Does my Grandma have dementia?

[amiea]

Hi,

This is my first post and I could really do with some help and reassurance.

3 weeks ago my grandma had a fall and knocked her head. She had first aid and was allowed to go home. A week later she had another fall and was taken to hospital and kept in since.

Ever since these falls she has not been the same person. She is seeing things, can’t keep on the same topic, says odd things, believes she is doing things she hasn’t done, she’s paranoid...it is like she is suffering from delirium. She has had a scan and there is fluid on her brain and she’s been asked certain questions and the doctors have mentioned Alzheimer’s.

It has all come on so quickly and so badly that it’s making me doubt it is Alzheimer’s. Before her fall she would lose keys and get confused about using a remote but that was about it. She never forgot who people were or names for things. She still knows who we are and doesn’t get objects mixed up.

I’ve never had any experience with a person suffering from dementia so I don’t know what the signs are. Could someone tell me if this sounds like dementia? I just can’t believe 2 weeks ago she knew her PIN number, was living on her own and going about life normally. Now she has no idea she’s in a hospital. She thinks it’s a school. Thank you for any help

 

[nae sporran]

Hullo and welcome to TP, amiea. I'm sorry your granny has had these falls and they have badly affected her memory and understanding of her surroundings. Your upset and confusion are understandable, those thoughts hit me when OH took a sudden turn for the worse a year after diagnosis.
So many things can cause the symptoms of dementia, that it is hard to advise, but
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/symptoms-and-diagnosis/worried-about-memory-problems and https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about...a/diagnosing-alzheimers-disease#content-start may help clarify some of the process of diagnosis and help you understand what the doctors are saying.

 

[amiea]

Thank you nae sporran, I will read those links. Thank you for your support and understanding. It’s just so hard as she hadn’t had an official diagnosis and it’s been nearly 3 weeks. We’re all very frustrated. We’re all in shock and confused as she is not the same person and it’s happened over night. I really do appreciate your understanding and any other advice

 

[canary]

My mum seemed to suddenly develop dementia symptoms overnight and from then onwards she just seemed to get worse very quickly. Looking back now, though, I can see all the warning signs even though i didnt realise it at the time. I think mum had had dementia for several years, but she had managed to hide it so that friends and family were unaware until the time when she simply couldnt hide it any more and it all came out.

 

[amiea]

My mum seemed to suddenly develop dementia symptoms overnight and from then onwards she just seemed to get worse very quickly. Looking back now, though, I can see all the warning signs even though i didnt realise it at the time. I think mum had had dementia for several years, but she had managed to hide it so that friends and family were unaware until the time when she simply couldnt hide it any more and it all came out.

Thank you Canary, may I ask what symptoms she displayed upon looking back? Before you knew she had dementia? We’re all trying to think back about any signs we may have missed. It’s just such a shock as one minute she seemed fine and now she’s really bad. But like you said, she may have been hiding things from us. It’s very upsetting having a conversation with her as she can’t stay on one topic, has hallucinations and says things she hasn’t done.

 

[Rosettastone57]

Thank you Canary, may I ask what symptoms she displayed upon looking back? Before you knew she had dementia? We’re all trying to think back about any signs we may have missed. It’s just such a shock as one minute she seemed fine and now she’s really bad. But like you said, she may have been hiding things from us. It’s very upsetting having a conversation with her as she can’t stay on one topic, has hallucinations and says things she hasn’t done.

With my MIL we had difficulty initially identifying signs of dementia. She had pre existing mental health issues before the dementia diagnosis so it took family members a long time to twig anything else was going on. But looking back, it was the lack of initiative and the inability to learn anything new that was there before the memory loss. She started to not pick up messages on her answer machine and seemed unable to remember how to use it. She also started to talk about Christmas coming soon when it had only just gone a few weeks before. Things slowly declined from there until she became ill this summer, went into hospital then it was a steep cognitive decline from then on and went into a care home