Hello,
I am writing in be half of my family to try and help my Grandmother. She lives in Sun City Center where she has lived for 20+ years. She just turned 89 this past October (I was born on my Grandmothers Birthday) and have always had a close bond with her. She has been a very independent person for the past 22 years since my Grandfather passed away. She drove up until 85 when she voluntarily gave up her license knowing her reflexes were getting slow. The past 2 years she has progressed into repeating her self, sometimes several times in an hour or conversation. This is occurring at a more frequent rate and she is also having trouble finding the right words to complete a sentence.My Mother and Aunt are now rotating weeks so some one is with her 24-7. The past couple of months she has spells that may last a couple of hours where she does not recognize my Mother or Aunt and confuses them for her Sister or Cousins. The past 5 days she has been animate telling my Mother and Aunt that she is not in her house and the furniture is not hers, She believes someone has built a replica of her house and filled it with furniture to look like hers, but insists none of it is hers. My Mom and Aunt are at wits end as how to convince her no one is taking her house from her. My Grandmother also has been confusing TV with reality and believes there are other people in the house that she has just seen on TV.
This is the first time we have ever experienced a loved one or even a friend going through dementia. My Mom and Aunt spoke with my Grandmothers doctor on her last visit but she does not believe its Alzheimer's but just a part of aging. Her doctor is a General Practice Physician and I am wondering if we need to seek out a Geriatric Physician or Geriatric Physiologist? Do you have any suggestions of where to go from here? If you have any recommendations for doctors or clinics in the Tampa Bay area it would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Tony Pruitt

Tony,

There are several research centers in your Grandmother's area. I think there is a geri-psych clinic in Sun City as well as Rothscamp Institute, Byrd Alzheimer's Research Institute and the USF Memory Disorder Clinic. I hear Sun City has tons of support as it is a senior community. Maybe try one of the area ALFs for additional resources.

Best of Luck.