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She has started to add more and more false memories to a piece of truth so the whole story is changed. This is mainly around very recent things but recently has been fully made up stories.
I'm worried that she is slipping into a completely made up world and will forget me. This is what frightens me the most 🙁.
She is also falling asleep when sat quietly

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My mom {LBD} has been doing that for 3 years. She tells a story and it has wrong years, wrong child or not the city she lived in. Now she sometimes looks at me but I know she is not sure of my name. I just go into her world and let it be. Hurts me but I do not want her upset. Nasty disease.
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AngieWareham: This is known as confabulation and the 'making up of stories' is common in patients with dementia. Hugs sent for this most difficult of times.

Confabulation: to fill in gaps in memory by fabrication.
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Short-term memory loss is when you forget things you heard, saw, or did recently. It’s a normal part of getting older for many people. But it can also be a sign of a deeper problem, such as dementia, a brain injury, or a mental health issue.
Short-term memory is how your brain stores small amounts of information it’s just taken in. To scientists, short-term memory is often divided between working memory and short-term memory. People typically talk about short-term memory without making such distinctions.
Matilda
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Contact / google TEEPA SNOW.
She is one of the country's leading experts on dementia.
They / staff will offer support / answer your questions.

Gena / Touch Matters
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I can't speak to what stage your mum is in, but I can recognize the fear and sadness in your question. I think many of us have been there. My dad developed vascular dementia after a stroke. I've received some counseling along the way that has helped. One is that at some point, the dementia patient no longer remembers the content of visits, but remembers the emotions. So now I focus on just making my time with him as peaceful, supportive, and positive as possible. I dreaded the day that Dad no longer knew who I was. But when the day came -- and it did -- I was comforted by the fact that he still sees me as someone positive in his life, and he's always happy to see me. That took some of the pain away. That's not always the case, of course. Sometimes, you can be the best caregiver in the world and your loved one's disease will cause their brain to view you with suspicion or hostility. All you can do is your best, and be sure to continue to reach out to people for support. This entire process is hard. Our thoughts are with you and your mum.

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I would not say that my mother has dementia, but her once excellent memory is fading. Others are impressed with her detailed memory, but I know that sometimes her detailed stories are not true. Usually true stories with details changed, or events that involved one person now has the wrong person substituted.
My mother took care of my grandmother who did have dementia for years. She gradually forgot everyone and feared the day she would forget my mother because I knew it would be so upsetting for my mom. She didn't totally forget her until the very end.
Every person is different. This is so very difficult for you, but as long as you can make her comfortable and cared for to the extent possible that is all that you can do.
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P00ped Feb 2023
Yes, my mom has started down this garden path. She tells stories about things that happened and has some rather "hot takes" on a lot of events. I know these are distortions, but in her mind, that's exactly how it happened. Occasionally I make the mistake of "googling it" and am met with a fiery, tearful, "you're trying to destroy me/make me wrong" response. Sometimes I have to remember, she's 90. Is it hurting her to have these beliefs, or can I smile and nod? Wayne Dyer used to say when you have the choice between being right and being kind, choose kind. It is a daily practice.
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Has your mom been diagnosed with dementia? If so, you have to understand she cannot help what is happening. Many with dementia have delusions and/or hallucinations. You cannot see and feel what they see and feel. Just go along with whatever she says. Her reality has changed and you cannot bring her back. Acknowledge what she is saying and then change the subject to something that makes her happy, like food or favorite drink. However, have her checked for UTI or a medication that is contributing to her behavior.
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My dad started having “memories” that we knew were totally false about 5 years before he died. He had vascular dementia. I learned during that time that different types of dementia progress differently. Hopefully your mom’s doctor can give you answers as to where you are in the process.
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If your mother has any of the forms of Dementia, then yes, she will start to forget.

Hallucinatons, delusions, agitation, sundowning, and many other symptoms are all part of the disease. She will forget you, so prepare for that now.

However, this does not necessarily mean that it is the end stage. Many Dementia patients live for twenty years after diagnosis. So, be prepared.

For support, you should join the Alzheimer's Dementia Caregiver's FB Support Group. You can vent there without any judgment. You can also read about caregiver's real-life experiences with the disease:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/dementiacaregiversupportgroup/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT
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The last stage involves no talking at all.

Enjoy her where she’s at as much as you can.

if this bothers and hurts you, try to fill your time together with activities that require mental distraction so she won’t slip into the storytelling.

i know you are wishing for the past, but in the future you will wish for this past and you may even remember this as endearing.
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Helenn Feb 2023
You’re so right !
you have to slip into their world !
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Forgetting a loved ones face occurs more with Alzheimer's Disease than any of the other dementias. My mother was 95 with advanced dementia and still knew my face AND my name right till the bitter end. She insisted my husbands name was Angelo, though, and its Chuck 🤣 and furtermore, he has kind of a forgettable face. 😂

You cant point to any one thing that defines "last stage dementia." Dementia and AD does not kill a person, per se, but can create a scenario where it's ripe for mom to aspirate liquid into her lungs and die that way, because her brain has forgotten how to swallow. So your mom needs to have health issues going on along with progressing dementia in order to reckon last stage is at play. Mom would either be bedbound now, or seriously in need of help with ALL activities of daily life.

