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Mom has dementia but yesterday she was adamant her mother lives with her. We didn’t argue or correct, just kept redirecting & finally told her that she was staying with my sister the night. She reluctantly accepted that. We asked our usual UTI, stroke assessment questions. How many children? Their names, her dogs name, the holiday that just passed. Even asked her what year it was & she guessed 2017. Also her age, 89. So she wasn’t lost in her past & she wasn’t confused about anything else. Normally short term memory is gone no recollection of eating, drinking or visitors or phone calls but she’s always known her mother passed 60 years ago & her father 32 years ago. She’s never mistaken her home of 58 years with her childhood home. She’s never asked about deceased relatives or relatives out of state. This was left field, because she was on point on the other information. Still possible UTI? Just normal progression?

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UTIs are always a possibility, especially in elderly women. There are no real definitive symptoms. The only way to diagnose one is with a simple dipstick test or a urine culture. UTIs can cause sudden, “off the wall” behavior and even combativeness.

But, on the other hand, dementia is nothing if unpredictable. You are wise for not arguing or correcting her. This proves nothing and just causes more stress. My mother and I would have a perfectly normal conversation and then she would suddenly tell me a man was coming through her closet wall, or she, as a “famous actress on the stage in New York” couldn’t understand why they weren’t calling her for roles.

About the only thing you can do is just go along, the old “drop back 5 yards and punt” philiosophy. There is no rhyme or reason to this disease. It doesn’t follow a roadmap. That’s what makes it such a nasty disease.
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For a while my mom thought my dad was still alive and wanted me to go get him or take her to him, which I understand is common. She now remembers he died, but has to be told how he died and why. It's strange how memories and imaginings get all mixed up with now and with reality. But test for UTI. I just learned about that last summer when mom had one. It really threw her for a loop.
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When my mother was on certain medication she would have hallucinations. I would just do as you did and redirect or say she's out for this amount of time will be back tomorrow -- or whatever.
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hgn
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Thank you for the answers. Today there’s been no mother talk & no other stranger than normal happenings. No 2 people with dementia are the same & so I just continue learning. Since today’s been normal I didn’t follow up on UTI test.
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