[dd74]

Sorry to hear this.

I've been through this with my MIL. It's not fun at all. She's a Wyoming cowgirl, head-strong, etc., and wouldn't accept the fact something wasn't right with her - which turned out to be Alzheimer's.

All I can tell you is you have to be firm and not let the disease get ahead of you.

Almost immediately we had to take away the MIL's car because she would get lost driving in Los Angeles on her way up to the Hollywood Hills where she lived.

Living at home by herself lasted only a short period of time. We hired live-in help who proceeded to steal her jewelry, others who did nothing other than drink her liquor and eat her food, plus it's easy to get lost up around Lake Hollywood and near the H'Wood Sign. So when we finally committed her to a home, things became better, though exponentially more expensive.

As to the doctor: how do you know it's Dementia and not Alzheimer's? I'm not certain there's a significant real-world difference between the two. You should ask.

One test I know they give potential Alzheimer's sufferers is a test where one counts back from 49 by seven. Sounds elementary, but supposedly a patient will invariably lose their way, forget why they're doing this, and therein give a sign that something is wrong. If there were meaningful treatments, we would have tried them, but I'm afraid there are none of any significance.

You have to be patient, but direct and no cowing. We faced a degenerative disease. In very little time, on many levels, we were dealing with a 70+ year-old child.