Hi Michele,
I'm glad you found the suggestions helpful, hopefully, they will make things easier for the two of you.
The dr who originally dx my DM w/ AD wasn't her regular dr. She was the one on call in the hosp when my was rushed there one time. She didn't know her at all and was rather snippy w/ my mother. Not a good idea! She was later dx w/ dementia by a neurologist. A lot of the symptoms are very similar. The dr believes this started when my DM had a stroke, which she had after coming home from the hospital to have her 1st pacemaker put in. She has a hard time w/ her bladder control. She never had that before. She held off using Depends for a long time. She had her own little Sr house, didn't want to live w/ anyone. about the time she had her 2nd pacemaker, she got extremely upset about living on her own. She does have Depression, anxiety, and no interest in meeting new ppl, the family is as much as she has interest in.
She can't follow the steps for cooking anymore, would forget she had something in the oven or microwave, the smoke detector would go off and the fire truck would come. She was mortified. She gets stubborn about taking a shower, sometimes. My mother would read 5 newspapers a day, now not interested. Loved crossword puzzles and playing cards, now can't follow all the steps. She will repeat herself on occassions. She will tell you a story she told 1/2 hr ago, not all the time, she will even ask, 'Did I tell you that before?' She can't write for long, she used to have such beautiful handwriting, now very childlike. She hasn't been able to write cks or keep a ck book for awhile.
She know all her children, in laws, grands and greats. She knows anniversaries and b/d for children, my DH and the grands - all 13 of them. She always remembers my phone #, I've had it for over 30 yrs and I can't change it - for the simple reason, it is the only # all my family can remember. lol
I have a very dear friend (we were raised as cousins) her DM and my DM were BFF since grade school. This woman has been dx w/ AD and it is about 8 yrs w/ this dx. She is in worse shape than my mother. She is in her early 60's. She knows her children, but not sure of her grands.
My DM is on Aricept, dr said either AD or vascular dementia would benefit from using this med. I know my mother was extremely upset to be told she has AD, but handled the dx of dementia much better. She can be extremely sharp and like her old self. Then she has days where she gets confused, not all day but for periods of a day.
If you and your father aren't sure or comfortable w/ the dx, maybe another evaluation would help to define what is going on w/ your father. Maybe another dr, neurologist or such. I wish you luck w/ your father. He is lucky to have such a loving daughter in his corner. You are both in my thoughts and prayers.
God bless. Alice.