Guest guest Posted September 4, 2001 Report Share Posted September 4, 2001 An Alzheimer's query for those of you who are familiar with the disease. A friend of my late mother's has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She's in her late 70s, and three weeks ago she was completely competent, although physically quite frail. No short term or long term memory problems at all. She woke up one morning delusional, paranoid, violent with no idea of where she was or what day or year it was. I've never heard of Alzheimer's hitting this fast. Have any of you? Ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 4, 2001 Report Share Posted September 4, 2001 I've never heard of Alzheimer's hitting this fast. Have any of you?Ann It's a degenerative disease. It cannot "hit" this fast! Mai-Liis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 4, 2001 Report Share Posted September 4, 2001 I know that many conditions can cause a dramatic change in mental status including urinary tract infection, pneumonia, stroke or even heart attacks in elderly people. Your friend should be seen immediatly by her physician and checked out. The only type of dementia I know of which deteriorates rapidly is Cruezfelt- syndrome. --- Ann Hilgeman wrote: > An Alzheimer's query for those of you who are > familiar with the > disease. A friend of my late mother's has just been > diagnosed with > Alzheimer's. She's in her late 70s, and three weeks > ago she was > completely competent, although physically quite > frail. No short term > or long term memory problems at all. She woke up > one morning > delusional, paranoid, violent with no idea of where > she was or what > day or year it was. > > I've never heard of Alzheimer's hitting this fast. > Have any of you? > > Ann > > __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 4, 2001 Report Share Posted September 4, 2001 It sounds more like LBD than Alzheimers. > > > I've never heard of Alzheimer's hitting this fast. Have any of you? > > Ann > > > It's a degenerative disease. It cannot " hit " this fast! > > Mai-Liis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 4, 2001 Report Share Posted September 4, 2001 I've never heard of Alzheimer's hitting this fast. Have any of you? Think someone has misdiagnosed.. Ev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 4, 2001 Report Share Posted September 4, 2001 Actually my mother displayed the worst of her symptoms just that suddenly. She had been saying strange things to my sister who lived with her--like comments that suggested that she thought we all still lived in that house with them--but she talked perfectly normally to everyone else until suddenly she checked into the hospital with bleeding from her intestines. In the hospital they gave her antibiotics and that was enough to put her into a psychotic episode. Maybe there were problems for a long time--the hand tremor had started several years before but was so mild that it wasn't even called Parkinsons at first. But it seemed to start suddenly. The dramatic symptoms started suddenly and the hallucinations and delusions never really went away after that although they are much much more mild now. > > An Alzheimer's query for those of you who are > > familiar with the > > disease. A friend of my late mother's has just been > > diagnosed with > > Alzheimer's. She's in her late 70s, and three weeks > > ago she was > > completely competent, although physically quite > > frail. No short term > > or long term memory problems at all. She woke up > > one morning > > delusional, paranoid, violent with no idea of where > > she was or what > > day or year it was. > > > > I've never heard of Alzheimer's hitting this fast. > > Have any of you? > > > > Ann > > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 4, 2001 Report Share Posted September 4, 2001 This diagnosis came from a geriatric psychiatric unit after a week of evaluation. Ann Re: A query > I know that many conditions can cause a dramatic > change in mental status including urinary tract > infection, pneumonia, stroke or even heart attacks in > elderly people. Your friend should be seen immediatly > by her physician and checked out. The only type of > dementia I know of which deteriorates rapidly is > Cruezfelt- syndrome. > > > --- Ann Hilgeman wrote: > > An Alzheimer's query for those of you who are > > familiar with the > > disease. A friend of my late mother's has just been > > diagnosed with > > Alzheimer's. She's in her late 70s, and three weeks > > ago she was > > completely competent, although physically quite > > frail. No short term > > or long term memory problems at all. She woke up > > one morning > > delusional, paranoid, violent with no idea of where > > she was or what > > day or year it was. > > > > I've never heard of Alzheimer's hitting this fast. > > Have any of you? > > > > Ann > > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 6, 2001 Report Share Posted September 6, 2001 There are other dementias too: Vascular, having to do with flow of blood to the brain, is another common one and I think it relates to mini strokes. You'll have to look it up. And, repeating what others have said, my husband too, begain to show florid symptoms all of a sudden. Before that, the diagnosis was tentantively, possibley, a developing Alzheimer's. Till he woke up one morning and couldn't find his feet. Did the people who examined her do neuropsychological testing? Not to second guess. Maybe the simplest thing is to ask them if this is a common symptom. Imelda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 6, 2001 Report Share Posted September 6, 2001 You are quite right, Imelda, to remind us from time to time that there are other dementias too. Apart from Lewy Body (the one we are all mainly concerned about) there is Alzheimer's itself, which usually solicits the maximum of publicity. Vascular dementia, which you draw our attention too; Pick disease etc. etc. and what is more many variants which contain elements of each other also occur. Whilst my own dementia was diagnosed as Lewy Body Dementia, they, the Consultants, can never be sure until thing are over for me. I happen to also have TIA's which are characteristic of Vascular Dementia and 'shakes' which are Parkinsonian symtoms, so things get very confused. I'm only grateful that at the moment everything is fairly stable, due mainly to the maximum dose of Exelon 12mg daily. (((Hugs))) to you as well Imelda ====================================== My name is J S The following are my e-mails pashley@... [Preferred] pjsashley@... p.ashley1@... ====================================== > Re: A query > > > There are other dementias too: Vascular, having > to do with flow of blood to > the brain, is another common one and I think it > relates to mini strokes. > You'll have to look it up. And, repeating what > others have said, my husband > too, begain to show florid symptoms all of a > sudden. Before that, the > diagnosis was tentantively, possibley, a > developing Alzheimer's. Till he > woke up one morning and couldn't find his feet. > Did the people who examined > her do neuropsychological testing? Not to second > guess. Maybe the simplest > thing is to ask them if this is a common symptom. > Imelda > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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