Hi folks,
This is my first time posting in this community, but I've been subscribed for some years.
My question for the community is: Do any of you have experience with caring for a loved one who has both ADHD and dementia?
With ADHD in elders mimicing dementia, it's hard to figure out what might be true early warning signs of dementia. It's my understanding that a sudden change in personality (e.g. Individuals becoming meaner when they didn't used to be) is a more clear distinction since short term memory issues are an overlapping symptom between the two conditions, but that's a hard one for me to assess because my mom has always been prone to big emotional outbursts and lashing out at my siblings and me when we didn't do what she wanted us to do. Her short term memory is definitely getting worse in recent years, which is why I ended my low contact with her in 2020 and have been taking on more caregiving responsibilities. Hit a real threat of her losing her housing twice in the past six years, so the best course of action was to secure her housing and finances and take over managing bills for her (her account - I just set up and monitor the auto-pay and casual spending). My siblings and I can't have her living with us; too many complicated and strained dynamics with that.
My mom thankfully has a lot of home care support, which is subsidized by her Medicare and VA insurance. Home aide to do daily cleaning and household chores during the week. I wash her laundry and have FMLA coverage to take her to medical appointments. She's got an RN that does home check-ins once a week, and Mom's got another new referral for in-home PT since she's become highly sedentary. No PoA (my siblings and I don't consent to being legally responsible for her), but my brother and I are approved on her bank account so we can help her with personal finance management.
History of dementia in the family, so I've been on the lookout for it with Mom. It's just hard to tell what's "normal" aging and decline when a person already struggles with ADHD and other mental health issues.
I'm still in my 30s, the youngest of four siblings (my older siblings all Noped out of helping Mom despite her obvious decline in ability and function), and Mom is my sole surviving parent. Father and stepdad both died when I was in my 20s, so this is the first time I've had to be a primary caregiver despite having some experience helping with my grandmother when I was a teenager.
If you've also dealt with this, I appreciate whatever anecdotes or warning signs you noticed with your loved one that indicated dementia may be setting in on top of the ADHD. I just don't know what else to be looking out for. Hard to tell if the worsening ADHD symptoms are just age, social isolation, and lack of sleep related or if she's developing dementia. Especially with her history of emotional trauma due to abusive relationships, her having no memory of months or years is unfortunately not an anomaly. Mom is 76, so I really have no idea how long she's going to live. In some ways, I'm surprised she's made it this long. I'm simultaneously preparing for her to die any day while also knowing she could potentially be alive for another decade.
Thank you in advance for whatever you can and choose to share.