Mum with FTD - recent changes

[Cazzita]

Hello TP,
Mum (81) has been different this week. Suddenly, and for no reason at all, she is not having a bath in the evening - her ritual for years and years which she always loves. Fine, but come the morning, she is still not wanting to have a bath. I ran one for her this morning and she still refused and says she will have one tonight. Here's hoping.
Apart from that, she seems to be eating less (a good thing as she has diabetes and is massively overweight) but also seems quieter and more sullen.
She says she feels perfectly okay but she seems sad to me.
What does this mean? Is she declining, is this just the way this thing goes?
Some have suggested she might have a UTI but when I mentioned that to her she said definitely not, she is fine.
Such a weird illness.
On a side note, mum and I just played scrabble - a game she normally wins as very astute - but she failed to notice triples and had a really low score, despite having all the good consonants!
Guess I am asking if this is all 'normal' for moderate Alzheimer's with Frontotemporal dementia?
Thank you,
Carolyn

 

[canary]

One of the features of FTD is apathy, so yes, they do get to a stage when they dont want to wash/bathe/shower and also stop doing things like changing clothes. OH frequently cant be bothered to shave. I think the scrabble is just the decline too - decision making is affected early on as is a decline in word finding.

Dont take her word for it that she doesnt have a UTI, though. Apart from the fact that you can get "silent" infections, they often dont seem to notice physical symptoms. OH had raging infection in both ears, but still denied pain and discharge.

 

[karaokePete]

Don’t take your Mum’s word about an infection. People experiencing dementia will often say they are fine when the truth is otherwise. Other infections or reactions to any new meds etc can cause the same issues. I would have her checked because of its sudden onset.

Canary mentioned apathy and I was going to mention that too. This is so common that there is a fact sheet about it that you can read by following this link https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/sites...ownloads/factsheet_depression_and_anxiety.pdf

I hope some of this helps.

 

[try again]

she may be depressed. its that time of year and nights are drawing in quickly. God knows I've not got dementia (hopefully) but I've missed the odd bath this week! Obviously it is different if there is truly a new pattern emerging.

 

[Cazzita]

Thanks so much. I will get her checked. Thankfully, she has had a bath tonight!