My Dad was diagnosed with Dementia a few years ago, his doctor tested him and he also had CT scans and an MRI which showed brain atrophy.

You should know that Dementia comes in many forms and you could have 30 Dementia patieints in one room and none of them will all show the same symptoms.

There are some common ones however like locking a door and then they check it again sometimes several times to make sure it is locked.

Sometimes unreasonable worry like my Dad would lay awake all night worrying about the natural gas pill on the side of the building maybe blowing up or something.

One thing he did was to have difficulty sleeping and having thoughts running through his head all night long.

he would also set his alarm clock to get the news paper as soon as it came, premake his coffee and place what he would eat for breakfast on the table and then go back to sleep and get up later on normally.

His main issues turned into judgment issues which resulted in our talking him out of driving a car any longer after a few traffic island crossovers and blowing out his tires.

He had common sense issues and did not become forgetful so remember that .... many forms of Dementia exist.

he is now 81 and in a nursing home and can barely walk, he can no longer go to the bathroom by himself and now has difficulty speaking.

he is NOT forgetful still though lately he cannot recognize his own bed in there.

He does not have much time left and I visit him everyday and have since he went in there.

i was his live in caregiver for the last two years so I know how hard this can be for someone taking care of someone else who needs help. It would be so much easier dealing with someone who just needs help with physical things but throw in the dementia and cripes, what a nightmare to deal with.

I understand completely.

be strong and get to a doctor to evaluate exactly what this problem is.

Also as a side note be sure to make arrangements to acquire power of attorney for whomever they choose as the person to take care of them to make medical and financial decisions. The medical POA is the easiest to get and many hospitals have a Notary available and the paperwork to get this done.

My Dad right now has the mental capacity of a 5 year old and this was one of the best things I ever did while he was still there enough to decide for himself. it is probably the most important thing to have done when the time comes because eventually they will not be able to make their own decisions so you need this done before that happens because they need to be of sound mind to even make this happen.

good luck and best wishes in finding out what this is.