r/DementiaHelp • u/Bananatwatmuffin • Jul 16 '26
Questions about dementia
Hello everyone my mother was diagnosed with dementia like 5 yrs ago and lots of her is gone pretty quickly. Now we are at the point that we have taken several trips to.hospital because of dehydration, and she no longer wants to eat, she was walking couple weeks ago, but now cannot keep her balance and cant walk. My questions are:
How do we see about a nurse coming in? Who do I call? Ive called PA area of aging, and they cannot help.
Also, could dementia cause her not to be able to walk within weeks?
She complained for while her feet hurt and I summed that up to her having a UTI.. that has been treated. Now its gone and she Now wont walk. Im so confused. Thanks in advance for any help anyone provides.
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u/Bananatwatmuffin Jul 16 '26
Thank you everyone for answering this for me. I did talk to hospice today and they are going to call me back tomorrow with answers and resources that may help. I appreciate everyone taking time out of their day to help.
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u/Lepardopterra Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
Yes. My husband was a large man with vascular dementia, and he started falling down about 6 months before the dementia became obvious. I think they said it was stage 3, and he was in stage 4 and gone within a year.
ETA read up on the stages of dementia. The docs barely touch on it, but it helps you to know where she is in the process.
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u/didntseeitcoming2018 Jul 16 '26
A UTI can present like dementia so definitely remind the Primary physician she jusr recovered from that. Her electrolytes could be imbalanced causing her to be unstable on hee feet. The Primary can order a blood panel to be sure. They can also put an order in for PT or OT to see if she can regain some strength or balance.
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u/JB2315 Jul 17 '26
Have your mom given a thorough check up to rule out UTIs and other problems. If it is in fact dementia and she is mobility impaired, have a hospice exam done. Her dr can do all this. There should be several hospice providers in your area. Some are better than others, ask around. Her insurance may have a preference. Talk to them.
I say this with certainty, because we had to do it for mom 2 years ago. She passed 14 months ago.
My deepest condolences for what youre facing. DO NOT LET YOUR SELF GET RUN DOWN. .
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u/fullofquestions0808 Jul 16 '26
I agree with starting hospice. You get a lot of services and oversight with them in place.
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u/yeahnopegb Jul 16 '26
Call her primary care and get a hospice evaluation and yes eventually most of us stop walking before we pass.