How to reassure ?

[Bendybirdclaire]

Hi
My mum has dementia with Lewy Body’s. 6 weeks ago she was put on to revistamine ( think that’s how it’s spelt) which has done nothing.

She has continued hallucinations. It seems relentless in its progression. One of the problems with are having daily is that she believes she’s not in her home, like she’s staying some where that she doesnt like. We keep reassuring her that it is in fact her home, and that she isn’t going anywhere but she’s doesn’t believe us. My question is how can I reassure her that it is her home and the same one she has lived in for 50 years??

 

[karaokePete]

That must be difficult for all of you.

This seeking home is often an expression of a general anxiety and the GP may be able to help. It may not be a coincidence that new medication was started recently so a review may be in order.

On the communication front it is usually fruitless to try to persuade a person who is experiencing dementia as their truth is the only truth they may be capable of seeing. There is a good thread on communication that contains useful advice that can be read if you click on this link https://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/threads/compassionate-communication-with-the-memory-impaired.30801/

 

[Witzend]

It's not quite the same scenario, but when my mother went through a phase of wanting to go home to see her parents (dead for many decades) I'd say I couldn't take her today, because the roads were terribly busy/icy/closed because of a bad accident/my car was being serviced/you name it, 'but maybe we could go tomorrow?'
This always kept her reasonably happy for the moment. Of course this strategy will depend on the person's short term memory already being very poor - my mother's was practically zero so she never remembered that I'd said much the same before. Given that your mother is probably never going to accept that she IS at home, maybe something similar would work for you?