Delusions

[vinvin]

For some time now Mum has thought someone goes into her flat but lately she has been saying she has to leave the flat as the woman wants the flat back. I had a phone call one night 1am to say she hadn't got a home anymore as the woman has said she cannot stay The next morning I had another call to say she had packed everything. Now tonight I have had another conversation and she says she cannot go into the bedroom as the woman is in there and she has packed up most of her stuff and will have to sleep in the lounge. I have had to get my husband to go and pick her up when he finishes work to stay here tonight as I am worried about her We have tried to reassure her no one can take her flat but she won't have any of it.

A couple of weeks ago I took her to the Dr and he said thought she needed to be in care home and said he could section her I said would wait for appointment for assessment but we have to go back to Dr tomorrow and I think he will want to section her.
I have 2 question really, does anyone know are the delusions/halucinations something that go away in time? Also what happens when someone gets sectioned?

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give I am worried sick at the moment.

 

[rajahh]

I have no experience of a dementia sufferer being sectioned, but my husband has delusions. He used to think someone else lived here and rented out one of the rooms to others. These delusions come and go but are not as worrying as your mothers are.

As I live with my husband I just kid him along and he feels safe enough with me even though he does not know I am his wife.

Leaving someone alone who has these delusions is very difficult, and yes your mother may well be better off in a home. Whether they fade away ( the delusions) I do not know. My husband's are there in the background but not causing any real anxiety

Jeannette

 

[Mufti]

similiar probs

My partner does at times ( more regularly now sadly) believe we don't own the house and "the others" will want it back or want us to go and that we have no money anymore,. It does come and go but I can usually convince him in the end that things are ok and we own the house and nobody can take it from us. unfortunately he also forgets who i am so at times it's difficult to play the role of comforter! I'm sorry to hear about your Mum and hope the situation resolves itself one way or another. Best of luck Mufti

 

[Saffie]

Vinvin - could the television possibly be causing this confusion? My mother thought that the people on the TV were real and kept on about some men who wouldn't go away trying to sell her double-glazing. It took us ages to realise they were TV adverts. She also slept for weeks on the sofa in her living room as this man was in her bedroom - not sure where he came from.

 

[nmintueo]

Vinvin - could the television possibly be causing this confusion?

Or might she be reacting to her own reflection in mirrors?

 

[patilo33]

Delusions and schizophrenia

Sounds like the delusions mam had when she suffered from schizophrenia. All well in herself but delusional. People were getting into the house and stealing things. Even coming through the walls. Ended up wrapping everything up in tons of bags and sewing them to keep them save from the 'intruders'.With the schizophrenia she was functioning well in all other areas.

When the dementia crept in it was different. There was the forgetfulness for a time which then led onto fantasies, as I like to call them or delusions. But she wasn't distressed about them. It was just her world and she believed it was all ok.

 

[Nebiroth]

Being "Sectioned" refers to admission to hospital under Section of the Mental Health Act.

By far the most common Section is a 2 which is called "assessment". This lasts for a maximum of 28 days. During this period the person can be required to remain in hospital and they cannot refuse treatment (except certain specialised ones, such as ECT or surgery). In order to Section someone, either the Nearest Relative or preferably, an approved social worker, must apply for it and two doctors must agree. One doctor should know the patient well. Sectioning is really a last resort and only done when the person is a substantial danger to themselves and/or other people.

There are other forms of initial Section but they only apply to emergencies.

A Section 2 can be migrated to a 3 when it expires. A Section 3 lasts up to six months and can be renewed. Again, two doctors must agree to it.

It might be hard to make a case that your mother was a risk to herself or others, unless it is that she would refuse to stay in her flat but would wander the streets unsafely. I do not really see what a mental health ward would offer apart from a place of safety. I would suggest a care home would be more suitable.

But eventually a section might be the only way if she will not agree to a care home because ultimately she does need to be in a place of safety.

The only alternative if if someone has either Lasting Power of Attorney (Health and Welfare) or a Guardianship, in which case, they are able to make a decision as to where your mother should live on her behalf.

