From: drarwingnuttephd@gmail.com   
      
   Can Alzheimer's suddenly get worse?    
      
      
   10 answers | Last updated: Oct 25, 2014    
      
   Q    
   An anonymous caregiver asked...    
   My mum has been living alone and taking mediciation for about 2 years for what   
   was believed to be early signs of Alzheimers. Generally she just repeated   
   herself at times and kept misplacing things. In a week she has had a dramatic   
   change, becoming    
   disoriented and believing people on TV could hear, see and speak to her. Her   
   only companion has been the TV as I do not live in the same country. I call   
   her once a week and she always seemed stable. She walked out the house 3 late   
   evenings last week and    
   was wandering down the street. She is now in hospital being assessed. The   
   strange thing is that in her lucid moments she's the best she has been in   
   years and there are not really any signs of anything being wrong. Other   
   moments she will be totally    
   confused and not make sense. I believe Alzheimers is gradual and progressive   
   and does not usually have episodes such as my mum has. Could this be a a   
   different type of dementia or chemical imbalancing? I would like to pin point   
   the problem in order to    
   seek an accurate therapy. Any advice will be appreciated.    
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   Answers    
   Caring.com User - Lisa Gwyther    
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   Lisa P. Gwyther, a social worker specializing in Alzheimer's services, is the   
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   74% helpful Lisa Gwyther answered...    
   Yes, Alzheimer's symptoms can and do worsen suddenly, once described by a man   
   with Alzheimer's as the "come and go" disease. Although the progression of   
   disability and memory loss in    
   See also:    
   Alzheimer's Myths    
      
   See all 900 questions about Alzheimer's and Other Dementias    
   Alzheimer's is generally slow and insidious, people with Alzheimer's may have   
   small strokes, episodes of delirium or acute confusion in response to another   
   medical condition or a change in confusion, disorientation or behavior as a   
   result of an event    
   that gets stuck in their minds. Some people develop delusions (fixed false   
   beliefs) or hallucinations (seeing or hearing things) when they misinterpret   
   what is happening on TV or they can't separate themselves from a fictional   
   story. It is frightening to    
   believe the stories on TV are happening to her in the moment. It may cause her   
   to want to flee rather than rationally turning off the TV.    
      
   Also, most people with moderate Alzheimer's become disoriented to time - she   
   may awake at night, responding to a dream about the TV show and leave the   
   house in search of something she thinks she must do for the people in the   
   story. She may be unable to    
   take clues from the dark night that this isn't the time to leave the house.    
      
   At some point, it becomes very risky to live alone, just because these   
   episodes of confusion, especially at night, may happen unpredictably. The   
   hospital stay should provide an opportunity to check her for medical   
   conditions like a silent infection that    
   may cause delirium or a resolving small stroke, and to start a medication, if   
   necessary, to reduce her hallucinations, especially if they are frequent and   
   frightening episodes for her.    
      
   People with moderate stage Alzheimer's are at higher risk for delusions,   
   hallucinations, delirium or acute confusional states in which they appear to   
   go in and out of confusion. However, lucid joyful or pleasant behavior may   
   occur throughout the course    
   of the illness. Families describe good and bad days or even hours, often   
   without an obvious trigger or precipitant like a sudden change in routine,   
   lack of sleep, an illness or stress.    
      
   It is probably more than one problem in addition to rather than instead of   
   Alzheimer's causing her recent sudden changes. A secure hospital environment   
   may help her for the short term, but it is likely that she will need more   
   supervision and reassurance    
   in the moment, something that is difficult to arrange for someone living alone   
   with family in another country. If travel for you is prohibitive, someone   
   local may need to be your eyes, ears and the person to insure she gets the   
   help she needs now.    
      
   http://www.caring.com/questions/can-alzheimers-suddenly-get-worse   
      
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