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(((((hugs))))) In the progression of her vascular dementia my mother went through a period like that and it was very stressful, even though I am a distance caregiver. Is it time to consider placing her in a facility? Would your bro be helpful in this? You have to take care of yourself.
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You poor thing... just reading that gave me chills.

My mom with dementia had bronchitis last year and was staying at my house and she turned into this scary zombie.. and I hate to say this but I also was uncomfortable being alone with her.

Both my parents have dementia and have seen any illness... especially an infection really change their behavior for the worse. So far once the infection or illness improves, their behavior has improved as well.

Nobody should have to be scared and alone like that.

((hugs))
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Of course you don't know what to do! There are well-trained and experienced professionals who don't always know what to do with dementia behaviors. But at this point they may be in a better situation than you are to provide the level of care your mother needs.

I'd start with a medical exam. My husband's dementia symptoms always got worse with any kind of illness. He never had a uti, but a cough or constipation -- any change in his health -- could trigger new behaviors. And a uti can cause scary symptoms even in people who don't have dementia. So, a medical exam is first.

But if this is a progression of her dementia and getting an infection cleared up isn't going to improve things, then considering a different level of care for her might be best for her, and for you.
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Definitely check her for UTI. You can buy the azo test strips at the drug store just to see how she tests before calling her doctor for an appointment and telling them about her new behavior. You mentioned your brother...can you ask him to help out while the normal aides are sick? And if she’s having that much care, it may be time to look into memory care.
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Carema, oh my gosh, I couldn't imagine being a caregiver for a parent who would verbally scare the living daylights out of me.

One thing I was thinking, maybe your Mother has an Urinary Tract Infection as that can cause an elder to act out. Let's hope it is something as simple as that.

Otherwise, Mom might need to be moved to Memory Care. Would she have enough to budget Assisted Living/Memory Care? Such places average around $7k per month.

If not, then Mom would need to go the Medicaid [which is different from Medicare] route, where Medicaid will help pay for all of your Mom's care in a nursing home. But please note, that Medicaid can plan a lien on Mom's house [if she owns it] to help pay for reimbursement of Medicaid's costs.
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