New Paranoia

[Keri92]

My Mum was diagnosed with Early Onset Dementia late last year.

My Dad changed his job after being in his previous job for over 35 years and is now doing shift work which is better for him and his health. Unfortunately the change in routine completely threw Mum out. We did hope that she would settled in to it when it wasn’t such a big change but it’s been about 6 months now and things are getting worse.

She is completely convinced that Dad is having an affair and will often see him in the car park over the road from our house. She gets extremely emotional about it, as I’m sure any one would if they thought their husband was cheating on them. She is convinced that she can see the woman he is having an affair with all over the place to the point that when we are out for walks I’ve had to change to routes to where there aren’t many people or cars else she points to people and mutters under her breath.

This week things have escalated further and Mum left the house on her own. She says it was only for a walk and nothing more but I received a message from a friend in the village that they had stopped to see if Mum was okay because she was acting strange and had stopped to stare at some random woman doing her gardening because that was the woman Dad was having an affair with.

Has anyone experienced worsening delusions or paranoia with their relative? And how did you manage it?

It’s really distressing and upsetting for us to see and it’s obviously upsetting for my Mum. I just don’t know what’s best to do.

Thank you for reading this very long post and for any advice

 

[LynneMcV]

Hi @Keri92 and welcome to the forum.

I am sorry to hear that you and your family are going through this.

It is true that changed routines can trigger new signs of paranoia - but equally something as simple as a UTI or a mild infection such as coughs and colds can also play havoc. In other cases, paranoia comes as a direct progression of the dementia.

My husband went through several bouts of paranoia over the years. I tried to keep routines in place (not always possible) and fortunately those caused by UTIs were brought back under control by antibiotics - and in the case of coughs and colds we found that paracetamol helped.

As for those caused by the natural progression of the dementia, we saw improvements once the GP introduced anti-anxiety medication to his treatment.

Other than that, the best we could do was try to reassure and comfort as best we could and to try to distract - but I know that doesn't always succeed

It is of no consolation I know, but the paranoia of a person with dementia suspecting a loving partner of having an affair raises its head quite often on these boards. It must be very hard to deal with for all concerned.

It might be worth getting your Mum checked for a UTI in the first instance and letting the GP know about the growing paranoia, because it could escalate further.

Do keep posting, there are others who have been through similar, or who are going through it now, and we are all here to help.

 

[Keri92]

Hi @Keri92 and welcome to the forum.

I am sorry to hear that you and your family are going through this.

It is true that changed routines can trigger new signs of paranoia - but equally something as simple as a UTI or a mild infection such as coughs and colds can also play havoc. In other cases, paranoia comes as a direct progression of the dementia.

My husband went through several bouts of paranoia over the years. I tried to keep routines in place (not always possible) and fortunately those caused by UTIs were brought back under control by antibiotics - and in the case of coughs and colds we found that paracetamol helped.

As for those caused by the natural progression of the dementia, we saw improvements once the GP introduced anti-anxiety medication to his treatment.

Other than that, the best we could do was try to reassure and comfort as best we could and to try to distract - but I know that doesn't always succeed

It is of no consolation I know, but the paranoia of a person with dementia suspecting a loving partner of having an affair raises its head quite often on these boards. It must be very hard to deal with for all concerned.

It might be worth getting your Mum checked for a UTI in the first instance and letting the GP know about the growing paranoia, because it could escalate further.

Do keep posting, there are others who have been through similar, or who are going through it now, and we are all here to help.

Thank you so much for your reply.

I will get in contact with the GP and try to find some solutions. Thank you