My mother was diagnosed with vascular dementia 4 weeks ago, until then, everything was fine. She is deteriorating dailey. Now she only talks about the devil and asks me to pray for dead relatives. She is argumentative and is refusing to eat. Has anyone experienced anything like this? She has an appt. with a psychiatrist next Friday, but I fear it may be too late. We don't know what to do.

Has she seen a neurologist?

don't give up! there are meds that will help...sometimes it is trial and error and you have to keep trying till you get the right med and the right dosage...You and your family are in my prayers...

Sudden confusion and very rapid mental changes would make me want her evaluated by her MD. I would take her to see her internst Monday or to the ER. Rule out other causes for this rapid change.

Olibraz,
Unless your Mom has a psychiatric history, I would make an appt. on Monday with her medical doctor like vjh recommended! If she continues to spiral down, Take her to your nearest Emergency Dept.!

Good Luck

Peace and Hope,

Forget the physciatrist!!!! Get her into the "Nuerologist". If the nuerologist can't or won't do anything,,then get her to her Primary Care Dr. He should be able to prescribe the proper meds to alleviate her obsession with the devil and the dead!!

A physciatrist will simply do nothing except bilk the insurance company out of money,,and have you running her there for appointments,,and giving her the wrong drugs like Prozac and Paxil! How can he possibley "counsel" your Mother and make her see the logic of her actions??? NOT!

Take some deep breath's and call her primary and get her something to help,,,and it will help you also. Peace

I have to admit, I share Raven's "take" on Psychiatrists. My stepmom started with one rather than a Neuro and all he did was throw different pills at her. We don't "DO" Psychiatrists these days.

If she was diagnosed with Vascular Dementia, I'm assuming that the diagnosis was made through a series of tests? If not, you need to discuss this with her neurologist. It sounds as though she may have had some stroke issues lately to cause such a change.

Yeah, I am sorry but I sort of agree. How can someone without the ability to reason give accurate or even thoughtful responses. Other than 'ruling out' psychotic disorders, I'd stick with a GOOD neuro.

We had blood work ordered, and a cat scan and I insisted that she see a neurologist. She was in the rehab section of a nursing facility, when one day she just started talking funny and acting confused. It has gone down hill from there. the neurologist wasn't with her 30 seconds until she said that she knew what it was, VD. Said it is what older people called hardening of the arteries, little mini strokes that caused damaged in the front of the brain affecting memory, reasoning, logic. She forgot how to use the toilet--the steps to take. Now, she escaped from the nh last night and they are moving her to a more secure area. She is on aggrenox and they started her on excelon. She is agitated and obsessive about seeing devils and having me pray for dead people (we are not catholic). At first we were hoping it was the steroids that she had started to take for ulcerative colitis, and the UTI and pneumonia she had. This all started 1/3/08 when she had a hip replacement. She was in 3 different hospitals before she finally got well enough to go to rehab. Now they tell me she won't ever come home. Before this happened, she could have balanced her check book to the penny. My sister was supposed to take her for an mri to assess the damage, but mom was screaming at her that she was trying to kill her and grabbed the steering wheel and took them off the road. Now we are afraid to get her in a car. The only "test" was a mini mental status test and she scored 15 out of 30. Couldn't draw a clock. It is the most horrible thing we have ever dealt with. We scarecely have the words to explain the despair and heartache.

My heart goes out to you....yes, the disease can progress very rapidly.....they can also have rallies so be prepared for that too...it is like a roller coaster ride--some days "up " and some days "down"....the down times are now coming more often than the up times for my mom...
My prayers are with you and your family.....