We got some terrible news tonight. My husband’s brother called to tell us that his mom is exhibiting sudden, serious symptoms of Alzheimers disease. She just came up with the most bizarre stories about hubby and I were in Florida along with our Army buddies and were trying to “get” her. She was walking around the house with a stick to defend herself peering out the windows. Delusional paranoia 101.
I just got off the phone with my husband (he’s on a business trip) and I’m just in shock. We just saw her in July and both felt that there was something amiss but couldn’t put our finger on it. My B-I-L is going through a nasty divorce and we just chalked it up to her stressing over his problems. I guess not… I don’t know what to do since she’s delusional. I guess we’ll figure it out r-e-a-l soon.
Can symptoms come on that severe that quickly? As far as we know, she’s not had any type of trauma injury or anything. It’s like she woke up this morning a different person. Now that we are looking back, there were little things that just weren’t right in July but nothing that could have even remotely sounded any alarms.
Oh no! I am sorry to hear that. Is it possible that she has had a stroke? Could it be a fever or something? I don’t think Alzheimers can come on that quickly, that severely, but I am not a Dr. I hope things get better for you.
There are all kinds of things that can cause acute mental status changes like that–stroke, trauma, infection, metabolic derangements, you name it. While I have rarely seen people with Alzheimer’s decompensate rather quickly so that it looks like delerium, it has to be the last diagnosis on the list. (A “diagnosis of exclusion”, as we say.)
I would suggest that someone get her to the emergency room post-haste.
I’ve seen my dad and my grandmother hallucinate from medications, strokes, stressful situations, all kinds of things unrelated to Alzheimer’s. It will take some careful medical examination to find out what’s wrong with her, whatever it is. I hope it’s not your worst-case scenario. What Dr. J said!
I hadn’t considered a stroke. Are the symptoms similar? We’re pretty sure it’s not a drug reaction because she’s not taking anything that would cause a problem. Only stuff like Premarin and Lipitor…?
She has no other physical symptoms what so ever. Actually, physically she’s as healthy as a horse.
My first thought was Alzheimers because a dear friend of my family had very similar symptoms several years ago and her diagnosis was Alzheimers. Her symptoms, however, didn’t come on suddenly. (At least suddenly to us 1200 miles away)
My B-I-L told us that she’s been “needy” the last couple of weeks, calling him every day and such. It was unusual because she’s such a strong , independant woman.
My father-in-law died a year ago last April from Parkinsons. Actually, we lost both of my parents and my husband’s dad in 16 months.
My Evil Aunt has always been nasty, manipulative, in constant denial, and well, evil. When she was diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer’s, we attributed the diagnosis to a naive doctor who didn’t know her history.
We later appreciated his diagnosis. Where she had been cunningly evil before, she became whacko evil. All of the stories she invented previously took a turn (speaking with people long dead; every woman she ever knew had illegitimate children in their backgrounds; Jesus spoke to her to do whatever).
She drifted in and out of these ‘spells’ and it frightened her son who wondered how she was managing her finances, marveled how she lied to her friends in her retirement condo situation, and eventually turned on him. She continued to drive at age eighty!
I feel I’ve ‘lost’ her and must appreciate the person she once was (nasty and evil). My cousin continues to look for the Mom he really never had.
I had a grandma who became senile at age ninety. There is a distinct difference between Alzheimer’s and senility. (Sorry I don’t have a cite. This turned out to be difficult to write.) She was a wonderful person all of her life and her senility only intensified her essential goodness. She reported lovingly bizarre events and we just patted her and agreed with whatever she had to say.
I do know that caring for an Alzheimer’s patient is extremely difficult for caregivers. Take advantage of associations that can assist your family if indeed she does have Alzheimer’s. Remember that it is a disease that can only be truly diagnosed upon autopsy. (Again I lack a cite, but they’re out there. Sorry.)
My grandmother was hallucinating for several days not too long ago, and the doctor is pretty sure it was tiny strokes, TIAs. After a few days, she gradually got back to normal, but it’s happened several times in the past few months. (Since she’s 102, nothing much surprises us with her, however!)
And my dad (who also died of Parkinson’s) had quite a few TIAs towards the end and got more and more delirious – although in his case it really was quite entertaining; he saw a different view out his window every time he looked, and one day when I ran an errand at lunch he got very mad at me when I got back and wouldn’t admit I’d gone to Mexico! So I’ve had some firsthand experience with that.
Definitely an immediate visit to the doctor should be #1 on your list of what to do! I hope you can find the cause and that she can continue to be strong and independent!
My late grandfather had a slowly progressing case of Alzheimer’s, and possibly a few TIAs in the last year or so. He went batshit nuts a few times, and ended up moving to a nursing home with a locked wing for Alzheimer’s patients. Where, after a week or so, he seemed to become a bit more rational.
After going through his house and cleaning up, it turns out he had a massive collection of empty vodka bottles. We’re thinking a lot of his bizzare behavior was most likely a result of his attempts at self-medication.
You mentioned that she has been under some emotional stress lately. Some years ago the mother of a dear friend basically “snapped” under the strain of trying to handle the affairs of one of her sisters (who was in fact in the early stages of dementia and was very difficult to deal with). As his mom was in Florida with her sister while all the children were up north, no one was aware how badly things were going for several weeks apart from increasing numbers of phone calls home; I guess you could say she was becoming “emotionally clingy.”
