Hi all
My mother was diagnosed with Dementia with Lewy Bodies a few weeks ago. She was basically a normal person until the end of April when she started not recognising my dad. One day she was normal, then the next day it was like she developed dementia overnight!
The main problem is that she thinks my dad is either her own deceased father or one of her two deceased brothers. She is not hallucinating them, she is seeing my dad as them. Then when she comes back to reality, she is wondering where they have gone, and she's hunting round the house looking for them! The biggest issue we have is that when my dad is one of "the brothers" she is looking for the "real" dad. She doesn't realise that the brothers aren't really there. She is freaking out looking for my dad when he is sitting right next to her.
She is hysterical that he isn't in the house and won't go to bed until he gets home, but he's right there! No amount of trying to convince her works. We've tried having my dad go out them come in the front door and say that he is back, but it doesn't work.
My poor dad is at breaking point with this. He has lost so much weight and isn't coping well and there is not much NHS support out there. We've not even seen a consultant yet, just two short visits from a memory clinic nurse. I had to have her hospitalised at the weekend but they sent her home after one night saying that she isn't physically ill so won't benefit from being on a ward.
Has anyone any suggestions as to what to do about this? Her other symptoms are manageable at the moment, but this misidentification syndrome is making a nightmare situation even worse. Sometimes she thinks he is an impostor and she becomes terrified and it's hard to convince her that he's not. They are in their late 70's and I am in my early 40s. I don't live with them but I am staying with them just now as they need my support.
My mother was diagnosed with Dementia with Lewy Bodies a few weeks ago. She was basically a normal person until the end of April when she started not recognising my dad. One day she was normal, then the next day it was like she developed dementia overnight!
The main problem is that she thinks my dad is either her own deceased father or one of her two deceased brothers. She is not hallucinating them, she is seeing my dad as them. Then when she comes back to reality, she is wondering where they have gone, and she's hunting round the house looking for them! The biggest issue we have is that when my dad is one of "the brothers" she is looking for the "real" dad. She doesn't realise that the brothers aren't really there. She is freaking out looking for my dad when he is sitting right next to her.
She is hysterical that he isn't in the house and won't go to bed until he gets home, but he's right there! No amount of trying to convince her works. We've tried having my dad go out them come in the front door and say that he is back, but it doesn't work.
My poor dad is at breaking point with this. He has lost so much weight and isn't coping well and there is not much NHS support out there. We've not even seen a consultant yet, just two short visits from a memory clinic nurse. I had to have her hospitalised at the weekend but they sent her home after one night saying that she isn't physically ill so won't benefit from being on a ward.
Has anyone any suggestions as to what to do about this? Her other symptoms are manageable at the moment, but this misidentification syndrome is making a nightmare situation even worse. Sometimes she thinks he is an impostor and she becomes terrified and it's hard to convince her that he's not. They are in their late 70's and I am in my early 40s. I don't live with them but I am staying with them just now as they need my support.