We believe my father suffered a mini-stroke on Wednesday. My husband found him on his carpetted hallway. He initially had trouble moving his right leg, and walking. He has been diagnosed with the Early stage of Altzheimers by his Pyschiatrist. Dad will not leave his house so we don't have a thorough understanding of whether he had a stroke or not, but he has been improving since Wednesday; though he is now very weak.

When he eats, he seems to become more disoriented afterwards, and my husband has noticed increased confusion and lack of vocabulary afterwards. Is this part of the Altzheimers? Or, could it be something else? He has been on Aricept, which the doctor instructed us to take him off of because dad is now incontinent.

Any information would be appreciated.

Has he seen a doctor? Was it a mini stroke? Has he been checked for Urinary Tract Infection? If he hasn't it needs to be done, also make sure they take a culture on UTI.
UTI causes confustion, not able to walk, incontinent, etc.
My husband went through similar things as your dad, and it was UTI plus cholesterol medication that caused him to have all these symptoms. I also thought it was a stroke and they took a cat scan. Cat scam showed no stroke. He was in the hospital twice within a Month with UTI. His doing so much better. They took so many other test. He was given 10 day treatments for antibiotics, but not until they used I.V. with antibioltics did it clear. Infection went through blood stream.
I took him to the hospital (E.R) because they do a more thorugh job.
Even if it isn't UTI when you see something unusal have them check for UTI because Alzheimers do get this alot.
My husband is on antibiotics for six Months to prevent from getting it again.
Hope you solve his problem. God Bless!
Hope

One more thing. You said he is in early stages and he is incontinent? They need to check this out more thoroughly. I would think it is too early to be incontinent.
Has he seen a Neurologist? They specializes on Alzheimers Disease.
Good Luck!
Hope

Get him to the Dr even if he doesnt wsnt to.He NEEDS to be checked out ASAP!

Dad is in the hospital now. We got him in today. They are evaluating him. All signs point to a stroke, but we are not sure of the severity yet.

It has been a very hard time.

Wendy

Wendy, my thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family for Dad's recovery. Just wanted you to know that while this is a difficult time for you, he is in good hands at the hospital. This is the time for you to take care of you. Hugs coming your way.

Nan2

Thank you very much for the hugs and prayers. I certainly could stand a lot of them these days. Tests are being run. At the moment, we still don't know the results.

I am hopeful, but realistic to dad's age. Of course, 51 more years would still not be enough with the father I have had.

Wendy

Dear Wendy,

What a scary and challenging time for your family. It sounds like your dad is going through some serious changes, which may or may not be related to Alzheimer's disease. I have not heard for disorientation problems after eating related to Alzheimer’s disease, but there could be another cause to this. This may be medication related, or perhaps his blood sugar levels are changing. While he is being evaluated please do not hesitate to tell the professionals of this significant change. They may be able to test him for diabetes. If he is already diabetic, it may be a medication management issue. Many times person in the early stages of dementia can forget or not recall if they have taken their medication.

Strokes and cognitive/physical changes often go hand in hand. After the evaluation in the hospital I encourage your family to set up an appointment to see a neurologist who specializes in Dementia and strokes. The hospital staff may help make recommendations to such professionals. It will be important to continue to follow up with the neurologist.

Wendy, please know you can call us anytime and talk more about what you are going through. If you have any questions about dementia and strokes, or what to do next we can help. Call us 800.272.3900.

Bests,