Newbie needs info

Star

Registered User
May 1, 2004
2
0
My mother-in-law has recently been diagnoised with ad. She seems to be going downhill fast. She can hardly walk now. Is this ad or something else like a stoke etc. Any info would be greatly appreciated
 

Brucie

Registered User
Jan 31, 2004
12,413
0
near London
You say there has been a diagnosis of AD. This presupposes that there have been symptoms already and that there have been tests and an outcome.

Frequently a diagnosis of AD or any dementia will be made only once other possibilities have been ruled out

It is difficult to try and make an interpretation with so little information and the answer can only be.... could be, might not be.

There are different dementias though frequently the one quoted is Alzheimer's. Sometimes strokes are involved with dementia, sometimes strokes happen anyway. The development of dementias can lead to a loss of mobility. That may be loss of physical capability, or may be due to mental uncertainty and fear [of falling, getting lost, etc].

Why don't you start to gather as much information as you reasonable can about her current and recent state. Only when you have a baseline of information can you observe whether things have gone up, or down. Things will go up and down anyway, as the body works on cyclical patterns, so you need to observe over a lengthy period of time.

Such observations can help doctors greatly, as they generally have only the short period of a consultation to work on, unless the patient has been taken for an extended assessment period.
Of course your ability to do this is dependent on the frequency with which you see your mother-in-law, anyway!

Do it anyway. Sometimes it is beneficial not to see the patient daily as changes in capability are more masked because changes may be quite small individually, but more noticeable when they have happened one after another. Less frequent visits mean that you will note changes more obviously.

There are precious few easy answers! Best of luck.
 

Star

Registered User
May 1, 2004
2
0
Dear Bruce,

Thank you so much for your reply. My MIL has received an AD diagnosis but the Dr. seemed at a loss as to why she can't walk,bath.do anything physical. This all started in January and before that we knew she was forgetful but in 4 months she is completely reliant on others for everything. She is also incontinent both ways. She also has a very sweet demeanor.no anger or upset at all. Does this mean that more agressive behavior is to come? Thanks for your help, this was all so quick and we are all reeling with the results.
 

Brucie

Registered User
Jan 31, 2004
12,413
0
near London
Agression is not universal. I think that of the 24 people in my wife's home, no more than one will show symptoms of agression. Mostly these are the respite patients - i.e. those in the early stages.

Agression often surfaces when people are being made to do something they don't understand [ heck, I'm the same if pressure is put on me and I don't understand what is expected of me!].

Your mother-in-law may never show signs of agression, so put that worry on a back burner because you may never need to worry.

Loss of ability to walk, bathe and do pretty much anything is normal in my experience with dementias as suffered by my wife.

While specialists in this area will know these things, GPs are ofen woefully ignorant. With the growing incidence of dementias, especially in younger people, they will be on a fast learning curve.
 

Geraldine

Registered User
Oct 17, 2003
143
0
Nottingham
Hi there

Although my Mum had some dementia like problems for years the progression was very gradual. Then very suddenly last year within a matter of weeks she lost or rather forgot how to walk, use the loo, sit down get you get out of bed etc. etc. She also got very agressive but after she moved into a home after a spell in hospital they got her meds right and seemed to calm her down within making her unduly sleepy,

regards

Geraldine
 

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