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My sister has episodes of not recognizing her husband. Recently her daughter had stayed with them and my sister suspected that her daughter was someone she did not know. My sister remembers these episodes but still does not believe that it was her daughter staying with her.

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I have frontotemporal and Lewy Body dementia. Ive had a lot of episodes of not knowing who someone is, or where I am, but I remember the episodes and have some awareness of what is going on.

For example, not long ago my wife and I went to pick up our granddaughter for a visit. We met our son at a truck stop. My wife got out to talk to our son and our granddaughter got in the back seat. Visually, it was not her--intellectually I knew it was her, so I made a game out of it (teasing--"Who's getting in this car", "Who are you", etc), all the while waiting for my vision to catch up with my sense of reality. A moment or two later I heard my son say something to me--he was leaning through the driver door. I heard the voice of a man in his mid-thirties, but my mind said he was a teenager. I responded to the verbal, knowing it was him, and waited for my sense of reality to catch up. A short time later I was mentally well coordinated, both visually and auditorially. Then, not long afterward, on the way home my wife, who was driving, said something. I looked at her and, though I knew it was her, the face I saw was that of a friend of ours. I responded, we talked a bit, and she became herself again.

Not recognizing someone, thing or place is common in dementia. What I find interesting is I am aware of what is happening as it happens, as though the two halves of my brain are each interpreting something differently at the same time while the real me watches.
Like jeannegibbs, I'm not real sure what youre asking. Don't know if this helps--but it's me right now.
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I appreciate that perspective MrRanch2. Your account of what happened is so amazing. I looked up your type of Frontotemporal to see its characteristics. It appears to be less common than other types. Thank you for sharing.

I think things like that are so helpful to a group who are trying to understand and grasping for any information we can get.
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Mrranch2 thank you so much for sharing how you see reality and how your mind works. It is truly enlightening.

Angel
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Alzheimer's, at least, comes and goes. One minute my husband knows where he is. An hour later, he is totally confused. He doesn't remember being confused, but sometimes he holds on to an idea that popped up then.

It's easy to believe that someone with Alz is faking or trying to mislead you. If that's what they were like before, then maybe they are. But for the most part, no one wants to fake such frightening symptoms!
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Mrranch2 - Now I get it when mom will be walking with me, get a little ahead, and turn around back to me and ask "Where'd she go?"
i smile and point to myself and say 'right here' and it seems to register- I thought it was an out of sight thing, but now i see it is more than that.
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MrRanch2...all I can say is holy CR@P...I can not imagine what you and many others go through. What you have described is scary. And I think you for the vivid description. My husband has Alzheimer's and possibly Vascular dementia and he never talked about it so I never though about what it was like inside his head. I wondered but..now I know.
Anyway to respond to question at hand.
I am sure that your sister is aware that someone was there but she may not believe it was her daughter. In your sisters mind her daughter may have been you or possibly her sibling if she has one. It depends on where she is in her head. (If that makes sense) My husband would follow people in the store and I am sure he thought the people he was following was me at various stages in my life. At one point he would follow a woman in her 20's with long hair..that cold have been me in my 20's...another time he would follow a heavier set woman in her 40's..again maybe me in my 40's...I knew I was in trouble when he started following a gray haired man... ;)
We were at a check out counter one day and he kept looking around and he said he needed to find his wife I told him we would go look for her by the cars. We left the store and we walked up to the car and he got in without a problem. So while he did not recognize me he knew the car and knew he was safe.
Just reassure your sister. If she thinks you are her mother or daughter or thinks her daughter is a younger sibling do not argue. It is difficult but at that moment it is her reality. Just as you can not discount your reality she can not hers.
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What an interesting thing to learn. I had no idea that could happen. Sometimes my mom says is that she has seen things before even though I know she hasn't. For instance, she has lost interest in tv because to her it is all repeats. Once I took her it to lunch at a new restaurant and she said she was there before and in fact the people sitting across from us were there too. I just acknowledge it, I don't correct her. It is so real to her that there is no correcting her. Interesting. And what we learn from people sharing on this site is valuable when dealing with our loved ones.
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Neme, episodes? My mom has AD. Every single day there are people that she has relationships with that she does not recognize or have any idea who they are. Sometimes those not recognized are her daughters or her husband or her doctor. It can be anybody and does not happen consistently. So, I guess mom has daily episodes. But not really episodes, it is part of this wretched disease. I wish she did remember when these things happen, but I know that is asking for the impossible. She is not going to get better, she is going to get much worse. Tge disease is not curable nor can it be slowed, only meds can treat some symptoms.

Neme, I found much help from different organizations that educate people about Dementia of all types. Alzheimers Association, AARP, many, many others. Awareness is increasing due to the efforts of many groups. I suggest that you find a group and take some classes, attend support groups anything that you can. This would be the best gift you could give your sister and her family. Learn about what they deal with on a daily basis. Offer help where you can. Be supportive of your sister's family.
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I don't understand your question.

It appears that yes, your sister remembers parts of an episode of dementia. She didn't think at the time that the woman visiting her was her daughter, and she still does not believe it was her daughter.

So what is your question? Do you think that your sister is not being honest about what she remembers, or what?
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My husband deals with Lewy Body or CapGrass syndrome type dementia he sees me, his wife, as several different girls all day long. I can just leave the room and I come back as a different "girl". It's VERY hard on the caregiver because you literally never know who he sees you as. He does this with our home also thinking we have more than one home. Always wanting to go to the other home. So heartbreaking.
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