Faking faints

[Hanslope]

Hi Collective experts!
My dad is in the later stages of dementia and is a residential home. His mobility is worsening to a point where he is in a wheelchair a lot of the time. He recognises regular visitors but confuses us with each other. Recently the home have called the paramedics out on 3 occasions when he has 'fainted' and doesnt respond to the carers. Once the paramedics arrive he tries to keep it up but all the stimulus tests force him to respond involuntarily.All tests, ecg etc are normal and he soon forgets whats happened and starts joking with the carers and the paramedics. Part of me thinks he cant possibly have the mental capacity to fake this (and why would he?) But no one can find a reason for this to happen either.
He did it today while my poor mum was with him and she was understandably very upset thinking he was unwell- she went to him as he wouldnt respond to the carers and kissed his cheek to which he looked at her and smiled! And with that 'normal' service was resumed.
So, is this common behaviour? Im worried that he will cry wolf too many times and wont be taken seriously if he needs to be. Thanks for any insight

 

[marionq]

I have a 75 year old friend who has been having fainting spells. Like your Dad she has had many tests including for epilepsy. Nothing has been found and now she has a monitor which she says looks like a USB stick Inserted on her chest.

I don’t think for a moment he is faking but it is also possible the cause will be elusive.

 

[Louise7]

It could be an intermittent heart problem such as an arrhythmia. My Mum had this and it was very difficult to pick up on an ECG as it was only identified if the ECG was fitted at the same time that the fainting/lack of responsiveness happened.

 

[Hanslope]

I should add that the paramedics have said he is faking it 'like a child would' I struggle to think a man who doesnt have the mental capacity to remember anything, could do this? He does have AF so Im inclined to agree it could be a temporary heart issue.

 

[Louise7]

Of course he isn't 'faking it'. The paramedics appear to have a lack of medical knowledge and a lack of experience of treating people with dementia.........

 

[jugglingmum]

A while ago my MIL had a series of 'faints' which she came round from quite quickly - eventually she had one in public, ambulance called and AF found, pacemaker fitted and no more faints.

so as you say he has AF this could well be the cause.

In MIL's case they didn't last long, and did appear to be faint like to others - she was in her 80s at the time (she's in her 90s now)

 

[Sirena]

The posters who have said he isn't faking and there is a genuine cause may be right. But on the other hand, my friend's father used to fake falls/faints in his care home. He seemed to do it for attention. He was taken to hospital multiple times over several years and given many tests, and no cause was ever found.

 

[marionq]

@Sirena I am on his side because my friend has had so many tests and investigations some of which she has paid for privately yet no cause has been found. One of her faints caused her to fall backwards and split her head. If they ever get to the bottom of her faints I’ll post.

 

[Grahamstown]

It could be orthostatic hypotension, a physiological response where blood pressure drops suddenly causing a faint. I have seen a paper which says this condition is a risk factor for dementia and my husband suffered from it and developed Alzheimer’s disease. He still feels dizzy a lot of the time and has to keep his feet up or lie down. There is no treatment except avoiding the faint by elevating the legs up quickly, wearing pressure socks like for flying, something difficult to carry out for dementia sufferers. My husband wore pressure socks for several years when he was still in control of his actions and even then occasionally had a faint, now there is no point and he is not in control now anyway.

 

[Grahamstown]

He had heart and neurological disease ruled out which left simple fainting the normal word for orthostatic hypotension which means low blood pressure when standing up.

 

[Sirena]

@Sirena I am on his side because my friend has had so many tests and investigations some of which she has paid for privately yet no cause has been found. One of her faints caused her to fall backwards and split her head. If they ever get to the bottom of her faints I’ll post.

I sympathise with your friend, I fainted and sustained a serious head injury, and the hospital could find no cause, although I think I know why it happened. But that's not the same as what my friend's father was up to. Those who witnessed these episodes (including his daughter, carers and paramedics) all thought he was doing it for attention. He never sustained an injury so he was either very lucky or pretty careful about how he 'fell'.