things in illogical spots, like papers in the freezer or keys in the bathroom sink.
Her delusions that someone else was moving/stealing her stuff started maybe 5 years ago. Also claims that the clothes in her closet weren’t hers, etc, or her dishes had been swapped for a similar set.
Her delusions that there were people partying in her house started less than 2 years ago.
Yes, she has been checked and treated for UTIs and they did magnify her dementia behaviours, but they occurred even when she was physically healthy.
"MRI can detect brain abnormalities associated with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and can be used to predict which patients with MCI may eventually develop Alzheimer's disease. In the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, an MRI scan of the brain may be normal."
Your mom may be experiencing confusion due to various health conditions.
The first and easiest to check for is a UTI which can manifest as dementia and is toxic. A simple pee test (with a culture to indicate the correct antibiotic) can determine if that’s the cause of her confusion.
While it sure sounds like dementia, make sure to have her seen by her primary and then a neurologist to help you and your mom find the best course of action.