My mother has vascular dementia. She is not medicated. She is having nightmares about her childhood, and she acts out in her sleep.

I was thinking more along the line of treating the agitation CM, it must be awful to feel trapped in an unfamiliar place with strangers.

Yes, by improving blood flow to the brain. I came to think of it as being memory so worn away that the deepest-buried ones were surfacing. Not a scientifically accurate description, obviously, but it gave me a mental image to hang onto.

The confusion and hallucinations may be a normal part of dementia but that doesn't mean it can't be treated!

This is so painful, Michigan; but I think the doctor is right, my experience with my mother would certainly confirm that opinion. It never took her as long as all day to reorient herself, but we went through a phase of her worrying about her mother and her sisters (not in a good way, my mother was rather bullied by her family) every evening - lot of reassurance, lot of socratic discussion to get her back to time and place.

Oh *boy*! - taking blood pressure meds "as needed"???

What, pray, does she imagine are the signs that she needs to take them? One can only guess...

Could the doctor write an old-fashioned label for the script saying "TO BE TAKEN X 1 PER DAY WITHOUT FAIL. OR ELSE! Signed Doctor Knowsbest" or words to that effect? Then you could show her the label and say "hey, don't blame me."

The doctor said it was normal for dementia. I could not believe it. As the day progressed she got worse, and could not remember my dad at all. Her behaviour was strange. We went to the ER. Her blood pressure was high. After many tests, the diagnosis was TIA, which she had once before. By 9pm, she began to remember my dad. The doctor thought she would regain most or all of memory lost yesterday, but of course still have the dementia. They didn't really do anything for her, but I'm glad we went. It was nice that the doctor actually listened to us. It also gave me the chance to talk to my mom again about taking her blood pressure meds as directed. This has been an ongoing problem, and does not help the dementia. She is opposed to meds, and thinks she should take them as needed.

What did the doctor say?

Is it possible she has a UTI? (When my mom acts wackier than usual, that is my first thought--UTI's often cause behavioral or psychiatric symptoms in the elderly). Is she on any new medications?

Let us know what you find out. We learn from each other!