We wonder if the combination of going off the Aricept, the cessation of driving and the time change has catapulted her to her current state. Diana has been a professional bus driver in the past, so this was an upsetting change for her. She failed the cognitive and reaction time of the assessment and we had to tell her she could no longer drive due to the liability and test results. Diana had been driving short distances close to home up until this point, with no incidents. The other thing during this past 6 weeks that has taken place was a driving assessment that was recommended by her doctor. She has been unplugging things in her apartment, confusing her television remote with her phone, forgotten how to access phone numbers in her cell phone in order to call us, and frequently is confused as to whether it is day or night. Diana is no longer able to read a clock or tell time. It was around this time that things took a significant downturn. On 11/2 the one hour time change ("fall back") happened. After discussing this several times with her primary doctor and neurologist, the neuro had her weaned off the Aricept on 10/7. ![]() During her time on Aricept, she increasingly complained of having nighttime hallucinations and confusion, believing that there was someone with her in the apartment. We believe this is a result of having been put on 10mg of Aricept and due to the stability and routine of her living situation. In the past year, Diana has adjusted well to her new home, and her cognition has improved somewhat. Upon diagnosis a family decision was made for her to live in an assisted care facility near us. ![]() Her husband had passed away in 2010 and she had been living with a "friend" after that, which is how she was getting by. Diana was living several states away but when she came for a visit in 2013 it was very clear to us that something was wrong, that she was not able to manage her life/finances/health care without assistance. ![]() Diagnosis was just over a year ago, although symptoms had been present for about 4 years prior to that. Our names are Jim and Niki, and our mother/mother in law, Diana, has Alzheimer's.
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