Here is an article on the subject:

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/symptoms-and-diagnosis/how-dementia-progresses/later-stages-dementia

You can also get mom a hospice evaluation if you think it would be helpful.

Best of luck to you
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If your Mom has dementia it will progress. A good friend has a mom now who doesn't recognize her other than rarely. She remains devoted, visiting her frequently, going to lunch, to have their nails done, bringing her quilts she made long ago, sharing albums with her and in general loving her. As to how long these stages last, that is all guesswork and numbers and has nothing to do with real life for you. Know that your Mom's made up world is her world now, different from yours, but a world nonetheless. I wish you luck. I am so sorry you are going through this.
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Mom is not lying. Its her brain that is confusing reality, TV and dreams. It can no longer differentiate between the 3. Those with Dementia IMO go back in time. They lose long-term memory as time goes on. Someone asked Mom how her kids were doing and she look at the women indignantly and said "I have no children". I was standing right there. She remembered me and my youngest brother but not the two in the middle. She forgot my Dad. Mom could have memories from her childhood she is remembering you have no knowledge of.

My mother too saw a little girl. I would here her say the little girl had to be good or I would holler at her. She always disappeared when I entered the room. Dr said if she does not get upset don't worry about it.
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I’m so sorry that you are struggling with this situation. Please know that this isn’t uncommon.

My mother started seeing a young girl in her dreams. I have no clue as to who this little girl was.

Then mom said that she saw this child when she was awake. She had conversations with her. She wasn’t frightened by her at all. In fact, she seemed comforted by her. I just listened as she spoke at length about this child.

Mom’s hospice caregivers said that instances like my mom was having happened very often.

Wishing you peace as you continue on in your caregiving journey.
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My mother invented her imaginary husband right after my dad died and kept him going for another 2 1/2 years.

As he had been her real boyfriend when she was 16, eventually they went backward (in her mind) from being two elderly people who got together again after 75 years to two 16-year-olds in school. Because she didn't have a daughter at 16 -- and certainly not a 60-year-old one! -- I was forgotten as far as our relationship to one another, but she always knew my name and that I was a friendly face who treated her like a very close relative.

So, yes, in one way she forgot me, but only because I didn't fit into her imaginary world quite properly. It was OK, and honestly, I wasn't as upset by it as I thought I'd be. I knew she loved me, whoever I was.

As my mom used to joke long before dementia was a part of her life, "I'll never forget Ol' Whatshername!"
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Confabulation is very common and not last stage. I think of it like this - they can no longer differentiate between the things they find in their brain - thoughts, ideas, memories, dreams - they're all the same and mix together to make a good story. They have no clue that they are doing this and are not purposely lying.

Some day she may forget you but I bet that is a long way down the road. I wouldn't bother being scared about it as it may or may not happen. And if/when it does, just accept it as another part of her decline.

My mom nods off a lot. She doesn't get good sleep due to untreatable sleep apnea. I think it's very common and probably nothing to worry about.

Best of luck.
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I have found this to be more at the early stages, not the latter. Yes, most likely she will forget who you are, could be years, so now is not the time to be afraid it is the time to prepare yourself, accept what you cannot change.

Old people fall asleep in chairs a lot, this is not only a dementia thing.

There is no reason to start the what if's, that will not change anything and only add more stress, each case is different and can proceed at a different pace.

My step-mother use to know my and my brother's names, now he is "What's His Name" and I am "Elaine", which is not my name. We both just shrugged it off and went forward. She does recognize us, for now, who knows what tomorrow will bring? Whatever, it is we will deal with it.

Good Luck!
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Hi Angie
Do a little research on confabulation to better understand what your mom might be experiencing. You can find quiet a bit online.
In my experience with family members it seemed to me confabulation was near the beginning or just some of the first symptoms noticed. As the memory continues to fade it seems the subconscious need to fill in the gaps seems to also fade.
Usually, again…just my experience, forgetting others happens slowly and they generally know those they see often. Others, not so much, as time goes by.
There are many types of dementia and other issues that can cause confabulation.
Has your mom been tested by a neurologist? That might be helpful for you.
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AngieWareham Feb 2023
Thank you 😊.
Its difficult to watch mum disappear.
She's been going downhill for a while, her short term memory has been dwindling away. Since Christmas Mum's decline has been quite rapid tho. Haven't had the confabulation so completely until now. Mum has been doing so on and off but there was a lot of truth and recognition until this week. I can only explain it as mums living with no reality except hers.
It all of a sudden feels really real.
Mum was diagnosed 12 months ago but was showing signs for about 5 years. The clinic had said that the most recent fall in June, which led to mum coming to live with me, had caused another bleed so it couldn't be medicated.
Mum and I laugh everyday and everyday is definitely an adventure 🥰
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