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canadianmom · 10-30-2006, 07:42 AM

My 85 year old mother has recently been dx with multi infarct dementia. For the last 6 months she is very anxious and seems to be suffering from depression. She is convinced daily that she will be dying very soon. Ends each day with "see you tomorrow if I'm still here" She is absolutley convinced she has cancer. She has been through numerous tests recently and all have come back that physically all is well. Doesn't seem to help her. Is this normal in dementia patients?

LuvMyLilDoggie · 10-30-2006, 08:49 AM

Yeah that's pretty normal for dementia. They know something's wrong but they don't remember what it is. And as is in the case with my dad, he has other health problems and knows when he has pain. But when asked where the pain is, he typically tells us or points to one area and tells the doctor it's in a completely different area.

Dad suffers from depression too. Zoloft helped him with that and also curbed his aggression and anxiety.

It could be that your mom knows she has some terrible disease but replaces the name that she can't remember (dementia) with one that's all over the tv lately (cancer). So the word cancer is easier for her to remember than dementia.

Ask her doctor about giving her a mild antidepressant. If it doesn't work, you can always discontinue.

Good luck!

Love, Barb

canadianmom · 10-31-2006, 05:43 AM

Thanks Barb. We are off to the Dr's today and I will def ask about getting her on an anti depressant. She always points to and complains about the same area which is very strange when she is so confused about everything else. But scopes , ultrasounds etc have come up with nothing. Maybe anxiety/depression is causing physical pain?

Thanks again!

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