There is usually no point in trying to convince someone with dementia about their delusions. They are are firm in their beliefs as anyone is of reality and will reject any evidence or argument to the contrary. Your mother knows the woman is real and is thus reacting in an appropriate way to her belief

 

[patilo33]

Sectioning

My mum was sectioned when she suffered from schizophrenia but only because she was deemed to be a danger to herself (l e.g. Lighting candles and forgetting them). It was a very harrowing experience to be sectioned both for mum and family. I don't know who could help you but you need advice and support.
Be brave.

 

[The DIL]

We had a similar experience with MIL. She would say things like "I didn't do it, it was the other women" or"that belongs to other woman" and she also said that "they said that I've got to get out and Ive no where to go". MIL is now in a CH and she still says similar things and often, when we visit she has all her stuff ready to go because theyve told her she has to get out and can't stay any more. I always felt that the other woman was MIL but her brain could join things up, so she saw herself as the other woman.

MIL was sectioned last year and this needs to be with the agreement of two doctors and a social worker. As I understand it, there needs to be a consultant in mental health, a GP, preferably your own, but not absolutely necessary and the social worker. She was then admitted to an assessment unit. Having a section agreed by the doctors doesnot necessarily mean the section would go ahead. The patient has to comply with the section, but they can appeal against it. If they refuse to go to the hospital, then I think the police are called. MIL said she wasn't going to hospital, so we just lied and told her we were going for a drive in the car, if we hadnt then she would have been forced to go.

MIL was sectioned again in June this year after having more delusions and wandering. This time there was no bed available at the time and Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) who was a social worker, but I think can be any kind of professional explained that she had 14 days to find a bed under the terms of the section, but that she could decide that the section should or shouldn't go ahead. She went into temporary respite while waiting for a bed, but the place was horrible and I spent a lot of time complaining about it. Before a bed became available, it was decided by the AMHP that sectioning wasn't appropriate, even though it was agreed by the two doctors, and we were told that we needed to find a suitable CH as soon as possible as it was agreed by the professionals that she was not safe to be living alone. The SW would have found somewhere for us, but we wanted the CH of our choice otherwise MIL stayed in the awful respite place.

The good thing about her being sectioned the first time (if there is a good thing) was that she got a proper assesment, scans and a proper diagnosis, and when she went back home, she got a care package, a SW and a CPN, but it only last 9 months.

 

[mumpatsy]

Hi

I have been where you are now. My mum had lewy body dementia and we sadly lost her in June but this was an aspect of the illness I found particularly hard to deal with. In our case a woman and her children were "living" in the house. Mum was sort of protective of the children but seemed terrified of the woman....she wanted to take the house from Mum, she called Mum awful names and on several occasions we found Mum shouting to the woman to get out. Mum was in an terrified state, crying so hard, saying no-one would believe her, the horror of it all etched on her face. This went on for a while and I found that it was easier to slip into her world, calm Mum down, do the rounds of the house telling the woman to leave and return saying all was now safe and well, make her comfortable, have a nice cup of tea together and depending on how things went, would sit with her until she fell asleep. I can't begin to tell you how this broke my heart, to watch my Mum look to me so frightened....how the tables had turned!! Medication, which I can't remember the name of right now, was increased and did seem to help but then the next stage of something else equally as bad starts off and away we go again. Dementia is the most cruel disease and though I haven't really any tips on what to do I thought I'd let you know your'e not alone and you will amazingly find your own way of getting through this horrendous "journey".

MP

 

[Margaret W]

My late mum had delusions. My dad had brought home a man and two women, and they were sleeping in the spare bedroom (with one single bed between them?). In the morning they would all go to work (including my dad, deceased for 5 years) and that was fine. But they would come home and make a mess of the house and then go to the pub.

Mum was also wandering at night, and reported to the police. I didn't know anything of it till then.

I'm not sure if she was sectioned, the doctor just came along and said she needed to be in hospital, and got her a place on an Assessment ward, so I guess she was actually sectioned without me knowing.

It was the right thing to do. The Assessment team were brilliant, they had mum sussed out in those six weeks. She clearly could not live alone any more.

Fortunately for me, she trusted me. So when she moved to the Care Home, she didn't object. In fact she was glad to get out of the hospital (no reason, just that hospital isn't a home). The care home was okay, people on here who go back a few years know that there were problems, but all in all it was okay. I can't say mum was happy, but nor was she sad or distressed. Life just didn't turn out how she would have wanted it to do.

