Dad- Drs now think it’s depression not dementia.

[garfield3]

Hi,

Just a quick update. Spoke to a very nice charge nurse last night. The Dr thinks it’s depression not dementia now , not totally convinced, though . Dad cheered up a little when I told him I’d see him on Sunday. He ate and drank a little ,yesterday. He’s being assessed again tomorrow., His bladder and bowels are working ok.

How long can patients go on like this? I’m thinking months. I still feel he’s fadi,though. Such a roller coaster!

Thanks for listening.

 

[Grannie G]

That is surprising @garfield3 considering his previous behaviours but maybe I don`t know enough about the symptoms of depression to make an educated judgement.

One more worry for you.

 

[canary]

This up and down at end of life can happen with dementia @garfield3
Sometimes they rally for varying lengths of time and sometimes it is a brief thing called terminal lucidity. Sometimes this stage can last weeks and sometimes they can go down rapidly within a couple of days. Its not always easy to tell the difference between dementia and depression.

All of this means that its impossible to know for sure how long they have got. My MIL had been at a stage where we were told she had only days to live and then she perked up. I thought she would live for months afterwards as she seemed back to normal, but after a few weeks the family got called to say she was at end of life and she passed away a few hours later. Yet my mum went for 17 days with no food or fluid and I honestly didnt know how she was still alive.

What Im trying to say is - get that flight back, because you just dont know.

 

[Sarasa]

Hi @garfield3 , I'm so glad you are going to see your dad. You'll get a much better idea about what is going on, and hopefully you'll get to talk to some staff about what will be happening next.

 

[garfield3]

Thank you all for your insight. I finally got the call from the Psych team saying that dad has severe depression and dementia. The Drs expect him to be in hospital for another 2 weeks. He's non ambulatory and food intake very poor. He's 65kg but not lost a lot more in a week. 200g. They want to send him home with a care package.
Do they ever regain strength and are able to walk once they lose it?

Thanks again. Dad seemed to have perked up bit knowing I'm coming home. I'm really looking forward to seeing him even though it's going to be very difficult. The nurse said he's really bad with eye contact. Macular Degeneration or depression or dementia ?? Don't know.

Thanks ever so much for listening and replying. You all are a god send.

Take care, BFNx