mY Dad has dementia with lewys bodies

ann1

Registered User
Jun 18, 2006
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We are having a lot of problems dealing with hallucinations. Dad is very scared and we'd like to know how others deal with explaining these hallucinations - or any distraction strategies.
 

Lila13

Registered User
Feb 24, 2006
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How does he describe the hallucinations? What do they seem to be doing?

My mother had imaginary friends, like a 4-year-old, but they weren't frightening. And when she told us about these people and we suggested that she'd imagined them she generally agreed with us. They were dangerous though, especially the two who told her to go out to the pub after dark in her nightie (where she would never have gone if it had been suggested by real friends). It was probably only because she was lonely, but then she wouldn't join any social groups or go in a home, while she was in respite they seemed to disappear because there were real people around.

Lila
 

Helena

Registered User
May 24, 2006
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My Mother halluncinates about cats in the garden , people on her front lawn talking /plotting about her and me ........I am "she" who should leave my husband of 39 yrs because we dare to try and enjoy retirement and the opportunity to travel .......i should wait till i am old !!!
 

Amy

Registered User
Jan 4, 2006
3,454
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Hiya Ann, and welcome to TP.
Sorry I don't know much (anything) about lewys bodies, so don't think I can be of any use. Just wanted to say Hi.
Is dad on any medication? Do the hallucinations occur at any particular time of day? My gut feeling is that all you can do is reassure him, until things return to normal.
I know there are others in a similar position, and I am sure they will soon reply.
There is a help sheet on this subject, it says about hallucinations:-
"Symptoms such as hallucinations may respond to being challenged, but it can sometimes be unhelpful to try to convince the person that there is nothing there. It is sometimes better to try to provide reassurance and alternative distractions. "

Bye for now.
Helen
 

linda a

Registered User
Jun 13, 2006
48
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suffolk
Hallucinations

I have just read your message my husband has the same condition.
he was put on the memory drug Axolon and it has helped a lot he was seeing weddings people in gardens mice on his bed a couple having sex in a tree,
i do laugh with him while reassuring him its not there and it does help a lot.
Its not funny though is it? but its the only way i know how to work through that one,
He is lucky as the things he sees are not horrible and frightning. i do hope i have helped Linda a
 

Kayla

Registered User
May 14, 2006
621
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Kent
Hallucinations

When my Mum was at home, she thought she saw dark men on the floor of her lounge and at first we thought it was because she'd been watching TV, then fallen asleep and woken up in the middle of a dream. Later on, it seemed as if she was seeing dark spots or blotches on the floor and these appeared to be some kind of visual disturbance. Imaginary people visited her mainly at night and they always seemed to be men, usually dark men but the most frightening for her was when she thought my Dad had come home and then he wasn't there. She was really disturbed by this.
Mostly the hallucinations occurred at night and I think they must have been shadowy and vague. I'm not sure that she saw them in colour. She also thought she had a family living in the front bedroom who were noisy and she never actually saw them. She was worried about disturbing them. In the end she was so frightened of her hallucinations and of falling again, she wanted to go into a care home. Haliperidol did seem to help a little, although I've been told that sometimes it can make things worse.
Mum has been talking to and seeing my Dad in her room at the NH and it actually seems to bring her some comfort (he died 6 years ago). I wonder whether she has problems interpreting what she sees and she often thinks a handbag is a black cat or a dog. Mum has vascular dementia and varies a lot from day to day.
Kayla
 

tedsmum

Registered User
Jun 28, 2006
34
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Lewy Bodies

Hi

Have just joined and everything I'm reading about is just what I'm dealing with my dad.I got a phone call at work today from his neighbour as he was walking up and down the street telling anyone who would listen that there were people in his house and could they get them out. Had to come home and deal with it as best I could but he just gets annoyed because I won't ring the police.

Went to the doctor with him and ended up with sleeping pills for myself as he puts on such a convincing display denying that what I said was true. He ended up saying you can't wait to get rid of me can you? I'm doing the best I can but with a job.husband and a couple of kids it's getting me down.

He phones early morning, late at night anytime really always the same people sometimes coachloads of them so he can't get in the kitchen to eat or in the bath. I used to be able to reason with him a bit but he's definately deteriorating. It's great to read other peoples experiences as I now realise I'm not alone.

Christine
 

Áine

Registered User
Feb 22, 2006
994
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sort of north east ish
Hi Christine,

Your post reminds me so much of how dad was a few months ago, before he went into nh. He had bus loads of elderly ladies living in his house. Most put out by the one who slept in his favourite chair by the fireside all day. They didn't cause us too much trouble until he started leaving the front door wide open for them to be able to get in and out :( Then he switched tactic and started leaving his key in the back of the door so they could use it to get out. That was fun because it meant no one else could get in because we couldn't get the key in the door, and he's deaf and confused and sleeping a lot. It meant home care would use the majority of their 20 minute allocated visit trying to get in in a morning. And I would go round at night, dark cold winter nights after work, and have to climb over the 6ft gate at the side of the house and hope he hadn't done the same with the back door. :eek:

ah ........ happy days

welcome to TP
Áine
 

Lila13

Registered User
Feb 24, 2006
1,342
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My mother's imaginary friends all had names, the first I knew about was Gordon, an invisible man sitting at the bottom of her bed, then she was worrying about a social worker called Adrian who never turned up (and I kept asking her how she checked up on these people to find out whether they really were social workers etc. "oh but he sounded so nice on the phone"), anyone could have got into the house by pretending to be a social worker, nurse or carer. The two she didn't like were Shona and Podsnap, they were the nuisance people who filled my answering machine with their messages and told her it was full. My brother thought Rebecca was imaginary too, but she turned out to be a real nurse.

If only there'd been enough real people around, she wouldn't have needed imaginary ones.
 

dmc

Registered User
Mar 13, 2006
1,157
0
hi ann1

my mum has been having hallucinations, though were not quite sure what dementia she has! a few weeks ago she was seeing donkeys monkeys gorillas so the only way i could deal with it was to put the animals in my shed and that seemed to calm her down, she also was seeing babies on the floor, again after pretending to remove "babies" she seemed calmer, we found that by denying these things were there just made things worse so by removing them it made her feel better.
good luck :)