Do falls exacerbate Alzheimers?

LizDIL

My MIL with Alzheimers fell recently, about 2 weeks ago. We found her on the floor by her bed and she had been there for hours. She could not get herself up. Nothing was broken, she was just embarrassed and mad at herself. She also had Covid at this time.

She has recovered nicely from Covid but her depression and dementia have plummeted. She has barely gotten out of bed. When she does, she just goes to the recliner, turns on the tv, and sleeps. I can’t motivate her to do anything!

is this normal behavior after a fall even when she didn’t hurt herself? Will she recover from this depression and apathy with time or did the fall truly exacerbate the dementia?

Thank you all.

jfkoc

I do not think the fall had an effect on your mother's dementia.

That said, I had a fall 2 months ago and while there was no physical injury and I was able to figure out a way to get up it was some time before I felt back to normal, Maybe it is mild PTSD,

Please get a medical device for your mother which will take care of notifying others in case of a fall or just if she feels sick.

LizDIL

Thank you! Yes, looking into that now.

M1

Remember covid can also exacerbate dementia. Probably only time will tell whether she will bounce back at all.

harshedbuzz

@LizDIL

I think sometimes that this can be a chicken vs egg situation.

It could be that the progression of the disease that is causing the increased apathy and sleep you are seeing also caused the fall and inability to get off the floor after.

A case of COVID typically lowers a PWD's baseline for function. Sometimes they do bounce back to near their previous level, sometimes not.

HB

susan1955

My mother, who has vascular dementia, has 2 bad falls. Both time her dementia worsened. This was confirmed by her doctor. He said any trauma, whether physical or emotional, will make dementia worse.

​fesk

I would think either Covid or the fall could either cause a progression or worsening that may lessen in time (return to baseline). Was she checked out after the fall to ensure there were no injuries or that she didn't hit her head? Has she had bloodwork/urinalysis recently?

It's been my experience that with each illness or event, there is somewhat of a progression.