elp me please re Altzeimers

[Jollymum]

My dad is 78 and is going weird. Please does anyone know te early symptons of this disease and could offer suggestions/help. I started to look on Google but got bogged down in info tat was irrelevant and scary. Thanks.xxx

Any infection can make the elderly confused, as can a change in routine, even one that is planned and looked forward to. Even though my mother does have dementia she is always much worse of she has a chest infection or a cold. And urine infections hit her hard. Once they are cleared up she recovers to her baseline confusion.

hmb i am sorry to here about ur mother i know it is horrible i thought my grandad was unstopable

It is very hard. I saw my father die of cancer and at the time I thought that was the worst thing that could happen to someone that you love. I was wrong the last 3 years with my mother have been the most awful thing. She is just a shell, with almost none of her personality left. I have heared it called the long goodbye, well named

hmb,
Sorry, I wasn't able to get back to read the thread again last night. I am so sorry your mum is in such a poor way-I did not realise her condition was so advanced. It is awful to have to watch someone you love go through this, especially for such a long period of time. Perhaps there is some comfort in the fact that she will hopefully have no awareness of her condition now.

so sad to see that long goodbye - my thoughts are with you all.

The slowness is also a possible sign of Parkinson's, which can also cause dementia -- one of my friends was terribly annoyed at how slow and dithery and old her mother suddenly was, and then they discovered she had Parkinson's, which they treated with great success for several more years. Like everybody else, I encourage you to see a doctor, as many forms of dementia can be slowed down and some can be temporarily reversed. And very occasionally, the problems is a vitamin or mineral deficiency or an infection that can simply be treated. (Don't pin your hopes on this, though.)