Frozen in time for a minute

PattiRN2 · August 12

I would appreciate any insight into this issue. My DH and I returned from a night flight Portland Oregon to Philadelphia, PA after seeing family for a week. Two days later he awoke around 7am as usual talking about going for a bike ride. Suddenly his body seemed to freeze, arms in mid-air for about a minute. He was staring ahead, non-verbal and began wandering around the room then going down the steps to the kitchen.

I gently guided him to the kitchen chair and he had no idea what he was supposed to do. He would walk across the kitchen then walk back to me hugging and saying I love you. He repeated this same behavior with same intonation three times.

I sat him down and offered him coffee. He had a strange passive smile, his arms were crossed and appeared to be pill rolling, nodded his head he wanted coffee. I pushed the cup closer to him but he didn’t understand what to do. I put the cup to his lips and he drank. The whole episode lasted 20 minutes and he is back to his baseline. He is diagnosed Alzheimer’s and I think stage 5/6 but he fluctuates in cognitive abilities throughout the day.

Has anyone else experienced this?

SDianeL · August 12

my DH did something similar. He would go into what I described as a trance. Almost like sleep walking. He would not talk or acknowledge me at all. The episodes lasted from a few minutes to hours. He also had 2 episodes where his blood pressure spiked extremely high and he had sweating, nausea & dizziness. The first time it happened I just sent his doctor a message. She said if it happened again to have him transported to the ER. The next time it happened I called 911 and they admitted him and ran every test in the book and found nothing. After he went into MC his blood pressure and blood sugar could not be controlled on medication and insulin. I think it was due to Alzheimer’s being in the part of his brain that controls those things. Seizures are also common in dementia.

PattiRN2 · August 12

Thank you for sharing. It’s very helpful to hear similar stories to mine. I’m wondering how often this will happen but I guess no one knows. I’ve shared this story with my ALZ zoom support group and several mentioned Lewy Body or a mix of the two. He has very clear days mentally and verbally and other days its word salad and deep confusion. It fluctuates each day and within the day. I never know who I’m talking to at a given moment. But maybe it doesn’t matter that much? So sad.

Maru · August 12

Sounds like petit mal seizures. I was with my granddaughter while she had one. Since seizures are a brain caused event, it makes perfect sense.

midge333 · August 12

I agree this could be an atypical seizure. My DW has had two events where her eyes were open but she was unresponsive. She couldn't speak or follow commands. Within an hour she was back to baseline. We are not pursuing any diagnostic work up because she is in the latter stages.

Bestillmylove · August 12

This has been happening with my husband. At first I thought it was his blood sugar or blood pressure. I started checking both when it was happening and all was perfect.

This morning, he came upstairs and got me as I was getting ready for work. When we came down the steps he could barely put one foot in front of another. I got him to the Kitchen counter and sat him down. I handed him his pills and his hand just started shaking, he had no idea what to do with the pills. He had tears running down his face. I finally gently pushed his hand up to his mouth and hand him water and he swallowed them. He continued to stare in space for another couple of minutes. Then he was fine.

The neurologist from John Hopkins wants him to have updated MRI imaging to compare to prior imaging.

I personally think it is the Alzheimer's. He is progressing at a fast past with EOA.

Frozen in time for a minute

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