Confabulations or hallucinations ?

margherita

Registered User
May 30, 2017
3,280
0
Italy, Milan and Acqui Terme
Hi everyone, I don't really know how much it matters to know whether my husband is having having hallucination or he isn't.
I have got used to his confabulations , which are a smart blend of events that actually took place and unrelated elements taken from past experiences or memories.
Yesterday OH was restless and insisted on going to the chemist's of the small village where we have been living for some years.
I drove him there ( it is few kilometres away) and let him get into the shop to buy the ointment he seemed to urgently need.
We had been back home for a couple of hours when OH announced he was going to the chemist's . I didn't let him go on his own , even though he is still able to, because it is a long walk to go there and it was getting dark and cold.
This time , after he got out of the chemist's, I asked OH to show me what he had bought. He answered he had only asked for some information he needed.
He wanted to know about " some odd movements " . He said he had seen "children he didn't like " , who had " running noses" and seemed to be seriously ill..
I didn't comment on his words, I only nodded .
The question I'd like to ask you is : in your experience, is that a confabulation or something else?
 
Last edited:

Bunpoots

Volunteer Host
Apr 1, 2016
7,342
0
Nottinghamshire
Hi @margherita it sounds like an hallucination to me. My dad occasionally had them. Sometimes though it was a case of him misinterpreting something he’d seen or something on TV.

I either said nothing or remained non-committal when it happened.
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
It could be something hes seen of TV - perhaps in connection with news about coronavirus.
Mum got to the stage where she thought that what was happening on TV was happening in her house, so she was convinced that all sorts of things that she saw on the news was actually happening in her home. On one occasion after watching a nature program, she was convinced that there was a tiger roaming round her home. It took me a while to work out what was happening.
 

margherita

Registered User
May 30, 2017
3,280
0
Italy, Milan and Acqui Terme
Hi @margherita it sounds like an hallucination to me. My dad occasionally had them. Sometimes though it was a case of him misinterpreting something he’d seen or something on TV.

I either said nothing or remained non-committal when it happened.
Hi @Bunpoots ,
from what you say about your father, I think I can hope hallucinations do not necessarily get worse or more frequent.
I've read they might trigger violent behaviours, so I am a bit scared, even though OH's hallucinations have been harmless so far.
 

margherita

Registered User
May 30, 2017
3,280
0
Italy, Milan and Acqui Terme
It could be something hes seen of TV - perhaps in connection with news about coronavirus.
Mum got to the stage where she thought that what was happening on TV was happening in her house, so she was convinced that all sorts of things that she saw on the news was actually happening in her home. On one occasion after watching a nature program, she was convinced that there was a tiger roaming round her home. It took me a while to work out what was happening.
Hi @canary ,
actually my husband has been constantly watching the news on tv since the epidemic began, even if I do not know how much he understands or remembers.
His hallucination might also be connected with OH's professional experience as a pediatrician.
 

Bunpoots

Volunteer Host
Apr 1, 2016
7,342
0
Nottinghamshire
No my dad's hallucinations didn't trigger violent behaviour either, nor did they seem to bother him. If I said I couldn't see/hear anything he just looked at me as if I'd gone mad!
 

margherita

Registered User
May 30, 2017
3,280
0
Italy, Milan and Acqui Terme
Not necessarily. My husband has in the past had hallucinations. They seem to come and go but they have not triggered violent behaviour with him.
Thanks, your words reassure me.
Hopefully my OH is similar to yours.
Violence scares me, also because we live in an isolated place. Only the two of us and nobody to call for help, except for the police.
 

margherita

Registered User
May 30, 2017
3,280
0
Italy, Milan and Acqui Terme
If I said I couldn't see/hear anything he just looked at me as if I'd gone mad!
That's exactly what happened last night.
It was 3.00am and he came downstairs ( where I sleep in the spare room) complaining about the phone that " had been ringing all night ".
When I replied my two mobiles were in my bedroom and we haven't had other phones for years, he " looked at me as if I ' d gone mad" , as you say.
 

biddybod

New member
Feb 24, 2020
3
0
Last night our dog was poorly , he was sick and also he did a poo near the bedroom door ( he sleeps on our bed ) hes a very clean dog so i was surprised he had done that ... our poor dog was shaking like a leaf so we didnt get much sleep , then my husband informed me he had given the dog a couple of sweets before bed ! i didnt shout but calmly told him the dog cant have sweets - didnt get much sleep last night , then tonight he told me i had given the dog sweets prior to him doing it last night , i calmly told him i hadnt but it fell on deaf ears ...... i have to watch him like a hawk now : (
 

jenniferjean

Registered User
Apr 2, 2016
925
0
Basingstoke, Hampshire
Oh @margherita your PWD hearing the phone ringing all night, and @biddybod your PWD saying you had given the dog sweets - I'm sorry but there is no point in saying it hasn't happened. In their minds it has. It's best to just nod your head, sympathise and then quickly change the subject. You'll find it less stressful.
 

