Mum has vascular dementia what I'm to expect now? I feel she's getting worse.

my mom had vascular dementia and after a couple of falls and seizures ended up in a nursing home where she got excellent care. Her aggression should level out or go away, it's usually just a stage with vascular dementia. Hopefully the doctor can get her on some meds to help. Good luck to you both.

I don' tthink they "stage' vascular dementia the way they do Alzhemier's. She may start to slip with short term memory, but long term memory and recognizing familiar people will stay relatively intact as long as her vision and/or hearing are good enough. Check for medical issues with the aggression or crankiness - anything from a UTI to cellulitis to meds or blood sugars being out of whack will have her feeling unwell and acting worse, which may get a little better with treatment. YMMV with any psych meds. Some may help, some may make her worse, you just have to watch.

My mom had this and it sucked. We managed to get a few good memories and experiences out of the deal, but it was not easy. Wish I had better news for you!

Vascular dementia, just like alzheimer's may lead to cognitive impairment like memory loss, however, as vstefans stated, vascular dementia don't have stages like alzheimer's do. With Alzheimer's, the disease gradually progress however, with vascular dementia, there is a sudden progress right after a related event like seizure or stroke. The progression of the disease also often depends on the extent of the damage to the person's brain and circulatory system. A lot of diabetic patients who are dependents of long-term care services are affected with vascular dementia.

Thanks for that! she hasnt fallen yet and memory is fine? but i think its only a matter of time before she has another seizure as shes NOT controlling her meds. I am seeing a shrink with her for the first time next week so see how he feels.

So sorry for your loss and hope youve been able to move on and find peace now! X

I just recently found out that my Mom was diagnosed with "microvascular brain disease" (as her doctor called it). I know very little about this condition, so karenlorenzo, your web site will be very helpful to my family. Thank you!

So sorry debbs! Yes mums geriatrician said "vascular deterioration"! Basically she is having silent ministrokes in her brain which are not noticeable unless you notice her moods can change from day to day thats why they can seem normal for a few days then "mad" the next. they will continue to have these ministrokes until the strokes become more severe but everytime they are having these "events" her brain is being slowly damaged further.
Usually if your mum has good overall health she will progress slowly and may not deteriorate much but my mum has diabetes heart problems and high BP so im afraid her outlook is not good and its a miracle shes still here still at 77yrs old its sad!
What you can do if at all possible is get your mum to take omega oils found in oily fish and PLENTY of fresh air this will delay it somewhat my mum wont even walk around the block and now shes getting slower and slower and if she continues like this she will lose the use of her legs. Try telling her this she just dosnt get it so the stress is enormous!
Vascular dementia can be improved OR slowed down by diet and excercise but mums "depression" has been going on for years so i think shes had this dementia for along time sad that her stupid doctor never listened to me and we may have saved this from happening.

The vascular dementia with long standing type 2 diabetes does seem to progress more gradually than stepwise, I suppose due to the microcirculation being bad in the brain as much as in other tissues. It may be almost a distinct entity. My mom had terrific generalized atrophy, with some large strokes on top of that..she had a couple of MRIs and CTs that showed it. I was kind of shocked by the extent of it, given how much function she had clinically and how a lot of people thought she was still "sharp," but you know how that goes.

Theoreticallly MCT oils (e.g. coconut) and mannose and ribose could be of some help, as could anything that reduces insulin resistance...maybe that Axona stuff would be worth a try if you can get it too. It really is sad, because better lifestyle/better control could have helped, but that horse is pretty well out of the barn. My mom also was "old-old" before her time, sedentary in her 50's and becoming disabled in her 60's, and did not even quite make it to 80.

my mothers memory remained pretty intact too but she began walking with a a shuffle in late stage and her " mistruths " turned into delusions and eventually visual hallucinations .
aunt edna has half decades midding from her memory , is losing mobility , and her delusional thinking is approaching hallucination status .
for instance a couple days ago she claimed that a fellow resident in independant living came in and spent the night with her . there are people there who would come in and calm her but sprending the who;le night probably didnt happen ..

They tend not to lose longer term memories and their ability to recognize familiar people, in contrast to Alzhemiers. They do start losing short term memory, but judgement, insight, and empathy tend to become noticeably impaired first.

Emjo you have to hand it to your mum what age is she now 105? Like WOW. Mums language is getting bad and in "public" what do you do? where do you look? shes having more tantrums. Shes having another brainscan in October too far away i think. With her diabetes its hard to tell what to expect shes sleeping alot and was a very light sleeper all her life. Shes going off food and everyday is something new she hates? Oh i just dont know anymore its so hard to determine whats going on with her. Wont go to doc hates carers etc........... thanks will look at website what is eating me up is this sick feeling i have that shes going to die soon? i dont know if anyone else ever feels like this? I had same gut feeling a week before dad died not that he was going to die but something bad was about to happen? i wonder if others experience this i usually have a good "gut" feeling about most things or maybe im just anxious and stressed?

Oh must go to bed my moggie is stretched out on the bed so damn cute!! thankgod for him hes a real comfort!!