just dont understand...

[bagpuss]

hi,
my aunt who is 74 has alzheimers, and unfortunatly had to go in a nursing home last year, she appers to be geting on well and the staff aggree.
Today she managed to be with my mum and me and 2 other family members for the whole day, some which she has not been able to do since he illness prgressed due to the anxiety. However towards the end of the afternoon she because very anxiuos and said that i had changed colour and started hearing people speak who wernt in the room, we then took her home as she was getting more upset and she aksed who all the people were in out garden... there was no one there.. on the way home in the care she was chatting away to her self, when i asked who she was chatting to she replyed i have told them i am talking to emma..(thats me)..
now this appers to be a sudden onset and has not been reported to us by the care home...
My job is a paramedic so i understand physical illness very well and have aworking knowledge of mental illness, but is hallucination a normal progression of the illness... ( i dont think she has any infection.. which i know may cause it)
Any advice, suggestions or simular experience would really put my mind at rest and maybe help me and my mum understand what is going on so we can help my auntie...
thanks in advance
*e*
xx

 

[cris]

Hi Bagpuss. Yes i believe hallucination is a condition that comes. I also believe that drugs can be prescribed, and i'm sure someone will tell you more about that.
My mother-in-law 20 years ago had them a lot.
cris

 

[Kathleen]

My Mum has suffered hallucinations on and off for at least 4 years, she is 75 and in an EMI home.

Usually, the hallucinations are friendly people, even animals, so we go along with them.

Occasionally she has been frightened by them and has some tablets to help her, sorry, can't remember the name.

Hope this helps.

Kathleen

 

[Lila13]

Yes, my mother had imaginary friends.

 

[twink]

My husband does too. He pushed a nurse a while back in the day room of the hospital and then he said a car was coming and would have hit her if he hadn't pushed her out of the way and he also 'sees' our granddaughter. Twice recently I've mentioned her to him and then he's sat and stared into space and laughed and said 'look at her' as if she's playing. He's not on any drugs for dementia now, he was on Exelon but they took him off that ages ago as it wasn't having any effect.

Steve has been in the hospital for 5 months now and he finally got funding to go into a home 2 miles away from home. I'm not sure when he's moving but it should be some time soon. The social worker was ringing me up frequently asking if he didn't get funding, would I be able to have him home with carers. I was told by his psychiatrist last October that he would never some home because he's severely demented. The home he is going to is fabulous with a lovely unit for younger people with dementia.

Sue

 

[Grommit]

If it's any help, my wife sits talking to and kissing her hands most of the day, convinced that they are real people. Until she was put on the drug Ebixa these hallucinations were frightening for her and she got very aggressive with them.

She also talks, waves and smiles at any reflection of herself for long periods of time. Despite having covered every shiny surface in the house, she still catches glimpses of herself in the house windows and in the car windows when we are out and about.

At first, I was very concerned about this activity but, eventually and like a lot of other things to do with the disease, I have learned to accept it for what it is.

 

[mich40]

Hi Bagpuss

All I can tell you is our experiences with my mother-in-law, who has been in a care home since suffering a mild stroke about a month ago. She's been suffering from dementia for a number of months.

We went to see her on Sunday. She was really pleased to see us and was probably the happiest we'd seen her since she went in. However, she kept telling us that some babies were being cared for there, and she had been helping to care for them. She pointed to the TV lounge door and said she could see a nurse holding a baby. There was no-one there.

It's heartbreaking to see her like this but we've started to get used to it now.

Take care
Michelle