What does this mean?

[MotherOfOlafs]

Sorry this might be long! Looking for some advice or general input.
We had an older family member stay over on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The same person stayed with us last year with no problems. This year there were a couple of things that I found a bit odd including shouting for DH at around midnight (waking everyone up in a panic) and demanding we do something about the glow in the dark stickers on the bedroom ceiling (they were sleeping in DDs room as they always do) we told the family member they would fade very soon and was told ‘oh I can’t cope with this!’ Offered an eye mask but they turned it down. The stickers have always been there.
Calling through the walls at 6am (again waking everyone up) as they needed to run the bath and couldn’t find their sponge (they didn’t bring one). General anxiety over little things that wouldn’t have bothered them before.
Ive not written this as a rant or a bitch session, I’m genuinely concerned in family members mental health and I am worried this is a sign of something beginning. DH is worried too.

It could be dementia...😞 it was like that with my granny. Im sorry.

Are they older?

We had an older family member stay over on Christmas quoted from OP!

@MotherOfOlafs It could be that you're relative is just getting more anxious as they age. If you don't see them very often their change in behaviour may be more obvious to you than to anyone else. I think I'd be concerned too. May be worth a chat with them and share your concerns. It would depend on their behaviour generally i think if now is the right time for Dementia assessment.

Why age is this person? My DH has recently been diagnosed with dementia and these behaviours would be typical of things he now does but which are new for him (IYSWIM) - anxiety about things, lack of awareness of time etc.

How old is older? My dad was diagnosed with dementia a couple of years ago and sadly this sounds as if that’s what it could be, especially if your relative is 70+

Thanks all, they are 72.
We see them around once a month and they’ve become noticeably more ‘prickly’ shall I say in more recent months. One of my concerns is if we did approach them about it there’d be an argument, potentially refusal to see us for a period afterwards which we would all be extremely upset by.
just a note to say the family member doesn’t have much other family and a small circle of friends that we don’t know so there’s not really anyone else we can ask the opinion of.

Sadly it does sound as if it could be related to early stages of dementia. Would be worth advising them to have a urine check as well though - infection can send people a bit crackers .

As pp says try and get infection ruled out first It's tricky as no-one wants to acknowledge they are struggling. My dad couldn't see it but went to the gp to pacify me, gp didn't agree but offered to send him for testing. Went for testing and turned out he had mixed dementia. We actually thought he had post pump syndrome falling a heart bypass so it came as a shock to all of us.