Organic dementia

meahpa

Registered User
Oct 21, 2015
4
0
Chorley
Just wondering if anyone else has had a family member diagnosed with "organic dementia"?

My dad was taken ill in May, went into hospital and after tests and treatment for a variety of brain problems, was given the diagnosis of "organic dementia". He ended up going straight into a EMI unit and his condition is getting worse.

We were told at the hospital that Community Mental Health would come out and give a proper diagnosis but that was in June and we have had nothing since.

Is it likely to be vascular or something else?

The care home struggled with his behaviour a few weeks ago when he got very aggressive and they ended up sending him to A&E (after being told to by 111) - A&E of course sent him straight back, but it did prompt Mental Health Services to come to see him. As it turned out, he had a UTI and antibiotics made him a little better so the Mental Health services discharged him.

Is there no time line for the health system to see him again or as he is now in a care home is he no longer their problem?

I know a diagnosis won't help him, but it may help the home and us know what to expect.
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,072
0
Bury
I would regard organic dementia to mean that the decreased mental functioning was due to a disease rather than psychiatric illness - part(s) of the brain are physically damaged rather than not functioning correctly.

Unfortunately dementia can progress at very varying rates and with various symptoms predominant, all you can do is record all events and then ask the GP and/or the mental health team for their opinion on the likely progression.
 

Ozzy71

Registered User
Nov 23, 2015
26
0
Hi
My dad hasn't had an official diagnosis of anything yet but this term has been used. He had slight memory loss over the past few years but had a stroke a few weeks ago. He has been left with massive memory loss and confusion and was placed in an assessment unit yesterday after 3 miserable weeks on a hospital ward. I think organic dementia is a term for dementia caused by an incident or disease as nitram has suggested.

The doctor on the stroke ward has suggested that my dad might end up in an EMI Unit.

Like your dad at the nursing home, the ward have struggled with his behaviour as he doesn't sleep and wanders around all of the time. He was becoming extremely frustrated and trying to leave.
He has had his first night in the assessment unit but didn't sleep and started wandering and went into other people's rooms as he wouldn't have had a clue where he was. He 'escaped' today - his first day. we have tried to have him home for a night whilst he was in hospital but ended up calling an ambulance because he was saying he couldn't breathe and that he was having a heart attack - we thought he might have pneumonia as he has had it twice this year but were told that wasn't the case. The paramedics said they could hear a rattle in his lungs. We were told on the stroke ward it was more likely he was in a panic and it was a sign we couldn't cope with him at home. Then when he was sent to the assessment unit we discovered he was on antibiotics to treat pneumonia!
Ive read on here UTIs can cause big problems but I'm sorry I can't offer more help.
It's just a horrible situation to be in - I really wish you and your dad the best.