Lewy body Dementia

[skinnyjeansbigboots]

Firstly, I'm really sorry if this is triggering for anyone,but I would be very grateful for any advice.
MIL is in her mid 70s and has always been busy and active. A few months ago she had a fall which caused a minor but persistent injury. Following that, she has developed severe anxiety and depression.

These manifest sometimes in delusions for example she thinks the police are going to arrest her or her DH is trying to hurt her. She wanders around a lot and at one point left the house and was found confused nearby. She also has some memory problems e.g. she claims never have carried out a certain activity which she used to do a lot. Her awareness and engagement vary - sometimes being much better than others. Her sleep is very disturbed.

She has had a CT scan which showed nothing untoward. She is being treated with valium,
anti-depressants and anti psychotics which have had some effect. However I have some limited knowledge of dementia and some of this rings alarm bells for Lewy Body dementia. My concern is that anti psychotics may be damaging if it is. I don't want to cause unnecessary worry by mentioning it if I'm way off though.

Sorry for the long post. I would welcome advice on whether this does indeed sound like it could be dementia, and if I should raise it?

[bilbodog]

Certainly sounds like symptoms which could be dementia - i dont know how lewy body dementia presents compared to other types but probably worth mentioning. I hope you manage to find out what is wrong and get the right treatment.

[whitershadeofpale]

It sounds like it to me. My DGM developed symptoms of it following an injury which sound incredibly similar. With hindsight some of those like disturbed sleep were there before but were attributed to side effects of statins or slight forgetfulness was excused as a normal part of being in her eighties. The hallucinations and paranoia only started following the injury though.

It's a horrendous illness and you have my sympathies.

[skinnyjeansbigboots]

Thank you for replying and for your kind wishes. I think I will mention it to Dh asI am worried that the wrong treatment now could cause some damage.
You are right whiter it is horrendous- MIL is nothing like the active, interested woman we know at the moment. I'm sorry to hear about your DGM too.