The Lemon Fool

I'm a bit spooked. My mother in law was talking with her three daughters on a WhatsApp group chat today.
(Doubt it's relevant but the three daughters (one being my wife) are in three separate countries.)

My wife - let's call her Christine for convenience - said something like, "Mum, the weather's getting a bit colder.now." Her Mum then replied that she has a daughter with the same name, but she's in America now.

This freaked the three girls out, as my wife talks to her a couple of times a day, and my wife currently is in the UK. In addition, she didn't seem to realize that the other two girls were her daughters, the tone was as if they were all acquaintances. She'd kind of lost her place- markers, I feel.

To me, it seemed like how I've heard Alzheimers described. Apparently she has had blank moments like this before, which tend to fade away smoothly and quite quickly.

Does this sound like Alz onset? I hope not, as another scary thought, is that I'm actually a year older than my MIL ... There but for the grace of God go I, etc.

It's shaken me up, both for her, and also for the realization that I potentially am in the same risk area, as our ages are similar.

This could get really weird too, as - despite me being a year older than her - my wife and I both call her Mum. If her faculties are failing, there's gonna be some interesting attempted explanations of who's who, and our relationships, to look forward to.

Fortunately, she's shortly going to visit her son and daughter in law, in Germany, for a few months. Her daughter in law works in a hospital, so we all anticipate her getting great care, diagnosis and treatment while she's there.

Anyone already dealt with such a situation, and got any tips and suggestions please?

NomoneyNohoney wrote:To me, it seemed like how I've heard Alzheimers described. Apparently she has had blank moments like this before, which tend to fade away smoothly and quite quickly.

Does this sound like Alz onset? I hope not, as another scary thought, is that I'm actually a year older than my MIL ... There but for the grace of God go I, etc.
..

Anyone already dealt with such a situation, and got any tips and suggestions please?

I'm sure this is obvious, but she does need to see a Dr.
Less obvious is that, as I understand it, this sort of problem can be caused by lots of other things. Some of which respond to known treatments.

I had a very weird experience with an elderly friend who seemed confused and it turned out to be a UTI. She was put on antibiotics and is now fine.

Best wishes, Steve

Steveam wrote:I had a very weird experience with an elderly friend who seemed confused and it turned out to be a UTI. She was put on antibiotics and is now fine.

Best wishes, Steve

I'd forgotten about that - we had the same with both sets of parents, very disconcerting. Somethimes the antibiotics given weren't enough either. More disturbing was that the carers hadn't noticed, as to us who only went a couple of times a week there was a fairly obvious clue when you walked in

Paul

I also know of someone who was getting very confused, turning up for things on the wrong day, forgetting who people were. He went (was taken by a friend) to the GP and it turned out that he had a brain tumour. It was operable and he was fine after the surgery (well, after the recovery obviously).

Steveam wrote:I had a very weird experience with an elderly friend who seemed confused and it turned out to be a UTI. She was put on antibiotics and is now fine.

Best wishes, Steve

What is a UTI?

Steve

Urinary tract infection. I'd rather it was that, than a brain tumour.

NomoneyNohoney wrote:Urinary tract infection. I'd rather it was that, than a brain tumour.

Or dementia, an answer that a qualified medical professional should be able to answer. Which makes seeing one a good suggestion.

Loup321 wrote:It was operable and he was fine after the surgery (well, after the recovery obviously).

Not all brain tumours are.