Hallucinations?

[very_scared]

Hi......happy Tuesday and hope everyone is good

Am seeking some counsel if possible. I care for my Mum who is 62 and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at 59. I have moved her into sheltered accommodation as Mum's Alzheimer's is taking away her perception of things so stairs and baths are no longer safe for her. I also needed her to be somewhere where she could have immediate help if she needs it.

Every now and then when she was in her old house I'd get to her after breakfast and she'd be upset, telling me that she didn't sleep well as there was a man in her bedroom staring at her all night. I'd check the doors, there was never any sign that anyone had been in so just put it down to imagination.

In the new place I stayed with her for a few nights and she woke up shouting me convinced that there was a man in her room with a torch. There was no one there. This has happened several times and is now bordering on becoming daily behavior.

Mum is on anti depressants and sleeping tablets. We're seeing the consultant in a few weeks for a yearly check up and I'll get their thoughts but I just wondered if anyone else had any experience of this and what works for you guys and your loved one?

Thanks lots

V x

 

[AlsoConfused]

When this happened to Mum, her psychiatrist tweaked her medication (I think it was the dose of Aricept she reduced). It didn't altogether stop the hallucinations but it much reduced them.

As your Mum will be seeing her Consultant shortly how about alerting him / her to the hallucinations now ? The Consultant may suggest experimental changes to your Mum's medication and use part of the appointment time to investigate whether there's been any reduction in the number and intensity of the hallucinations.

Keeping a diary of when your Mum has these hallucinations and of any circumstances (eg concurrent illnesses) that might have sparked them off could help the Consultant.

Good luck.

 

[very_scared]

When this happened to Mum, her psychiatrist tweaked her medication (I think it was the dose of Aricept she reduced). It didn't altogether stop the hallucinations but it much reduced them.

As your Mum will be seeing her Consultant shortly how about alerting him / her to the hallucinations now ? The Consultant may suggest experimental changes to your Mum's medication and use part of the appointment time to investigate whether there's been any reduction in the number and intensity of the hallucinations.

Keeping a diary of when your Mum has these hallucinations and of any circumstances (eg concurrent illnesses) that might have sparked them off could help the Consultant.

Good luck.

Great idea re ringing the consultant now! Thank you

 

[Amy in the US]

Not a medical professional or expert by any means, but yes, hallucinations are common with different types of dementia. I know that doesn't help your mother, but at least it may be helpful for you to know, that this is likely part of the disease process.

From accounts here and elsewhere, the hallucinations are frequently upsetting and distressing. Probably all you can do at this stage, is be as reassuring and calm as possible. Challenging her or telling her it's not real, is not likely to help and will probably only upset her further.

Definitely let her doctor know ASAP and gather as much information as you can. They may well want to tweak her medications and whatever information you can give them may be helpful.

Best of luck and hang in there. I think if you have a search on here for hallucinations, you may find stories from other people, if that would be helpful for you. There is likely also some information from the Alzheimer's people, if I can find a link for you.

See if this works: http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=1408

 

[canary]

I remember seeing a thread on here by a lady whose husband was also saying he could see a man in the room when there was no-one. It turned out that he was seeing his own reflection in mirrors and windows. Could this be a possibility?

 

[Onlyme]

MIL used to think light shades were heads of people. I had to make sure there weren't any dark areas of the room.

Has your Mum had her eyesight checked recently and bad eyesight just adds to the confusion.

 

[marmarlade]

hallucinations

hubby has been in care 10 months and every day we go he tells us hes been to work building with blocks, another one is some one hits him on the head.
we have had this looked into but there seems to be no reason why.
at home we had a man that walked along the landing and people kept getting in his bed i suppose this is another way dementia affects people .even now we have things that arent there, hes done things we know is in possible but we go along with it as there is no other way but as long as hes happy we can take it.

 

[Rivershores]

Hi Very_Scared, as others have said I'm sure there is lots of really good advice on here regarding hallucinations and how people deal with them. I can fully appreciate how scary and unnerving it is for you. Our loved ones make it seem so real (which it is to them of course) and when my mum started having them my sisters and I believed her and started doing all sorts of mitigating things (like having her flat fumigated) and then we cottoned on! It was totally shocking and very distressing and two years on my mum's insistence that each of our houses (including her own) is infested with "bugs" continues to be quite upsetting but we have learnt to distract her as best we can and certainly NEVER try and say they don't exist. We went down that road at first and it caused so much upset. I hope you find your way through this and all I can say is that distraction is a very powerful tool and try your best not to be too upset, just reassure and placate your mum as best you can. My thoughts and best wishes are with you - this really is the cruellest most horrible disease and it breaks my heart on almost a daily basis.