My father has been diagnosed with dementia and one month ago he changed from an independant man living on his own to now wearing nappies and being fed. the decline in his health has been at lightening speed. We placed him in a low care facility and within 2 weeks he has become high care ....now he just sleeps all day long and comes good at night where he is more lucid.
we just discovered he has a URTI and is antibiotics, is it normal that they cannot move and become weak ? I have not had any experience with this and no one can tell me , so I need to rely on internet and read as much as I can so i can be informed on what is going on.
Does anyone out there have experience with this and do they usually recover where they become mobile and lucid again??
That is an extreme reaction to an upper respiratory tract infection. Yes, it is normal for them to decline when there is any medical condition, infection, or major change. It must be one huge infection that he has... or something else is going on as well.
The reason it is difficult to tell is that every loved one with dementia is different. Every type of dementia is different. Medical problems can set some back a little and some a lot. Then there are those times when our loved one with dementia just seems to drop off the dementia cliff.
All you can do is trust your doctor's to treat whatever infection there is, then wait and see what happens. Once the infection is under control your Dad may come back. Perhaps not back to where he was but to a better place. There is just no way to know.
That is an extreme reaction to an upper respiratory tract infection. Yes, it is normal for them to decline when there is any medical condition, infection, or major change. It must be one huge infection that he has... or something else is going on as well.
The reason it is difficult to tell is that every loved one with dementia is different. Every type of dementia is different. Medical problems can set some back a little and some a lot. Then there are those times when our loved one with dementia just seems to drop off the dementia cliff.
All you can do is trust your doctor's to treat whatever infection there is, then wait and see what happens. Once the infection is under control your Dad may come back. Perhaps not back to where he was but to a better place. There is just no way to know.
Love, deb
thanks Deb, i think he has had this underlying infection for some time because he was complaining of ear pain which when checked by the doctors said that his ears are clear and his lymph nodes were down, so we put it down as TMJ , he did have muscle stiffness (rigidity) which i put it down to the anti-psychotic he was prescribed, which started this spiraling effect. Now he is off the meds for that (Rixadone) and now we have an infection + low grade fever, now treated with antibiotics which we will have to wait and see in the next few days.....
Keep a close eye on any changes is the best thing to do. Sometimes there are just too many changes to keep up with what is causing what. Then you just have to make the best judgement, see what happens, and then try again.
Just a quick word on the TMJ. Usually with TMJ is is worse when they move the mouth, there are clicking sounds, and a limited ability to open the mouth. I was actually diagnosed with TMJ but had none of those symptoms. Just a sharp pain that was actually a little in front of the ear over the joint in my jaw. It turned out to be a nerve problem irritated by muscle stress. It was properly diagnosed by my dentist of all people! Rather than surgery, I had a few deep tissue messages and it got better! Doctors, at least here, tend to jump on the TMJ for anything that affects that area of the face when it may be something very different.
The muscle rigidity can be caused by any one of a number of anti psychotics. Neuroleptic malignant syndrome, or NMS is a very dangerous side effect. It is often accompanied by fever, unstable blood pressure, imbalance, and cognitive changes (delirium) along with the rigidity. The good news is, when the medication is stopped and symptoms treated, there is usually a good outcome.
Again... I do hope he will recover to a point that he can go back to close to where he was before
Love, deb
The Following User Says Thank You to Gabriel For This Useful Post: angyplat (08-29-2011)
Actually a UTI makes more sense. Now that simple little infections can cause strange symptoms and behaviors in the elderly. Mom and Dad both had repeated UTIs and there were days I prayed that the test were positive to explain the unexplainable. Usually it was just that... a UTI. The good thing about a UTI is that it responds well to the proper antibiotic and the symptoms and behavior clear up rather quickly. Just be sure to have a retest and ask the doctor to culture the urinalysis. This will give you the specific bacteria (if present) and which antibiotic needed. Mom was treated for 18 months for recurring UTIs only to find out that she was on the wrong antibiotic. It would knock down the infection but not get rid of it. Then the infection would return. When I found the right antibiotics and got rid of the UTI once and for all, I put her on a maintenance dosage of antibiotics. She has not had a UTI in 2.5 years!
