DH has the flu

KathyF1

My husband is stage 6. Started coughing, fever- I took him to the urgent care today, yes he has the flu. It seems his dementia has gotten so much worse when he started showing flu symptoms. I’ve heard that can happen. He has had 2 bowel accidents today, very unstable on his feet, talking to himself. The dr said the “instant” decline is temporary. Has anyone experienced this?

White Crane

Not with the flu, but with pneumonia. So far, he has been able to come back to baseline after each bout . I hope your husband can do the same thing.

Carl46

Yes, with urinary tract infection and with cellulitis. More experienced members of the group have suggested that any sudden decline in mental function is cause for a test for UTI.

WIGO23

Even if my DH has indigestion, not even a full blown illness, he decompensates until he feels better. Any change in our routine or his health throws him. Even when he recognizes he has made a mistake, he decompensates into to fidgeting, repetitive talking and general anxiety.

He has, to this point, returned to prior functioning levels once the status quo is achieved. Will this always be the case? Who knows? The only thing I know is that nothing is predictable with this disease.

Bunny whisperer

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/72426/dh-has-the-flu

My DH is sick and in the 7th stage of alzheimers but has covid and the decline is so bad. I took him to ER but no one told me his decline was temporary, but I did read where some of it can be reversed after an illness.

Jazzma

My DH had a serious decline while he was in the ER with pneumonia. Bad enough that he had to go to memory care, though I had been taking care of him up to that point. The decline reversed some over time, and with better balancing of medications he's been able to come back home after a year. I've heard of 'hospital dementia,' which makes sense, but in our case it lasted long after the hospital stay.

midge333

You can have delirium from an acute illness that is superimposed on their existing dementia. It is usually reversible when the acute illness resolves.

KathyF1

Thank you all, after just one day on the flu meds he’s back to where he was before. The sharp decline when he had a fever was drastic. I’ve been trying to plan on keeping him at home with me. This made me wonder if he’ll be like that as he progresses. Bowel incontinent, resisted clean up, shaky on his feet. It was really hard for 2 days for me to care for him. I’m wondering if I need to look into memory cares in case I’m not able to care for him at some point.

midge333

Even if you plan to keep him at home you should have a fully developed "Plan B" in case it becomes too much or something happens to you. Visit 4 or 5 MC facilities and get on waiting lists at 2 or 3.