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Has anyone experienced someone with mild dementia who in the course of a couple days developed severe dementia? My mother woke up one morning, was severely confused and called 911. She went to the hospital and was found to have a relatively mild UTI which she was treated for. Her confusion seemed to increase over the 2 weeks she was there so they declared her incompetent. This same scenario happened two years ago when she'd broken her ankle. She slowly improved and was able to return home on her own. I had to put her in a memory care unit this time as she keeps trying to get out but can't remember any specifics about her life. She can't understand how different she is. Wondering what could cause her to be so susceptible to this response? Even if she gets better and can function in her home again how can I send her back home knowing this can happen again?

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Robinlynn, my Mom went from very mild memory loss to last stage dementia just in one day, all due to a fall where she had hit her head at her home. Dad called me, and I called 911. That fall caused a brain bleed. This was my Mom's second such fall, and second brain bleed. Who knows how many others she had. My parents [90's] weren't forthcoming on such issues.

Thus, I wonder if your Mom had a fall or did something to bump her head?
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What investigations have been done? If the treatment for the uti cleared the uti but did not clear the confusion, it seems logical to assume that something else caused the confusion - and the list of possible culprits for *that* is almost endless. So, what are they looking at?
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This could be due to the UA and she should be followed carefully for this with urine cultures.
You cannot be assured that this will either go away, nor that it cannot return. A return to home may not be safe unless there is marked improvement. As to whether, if she DOES improve markedly, a return to home is possible it would depend on at least daily followup and assessment.
And as to the why, oh we wish we knew. Her doc is the best one to give you a clue as to the perhaps this and perhaps that. But keep the urine tests coming regularly. They are now very resistant to cure, and can return in a flash.
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Have you read up on hospital delirium? Sounds like it.
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Countrymouse Aug 2019
Except she wasn't in hospital (and hadn't been recently) when it came on.
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