Mom swings from engaged to zombie

pmantay

Hello all, I’ve been caring for my 91 year old mom with Alzheimer’s for 5 years, along with my sister and a team of in-home PSWs. Over the last 8 months mom will have periods where she is zombie-like, barely awake, sleeps a lot, almost slurs her words, not interested in anything. Then within a week she is back to her Alzheimer’s “normal”, happy and communicative but facts /reality is jumbled. I usually test for UTI when she is in zombie mode, but 9 times out of 10 there’s no UTI. Any advice???

SDianeL

welcome. Sorry about your Mom. The progression of dementia isn’t always downward. There are stair steps, plateaus and moments of more clarity. There is also “showtiming” where they can appear almost normal to others for a short period of time. Someone on this forum posted that their brains are like a wire that has a short in it and sometimes reconnects. Good that you’re testing for UTI when her behaviors are different.

SDianeL

found this online that says it better than I did.

• Alzheimer's disease is characterized by a gradual decline in cognitive abilities over time. 
• However, some individuals may experience periods of apparent stability or even improvement before the disease progresses further. 
• These fluctuations can be confusing, but it's important to remember that the overall trajectory of Alzheimer's is one of decline.