My father in law has recently exhibited some behavior that has led us to believe he might have AD. He has not been diagnosed by a doctor yet, but the doctor did prescribe Aricept when we called him to describe what was going on. My husband believes that his father is merely suffering from side effects from some of his newly prescribed medications. And as my husband is the one to take care of his meds, he (after contacting the doctor of course) took him off the two new meds he was on. I am also hopeful that his behavior was a side effect of medication, but I am a little more skeptical than my husband is. My father-in-law is very confused, seeing things that are not there, insisting that people are in his room, thinking that he is not at home but some other place, forgetting words, mixing up sentences. He has, however, not forgotten who we are.

Yesterday and the day before, he seemed to be a little more himself and that has given us hope, but my question is this: Do Alzheimer patients have good days and bad days? Might he sort of snap out of it for a day or two and then fall back into his confusion? I just want to be prepared for what might happen so I can help my husband deal with the sadness of realizing his father might have Alzheimers.

Thank you.

Yes,your father in law can and will(if in fact he is suffering from AD) slip in and out of confusion. I would advise you to research AD as much as you can. If you come to learn your father in law has AD, accepting that fact is critical in beginning the care for him. A good book to read is "Alzheimer's, A Handbook for the Caretaker" by Eileen H. Driscoll. You can find it at Border's or other book stores. Good luck.