How long can a person live with dementia?

i just went threw this sad road with my mother in law last yr and this yr i have been going threw it again with my own father ... it sucks more than anything , just take one day at a time , every day is different for them u never really know what u are walking into . There really is no time set in stone we just take things as they come and try to be strong for them , thats all we can do really

A person can live for many years with dementia. It will usually go to a point where they actually forget how to swallow and you will find them taking chewed food from their mouths and placing it on the table. Unless they get an intervention like tube feedings it is usually not long after this starts happening you will see a big decline. Then it becomes an ethical issue of whether or not you want to try tube feedings and a quality of life issue but many times they will just keep pulling out the tubes. Unfortunately it is usually the lack of nutrition that takes its toll. It is a very sad disease. Parents who dont recognize their own children etc. It is a very hard illness to cope with.

A person can live for several years with dementia. There are a lot of medications out there to help with this. The problem is usually trying to get the person to take them. My mother has the beginning signs of this disease, but it is very difficult to talk to her about it. This is a woman who has always worked and been very proud of her career and family life. Everyone goes to my parents house for all of the holidays. Last Christmas we were opening gifts and my mom whispered to me, who is --- and I said, it's your granddaughter mom. She didn't say anything else about it. But that is just one example of what she is doing lately. It's so very difficult to realize that this beautiful woman who is my mother and I've always looked to her for support, will now need mine and doesn't even know it. Approach them with kindness and dignity. It's a long and emotional road. Good luck and God Bless NIK