PalSal

Registered User
Dec 4, 2011
972
0
Pratteln Switzerland
Margherita, I am glad to read that you are alright. As Italy has had such a difficult time. In spite of dreams or hallucinations, I guess you are surviving. Good to read your posts.
 

margherita

Registered User
May 30, 2017
3,280
0
Italy, Milan and Acqui Terme
Last night our dog was poorly , he was sick and also he did a poo near the bedroom door ( he sleeps on our bed ) hes a very clean dog so i was surprised he had done that ... our poor dog was shaking like a leaf so we didnt get much sleep , then my husband informed me he had given the dog a couple of sweets before bed ! i didnt shout but calmly told him the dog cant have sweets - didnt get much sleep last night , then tonight he told me i had given the dog sweets prior to him doing it last night , i calmly told him i hadnt but it fell on deaf ears ...... i have to watch him like a hawk now : (
How is your dog now?
I' ve four rescue dogs ( and a huge garden). They really help me survive and improve my life
 

margherita

Registered User
May 30, 2017
3,280
0
Italy, Milan and Acqui Terme
Margherita, I am glad to read that you are alright. As Italy has had such a difficult time. In spite of dreams or hallucinations, I guess you are surviving. Good to read your posts.
Hi @PalSal ,
I have been thinking of you and wondering how you are doing. I don't know if in Switzerland so strict measures as in Italy have been taken. Can you still have all the help you put in place?
 

PalSal

Registered User
Dec 4, 2011
972
0
Pratteln Switzerland
Hi @PalSal ,
I have been thinking of you and wondering how you are doing. I don't know if in Switzerland so strict measures as in Italy have been taken. Can you still have all the help you put in place?
@margherita
No, Switzerland has been strict too. I have been in isolation since the 4 of March. No visitors no family no going to the store.(Son in law was going once a week, but then he got the virus so it have been my sweet neighbor) Nick's daycare shut down first week of March .....so it has just been me with Nick, no carers no walkers. Amazingly, without the stress of trying so hard to have a normal life. I have accepted that my life has not been normal for many many years. I do not have to prove that I can have an active normal life, as no one is having an active normal life with the corona! So, with that in mind, I have been able to accept that it is just Nick and I. God is doing for me what I cannot do for myself. Which is to be kind and patient, most of the time. The only thing we can do as we are in the countryside is walk (which is his favorite and only interest anyway.) I am getting quite fit again walking with him two to four hours each day. As no one is coming to visit, I do not really care how dirty my house is or whether I do all the ironing etc. It is much more pleasant to walk and picnic. So that is what we get up to ..up the hills into the Jura mountains....and I am managing with God's help. One day at a time.
 

margherita

Registered User
May 30, 2017
3,280
0
Italy, Milan and Acqui Terme
@margherita
No, Switzerland has been strict too. I have been in isolation since the 4 of March. No visitors no family no going to the store.(Son in law was going once a week, but then he got the virus so it have been my sweet neighbor) Nick's daycare shut down first week of March .....so it has just been me with Nick, no carers no walkers. Amazingly, without the stress of trying so hard to have a normal life. I have accepted that my life has not been normal for many many years. I do not have to prove that I can have an active normal life, as no one is having an active normal life with the corona! So, with that in mind, I have been able to accept that it is just Nick and I. God is doing for me what I cannot do for myself. Which is to be kind and patient, most of the time. The only thing we can do as we are in the countryside is walk (which is his favorite and only interest anyway.) I am getting quite fit again walking with him two to four hours each day. As no one is coming to visit, I do not really care how dirty my house is or whether I do all the ironing etc. It is much more pleasant to walk and picnic. So that is what we get up to ..up the hills into the Jura mountains....and I am managing with God's help. One day at a time.
So glad you are so serene and adjusting to the new situation. You make it all appear so simple. But ,as we know, simple doesn't mean easy. You are an example to me. I send you a big hug
 

PalSal

Registered User
Dec 4, 2011
972
0
Pratteln Switzerland
So glad you are so serene and adjusting to the new situation. You make it all appear so simple. But ,as we know, simple doesn't mean easy. You are an example to me. I send you a big hug
Sending you a big hug.....you have that lovely black lab. I sometimes miss the affection of a dog in my life. But after the cat died in 2017 I decided no more pets. But I do miss that affection.