my mum (64) didn't recognise my sister yesterday. blaming diazepan, is this the start of something?

[amidaiwish]

title says it all really... my sister called in at my mum's house yesterday and my mum couldn't "place" her. She knew she knew her but was a bit thrown. It is quite unusual for my sister to call round, and was unannounced, but we are all quite local to each other (all within 45 mins) and so not completely weird.

Mum had surgery a couple of months ago and is taking diazepan, which she blamed for the incident.
Her dad had alzheimers from quite a young age...
This has freaked me, should i be worried? Is there anything I can do?
TIA.

Would your mum agree to go and see her GP? maybe if she would agree then you or your sister could go with her.

It doesn't sound good to be honest. This is a major warning sign for dementia and it can come on very rapidly.

She needs an urgent medial assessment to exclude dementia.

Diazepam would not do this.

medical

Poor you and your mum and your sister. Sounds scary for you all.

What sort of surgery did she have? And why is she on diazepam, do you know? Diazepam is usually used fairly short-term (because tolerance develops v quickly) to treat mental illness states- panic attacks, anxiety, agitation, alcohol withdrawal, insomnia etc. Is she on a very high dose? Amnesia can be a side effect of diazepam, I think. I would certainly be wanting her to go to the GP to review the medication and have a cognitive check up. I really hope she is ok. If it does turn out to be more serious, such as the early stages of dementia, getting treatment early could be very helpful in warding off the worst of it for longer.

thanks all, she had surgery on her neck (disc replaced) and is taking diazepam sporadically. She said she's not taking it any more as the incident freaked her. She's going away for 3 weeks but i'll talk to my dad and keep a close eye on it when she's back.
Are there any other warning signs?
My mum with dimentia... that would be a nightmare. silly thing to say i know but i can't bear the thought of it!