Hallucinating pain? Is that a possibility?

[zeeeb]

I've been speaking to mum today, and she has a broken wrist, she broke it a couple of weeks ago. only a small fracture, not a big break. She told me that it's causing her a tremendous amount of pain and that she's been back and forth to the doctor, and had the cast re-set 3 times but it's still giving her pain.

I can't imagine how it's that painful. And thought maybe she's confabulating? hallucinating the pain. She's in CONSTANT pain, back, feet, hips, constantly for the last couple of years.

She's had every test, scan, treatment under the sun, she's seen podiatrists, chiros, physios, osteos, everything, and nobody can find anything but usual aging in her xrays and ultrasounds (she's only 59), there are no major injuries to her back. She has plantofaciitis in her feet, which i know is painful, but they've tried so many pain killers, morphine patches, the lot, and none of it does anything to ease her pain.

Could it be that the pain is imagined?

It strikes me as impossible because she was a nurse, she understands the logic of a nurse to some degree. her alzheimer's isn't THAT bad yet. But, maybe?

 

[Austinsmum]

I think it's quite possible. Earlier on mum's dementia journey she seemed to have endless physical problems, bunions, itchy skin, mouth ulcers, etc, etc; and she was convinced she had thrush although there was no evidence for any of her complaints. Then suddenly one day she stopped and hasn't mentioned any of them since. And at this stage we'd given up trying to get her to clean her false teeth, she was using furniture polish as hand cream and woe betide me trying to stop her walking round with her shoes on the wrong feet.
I was sure her niggles were all in the mind at the time.

 

[Saffie]

My husband has suffered many painful health problems during his life and was always very stoical about them. He never was a 'man-flu' type of chap, he just got on with things without complaining. However, since his dementia has worsened, he does seem to feel pain more acutely or perhaps I should say, he is less able to bear it - I don't know which. I have been told that he is very sensitive to touchand every little thing seems to make him flinch. The nurse seems to think this is linked somehow to the dementia. So your mother is probably feeling her pain more acutely in the same way.

 

[2jays]

I could be pain from a "minor break"

Not wishing to worry you, just to give my experience.

I broke my ankle/leg 3 years ago. It healed well, no intervention needed, just a plaster cast. But I had/have constant pain.

After about 6 months of this pain. I was diagnosed with CRPS - constant regional pain syndrome. And had to have a year of "treatment" to get me to accept this pain/leg.

But I could explain the pain and it took a while for me to be believed.

I still sometimes get the stabbing pain, like when I broken my ankle, but pain relief helps, even if it is considered "imaginary"

Just my experience.

 

[FifiMo]

It could be a vocabulary problem, where she can't remember the word that properly describes what is going on. My mother complained of pain in her legs for a long time. After observing and translating for her, what she really meant was 'I'm not going out because I MIGHT get pain in my legs if I have to walk.' Now, if you asked her if she fancied going out to lunch to the centre that has wheelchairs, she'd be upstairs getting changed faster than you could say Boo! I think she just said whatever word came into her mind and in the case of her legs that was Pain.

Could your mum be doing something similar? Instead of pain, maybe she really means the cast is impeding her from doing what she normally does. Could be that "pain" has become like a catch all word when she can't remember the word she really needs.

Fiona

 

[end of my rope]

My mother frequently complained of pain however there were no real causes, she was and is however at the stage where she confabulates quite compelling scenarios and has for some time had auditory and visual hallucinations.

I agree that pain could be a catch all word for discomfort and unease and therefore it could be used with regard to unhappiness at the distress that dementia causes the person living with the disease.

My daughter however is a red head and she claims that red heads have more pain receptors than most (i think she's a grumbly teenager with too much leisure time) might this be a possibility?

Best of

eomr

 

[lin1]

Prior to Dementia,
My Mum who was riddled with Arthritis, Hiatus hernia , being greedy two types of Angina and severe Migraines
Pre dementia she was like Saffie's husband stoic. Never made a fuss.

As her dementia worsened ,it seemed that her pain threshold went down and , what would have been a little ache became agony for her.

Mum was on pain relief, so I thought her pain was under control, I also didn't know that pain could cause Sundowning.
It was the very first visit by an Admiral Nurse, who took one look at Mum who wa Sundowning and said she was in pain. At the time mum was in latter stages and could hardly speak.
When I sorted out better pain relief for Mum, her Sundowning lessened considerably.

 

[zeeeb]

Her communication is still very good, so i don't think it's a lack of abilty to communicate, but it feels more like she's in varying degrees of agony through every minute of every day, for the past 2 years. from a scale of 1-10, it's always somewhere between a 7 and a 10.

maybe it is just general discomfort, and anxiety, and it's multiplied by her mental state I don't know. She's tried that many pain killers it seems near impossible that one of those many pain killers wouldn't be easing the physical discomfort.

 

[FifiMo]

Maybe you are right Zeeb. I think with anyone, the ability to get benefit from pain killers also includes the psychological need to understand that the tablet is benefitting the pain. This would also, I assume cover the placebo effect too? In the absence of this psychological understanding then it could be the reason why no pain killer is seen to be working.

Whatever the issue is it must be dreadful for her if she is feeling pain and scoring it so highly. I think this is one of everyone's fears and that is that their loved one is in pain but, due to dementia, is not able to get it eradicated for whatever reason.

I hope they find some answers for her soon, poor thing.

Fiona

 

[pippop1]

resistant to painkillers

My brother in his 40s (no dementia) finds that most painkillers don't have much effect on him. When he broke his shoulder and had to have it pinned he had a big problem being comfortable and ended up with some strange painkiller in lollipop form that they give to cancer patients. Normal stuff just didn't touch the pain. I think he's always been like this but never had anything major before where he needed painkillers.