My Grandad is 84. Over the last year he has been in and out of hospital with diabetes and prostate problems - had a prostate op 3 weeks ago (partial removal) which will hopefully solve that issue. In hosp he usually gets urine infections and his blood sugar sometimes reaches 25+ ... since these episodes he has got increasingly confused, thinking he lives somewhere else, forgetting names/faces of his grandchildren, getting muddled between past/present tense (eg talking about war experiences as if they are now, not then)...virtually no short-term memory etc etc. He repeats the same conversation topic over and over...He goes to get his pension and then takes 3hrs plus to get home (15 minutes gentle walk) because he 'stopped to chat' (losing track of time?) and displays what could be construed as odd behaviour - deciding he HAS to have a bath at the strangest times of day and insisting he can manage himself when he can't really, gets ideas in his head and can't be dissuaded, can get very awkward.
...I wonder whether he is in the early stages of dementia but when I broach the subject with family they are very resistant to the idea 'it's just old age' 'even if it is dementia there's nothing we can do so we're better off not knowing' 'he just gets a bit confused' etc etc.
Am I going off the deep end to think it might be dementia in some form? Or just making a storm in a tea cup?
Sorry it's such a long post! I would just appreciate a bit of outside input from people who know a bit more about it than me!
Thanks,
Rach
...I wonder whether he is in the early stages of dementia but when I broach the subject with family they are very resistant to the idea 'it's just old age' 'even if it is dementia there's nothing we can do so we're better off not knowing' 'he just gets a bit confused' etc etc.
Am I going off the deep end to think it might be dementia in some form? Or just making a storm in a tea cup?
Sorry it's such a long post! I would just appreciate a bit of outside input from people who know a bit more about it than me!
Thanks,
Rach