Hope this helps a bit.

Love

Margaret

 

[FifiMo]

In my experience, the delusions or hallucinations actually get worse and can only really be dealt with using medication. I have to say that once my mother was put on medication there were no more delusions or hallucinations and she did have some side effects from the medication in that her communication slowed down. Would we have stopped the meds? Absolutely not. To see her no longer distressed and anxious was a small price to pay for us having to work a bit harder to listen and understand what she was saying.

My fear for your mum would be that she is already acting out so far as the delusions are concerned to the point that she is packing up and avoiding rooms in the house. We are now into winter and what would happen if she decided she had to leave the house in the middle of the night because the other woman had told her to - she could be wandering the streets in the freezing cold.

I know that sectioning and assessment centres all have a stigma associated with them but they really do try their hardest for their patients and can deliver some amazing results. Maybe when you talk to the GP you should ask him/her the question "if it was your mother what would you do in the circumstances" and see what the response is.

You and your family are already going beyond the call of duty in caring for your mum but there must come a point where you are sacrificing your own health and doing things which are detrimental to you. Please don't think you are letting your mum down. The reality is that the illness knows no boundaries and it is now taking things beyond what is reasonable for you to be able to cope with on your own.

Fiona

 

[jasmineflower]

For some time now Mum has thought someone goes into her flat but lately she has been saying she has to leave the flat as the woman wants the flat back. I had a phone call one night 1am to say she hadn't got a home anymore as the woman has said she cannot stay The next morning I had another call to say she had packed everything. Now tonight I have had another conversation and she says she cannot go into the bedroom as the woman is in there and she has packed up most of her stuff and will have to sleep in the lounge. I have had to get my husband to go and pick her up when he finishes work to stay here tonight as I am worried about her We have tried to reassure her no one can take her flat but she won't have any of it.

A couple of weeks ago I took her to the Dr and he said thought she needed to be in care home and said he could section her I said would wait for appointment for assessment but we have to go back to Dr tomorrow and I think he will want to section her.
I have 2 question really, does anyone know are the delusions/halucinations something that go away in time? Also what happens when someone gets sectioned?

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give I am worried sick at the moment.

Hi, presumably your GP has checked for the usual UTI which may be making things worse? My MIL thought her (long dead) parents were coming to take her back home and kept putting on loads of clothes and leaving the house to look for them. Her delusions disappeared after a course of antibiotics.

My friend's FIL had delusions like your mother's in that he believed that the foundations of the house were no longer safe and the house was about to fall down. At first, reassurance of a "professional" person (friend) was enough to calm him down, but then the feelings returned and his was terrified. He spent a week at his son's house, but refused to return to his house in case it collapsed. At this point, and having had to try and care for him at home around their full time jobs, they realized that things had got to a point where he needed 24 hour care and reassurance and he was moved into a care home that provided this.

Everyone's journey is different. I hope your mum's hallucinations pass, but you may have to accept that this is the "crisis point" that people talk about here on TP

 

[tomkitten16]

Our mum has vascular dementia and suffers dreadful delusions.She thought that another woman lived in the corner of her bedroom and was taking the house from mum.She alsohad bags packed with choc,food for the dog ,money and bus pass as mum said this woman kept telling her to leave.At the time we thought that it was because mum didn't recognize herself in the mirror so we removed and covered up all the mirrors but it made no difference.Mum is now in care as we were scared she would be sectioned if (as she did) wandered around the street in the early hours of the morning.It is terrifying for you and I feel for you. Stay strong xx

 

[Lucy Lastic]

I had to have my Mother "sectioned" last year as she had become a danger to herself and was having frightening delusions.

It all went OK and was not the dreadful episode that I had feared. The GP, Mental Health nurse and Psychiatrist were all great and the ambulance women who took Mum to hospital were very good at their job. Although it took them a lot of time and patience, Mum left the house willingly (eventually) and went to a geriatric ward at the local psychiatric hospital. Here they managed to prescribe the correct medication to stop the delusions and after monitoring her for some time she was released to a care home of my choice (within the LA funding level).

Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. It was the best thing I have ever done for my Mother and I am sure she would have died or been seriously injured had she lived alone for much longer. She is now happy and well cared for. I am so pleased that she now has a good quality of life.

Hope this helps.