My mum has vivid real hallucinations

[Fridgemouse]

Hi,
My mum has just been diagnosed with Vascular Dementia.
For over a year she has seen a man outside her bungalow door from when it gets dark to first light, sometimes he shines a torch around her curtained window making patterns on the walls and ceiling.
I had an outside camera installed and put in an echo show so that she could see there was nobody there but she can’t process the fact that she can see him with her own eyes but the camera must be faulty because he is not on the screen.
When you visit / or ring her all she talks about is this man and each time the story gets longer with more detail and events.
I had hoped after her scan that it was Lewy Bodies because there is treatment available, the doctor is suggesting Resperidone / Risperdal but there seems to be more side effects than benefits!
Day to day she is able to get around and live OK on her own at the moment with the help from meals on wheels and myself / sister in law, she gets a bit distressed about “the man “ but not overly so.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Inbloom]

Hi, mouse
This is the first post I've made, although I joined a few months ago when my mum was diagnosed with mixed dementia (vascular and Alzheimer's). I wanted to post because what you've written is similar to something my mum experiences. It's the thing that made me have her referred to the memory clinic.

My mum wakes in the night, around 4am, and shouts downstairs to my dad (he goes to bed early, wakes early) telling him to tell whoever's there to leave. She hears people, she hears my dad's voice. It's very loud to her. She believes my dad's having people in the house early in the morning. It's not every night, it can be twice a week, once a week, or go as long as a month. She goes downstairs and doesn't believe nobody was there, but doesn't know where they've gone. She's INSISTENT people are there, and when me or dad tell her she's hearing things, she doesn't believe it and thinks I'm "covering up" for them, whoever they are. (This has been happening approximately 18 months).

It's very disturbing. She has other audio hallucinations and has had some visual, but this one is the same over and over. Mum gets frustrated, upset and can be nasty when challenged about it, so I don't say anything now. It really is a case of having her go through the motions and don't tell her it's her condition. The next day, she's fine and isn't affected by it, but still believes she hears what she hears. I hate it, it's upsetting. Still, I find it best to let her talk about it and wait for her to go back to bed.

Mum refused any medication, and I'm quite happy that was her decision because she isn't very good dealing with the effects of meds.

I hope a member with longer experience of the hallucinations can give you better advice. I really know how you're feeling. I know it's unsettling, I don't understand it, but as with anything strange mum says, I don't agree, don't disagree, just let her get on with it. Sending love.

 

[Emmcee]

Hi,
My mum has just been diagnosed with Vascular Dementia.
For over a year she has seen a man outside her bungalow door from when it gets dark to first light, sometimes he shines a torch around her curtained window making patterns on the walls and ceiling.
I had an outside camera installed and put in an echo show so that she could see there was nobody there but she can’t process the fact that she can see him with her own eyes but the camera must be faulty because he is not on the screen.
When you visit / or ring her all she talks about is this man and each time the story gets longer with more detail and events.
I had hoped after her scan that it was Lewy Bodies because there is treatment available, the doctor is suggesting Resperidone / Risperdal but there seems to be more side effects than benefits!
Day to day she is able to get around and live OK on her own at the moment with the help from meals on wheels and myself / sister in law, she gets a bit distressed about “the man “ but not overly so.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

Is it possible that she has Charles Bonet Syndrome? It's not the most common of conditions and is most frequently associated with certain types of visual loss (glaucoma) - even in its early stages.

 

[Fridgemouse]

Is it possible that she has Charles Bonet Syndrome? It's not the most common of conditions and is most frequently associated with certain types of visual loss (glaucoma) - even in its early stages.

Will look into that , thank you!

 

[Fridgemouse]

Is it possible that she has Charles Bonet Syndrome? It's not the most common of conditions and is most frequently associated with certain types of visual loss (glaucoma) - even in its early stages.

Hi, mouse
This is the first post I've made, although I joined a few months ago when my mum was diagnosed with mixed dementia (vascular and Alzheimer's). I wanted to post because what you've written is similar to something my mum experiences. It's the thing that made me have her referred to the memory clinic.

My mum wakes in the night, around 4am, and shouts downstairs to my dad (he goes to bed early, wakes early) telling him to tell whoever's there to leave. She hears people, she hears my dad's voice. It's very loud to her. She believes my dad's having people in the house early in the morning. It's not every night, it can be twice a week, once a week, or go as long as a month. She goes downstairs and doesn't believe nobody was there, but doesn't know where they've gone. She's INSISTENT people are there, and when me or dad tell her she's hearing things, she doesn't believe it and thinks I'm "covering up" for them, whoever they are. (This has been happening approximately 18 months).

It's very disturbing. She has other audio hallucinations and has had some visual, but this one is the same over and over. Mum gets frustrated, upset and can be nasty when challenged about it, so I don't say anything now. It really is a case of having her go through the motions and don't tell her it's her condition. The next day, she's fine and isn't affected by it, but still believes she hears what she hears. I hate it, it's upsetting. Still, I find it best to let her talk about it and wait for her to go back to bed.

Mum refused any medication, and I'm quite happy that was her decision because she isn't very good dealing with the effects of meds.

I hope a member with longer experience of the hallucinations can give you better advice. I really know how you're feeling. I know it's unsettling, I don't understand it, but as with anything strange mum says, I don't agree, don't disagree, just let her get on with it. Sending love.

All you can do is agree, at first I told her there was nobody there but she became angry and sometimes very angry and abusive which isn’t like her at all.
Thanks for your comments and support.

 

[Harky]

All you can do is agree, at first I told her there was nobody there but she became angry and sometimes very angry and abusive which isn’t like her at all.
Thanks for your comments and support.

Agree with everything she says. What you've got to realise is, anything they say or see is real to them. My wife sees people coming and going regularly. There's someone in each of our 2 spare bedrooms. My wife's coats are in that room and says they belong to that woman and if we take one out, we need to get it back quickly when we come back home or she'll (this woman) will be angry. She also sees one of our sons cars on the driveway. I nip out for a look and tell her it's moved and I've just missed it, then quickly change the subject. I find this works for all situations. The best explanation is, their brain is like the old radio, sometimes it's harder for them to tune into it

 

[Fridgemouse]

Agree with everything she says. What you've got to realise is, anything they say or see is real to them. My wife sees people coming and going regularly. There's someone in each of our 2 spare bedrooms. My wife's coats are in that room and says they belong to that woman and if we take one out, we need to get it back quickly when we come back home or she'll (this woman) will be angry. She also sees one of our sons cars on the driveway. I nip out for a look and tell her it's moved and I've just missed it, then quickly change the subject. I find this works for all situations. The best explanation is, their brain is like the old radio, sometimes it's harder for them to tune into it

Hi Harky, That's exactly what I do now. But the things see is seeing are getting worse. Same man. but now he urinates on her front door every night ( nothing there of course) and he has bought a red motorbike. In her reasoning he is trying to get her out of her home because he needs somewhere to park his bike and she has the only level back yard. The saga continues.....

 

[canary]

Might medication (eg antipsychotics) help?
Perhaps you could talk to the GP about this.