When my friend decided that something must be really wrong and went to retrieve her, he found her basically living in one corner of her sister’s home, not really eating, paranoid that the FBI would come and lock her up for what she had tried to do regarding her sister’s financial affairs. No amount of reassurance calmed her; every time it seemed she was beginning to relax, she would start fixating on some new paranoia. She was later diagnosed as suffering from depression and anxiety, was placed on medication for both, and improved considerably again.
From what I understand, depression and anxiety in senior citizens is underdiagnosed. Given the suddeness with which her problem seems to have popped up, it’s certainly possible that your mother-in-law had a stroke, but she may also have suffered an emotional breakdown of sorts. Really, the only way to know for sure is to take her to a doctor as soon as possible.
Do not pass go, do not collet 200 bucks, make sure MIL gets to an emergency room right now. IANADr. but it sounds very much like a series of TIAs, (trans-ischemic attacks), or mini-strokes. There are powerful clot busters that they can administer if shes’ a candidate, but it has to be soon, usually within 12-14 hours, before the clots themselves actually form, once they’ve formed, you want 'em staying put, not turning into an embollus that can dislodge and kill her.
It sounds like she needs to go to the ER. (Not that I am a doctor, or anything.) And our good thoughts and prayers go out to your whole family.
I am reminded of a weird wacko paranoid episode my mom had, years ago. We were travelling up to the Mental Institution in (in a nearby state) where my aunt (my mom’s sister) was being held (Auntie had mental problems for years and was homeless for a while). My mom had seen her mother and some other sisters succumb from mental illness, and she freaks out about it. So, on that ride up to the Institution to visit Auntie, smy mom convinced herself that I was taking her up there to have her locked away.
It passed. She was so stressed out, that’s all. She realized later in the day that she was being loopy. She’s always been a bit “different” (then aren’t we all) but she’s not known for such paranoid episodes.
But stress, and some buried horrible fear coming to the surface, can really freak people out.
Thanks, everyone. After a fitful night’s sleep, I’m a little better this morning.
She is still talking shit but she wasn’t so angry and agitated anymore. It seems that her delusional anger and fear are directed at my husband and I…mainly me. In her mind, I have physically attacked her and am sneaking into her house when she’s gone and stealing her medications. While I know that it’s not “her” talking, it still gets to me.
We’re counting on my B-I-L to get her to the doctor or ER today.
My grandfather went through this after Christmas this year - my parents couldn’t quite put their finger on it either…
Then, delusional paranoia, violent outbursts, the works. THE WORKS. He went through phases where he was coherent and mostly with it… and then, he was convinced some woman had climbed through his bedroom window and beaten him up at 3am (he drove himself??? to the police station to report this - they took away his license, thank GOD…)
Good luck with everything… get her evaluated pronto…
I guess I should have specified - yes, it was rather SUDDEN onset in the winter (around February) though we all could recall him just not being… quite right… for a few months before. Gramma also now says that it wasn’t quite right quite a few months more (but we didn’t see him, so ya know…)
In his case, it was Alzheimer’s. Your best course of action is to get her to a doctor ASAP, run all the tests. Alzheimer’s is a diagnosis of exclusion, so they’ll run all they need to run in order to rule out strokes, medication mishaps and all that. Hang in there… whatever you do.
If your MIL is on any medications, it is imperative that someone monitor her ingestion of them. Her present condition does not bode well in terms of her accurately consuming only the prescribed amounts each day. She may be over or under-medicating herself if left to her own devices. This may also be complicating her present condition. A special compartmented pill box is definitely in order. Someone else should make sure it is filled with the correct assortment of pills per diem and check for appropriate usage.
You may wish to inform her attending physician of all the different medications she is taking and ask that any side effects of their use (or incorrect dosage) be taken into account.
My grandfather died of Alzheimers and it was very gradual, although he did have good and bad days that might make it seem like he suddenly got worse to someone who only observed him for a day or two.
My grandmother is now well into her 90’s and is forgetful and confused sometimes, but it is very different than what my grandfather was like.
My mother in law has had several strokes, one of which I witnessed. That was different, too - it did come on very suddenly. She was very confused, very fast, but it was more like a distant, confused like state than paranoia.
My husband’s grandmother has Parkinson’s and now is quite delusional. That came on gradually as well.
All of these things can be sad and scary to watch. If she lives alone I would suggest she be monitored for her own safety. I agree that she needs to see a Dr. for a diagnosis as it could be one of many different things. I do know that emotional stress can make many conditions worse, so it is possible that is what brought this episode on. When she has had some tests hopefully you will have more options about what your choices are. Keep us posted.
Unfortunately, they can come on quickly. My mother had mild symptoms for about two years, but it hit hard in late May and she passed away the middle of August. Best wishes and take care of yourself. Although my mother’s passing wasn’t totally unexpected – we knew 2 days before it was going to happen – I’m still having dealing with the grief.
5que, I am so sorry to hear about your loss. A sudden death (even if you have a few days warning) is always very tough. Take care of yourself, and remember that grief is a gradual process. It takes a while to sort through it.
Ruby, my prayers do go out to you. We all will have your family in our thoughts.
