Dad is 85 with late stage dementia, probably multiple types, doesn’t fit any 1 type. First obvious signs were in 2012, diagnosed w/ MCI in 2016, progressed from there. His memory has been all over the place. He was holding on to some new & old things. Doesn’t go back in time much. Over the past year & 1/2 he’s lost his language skills & either says sentences that aren’t relevant, or the words don’t go together or a lot of the time they are not real words at all. Seems content, but not totally aware of where he is or what’s going on. He doesn’t use any of our names, but smiles when he sees us, like he knows we are his, which is lovely. His sentences usually are a couple words & then goes into singing. Some of the time, especially recently, he seems to understand part of what’s going on. All of a sudden now, he might respond appropriately to a conversation. Even have a few full normal sentences. Use an appropriate word to let us know what he wants, like “bed” or “ cup”. He now seems to understand he’s “sick”. Again, not all the time, but more than he’s done in over a year. He is pretty healthy except for the dementia, in a wheelchair & awake at least 1/2 the day, eats good. I know there are ups & downs with all dementia, we’ve seen our fair share. This just seems different. Any one else have experience with this? (This is not about end of life sudden awareness, I understand that too. This is different.
Best of luck to you and dad.
Mom always had a 10-20% uptick in the summer.
I don’t think my brother believes us either.🤪
Since you don't really know exactly what type of dementia he has, it is hard to say what is normal or what is to be expected. Of course, with dementia, every brain is unique, and there is no "normal".
My husband suffered traumatic brain injury as a result of a massive stroke. That was 11 years ago. He was young, only 53. What I was told by nurses and doctors was that although he had a significant loss of brain cells, which were irreparably damaged, that over time new neural connections could form and unused brain cells could "learn" to take the place of some of the damaged brain cells.
Here is what I have seen in him: Initially, after the stroke, he was mostly non-responsive, awake for maybe 15 min a day. That gradually increased. 2 years after the stroke, he was sleeping 18 hours a day, and watching children's movies when he was awake, asking to repeat the same movie over and over again, much like young children do. His language skills were single-word demands, which did not necessarily correspond to what he really wanted. Mostly he yelled "up" - which is understandable, considering he has been bed-bound, and gets anxious and wants out of bed. Or he simply yells for "help".
Now, years later, he sleeps 8 to 10 hours overnight, awake the rest of the day.
He has graduated to reading what is on the TV guide, and requesting what he wants, though he is rarely satisfied with his choice. He still uses one or two words to make requests, but often he uses the wrong word, for instance saying "change it" (TV) when he really wants a drink, or trying to get out of his lift recliner, and yelling for help or yelling "me up!" when he is unsatisfied with what is on the tv.
Every once in a while, out of the blue, he will utter a complete unexpected sentence. It always stops me in my tracks. I get excited and try to talk with him more, but it doesn't last. It was just a one time thing that I have learned to cherish when it happens.
Similar to your dad knowing he is "sick", my husband will sometimes be upset and agitated, and I ask what is wrong. He can't really explain, so I go through a list of questions. Often he points to his head and cries. He has an awareness that his brain doesn't work and he finds it frustrating and scary. He even asked me to take him to the hospital because he thought they could fix his brain.
It’s waste of time and effort to argue with them about what they believe.
And yes...dementia sucks anyway you slice it too.