Nightmares/hallucinations?

[Tatiana]

Fil, not for the first time, left a message on my husbands voicemail last night. It was very sad to hear. He didn't know who he'd called and he was very frightened. The message was confused and garbled, but the gist was 'To whoever gets this message; I'm here all alone with the dead people and I can't get out.....' My husband was very upset by this. He visited this morning and his Dad vaguely recalls being awake most of the night and getting out of bed several times. The staff on duty last night said that he'd been very agitated and although normally they wouldn't have let him make a phonecall at midnight, it was the only way he'd calm down and allow himself to be taken back to bed.

Are nightmares/night terrors common in dementia? When he was in hospital after falling and fracturing his (recently replaced) hip, he had violent hallucinations of wild animals lurking in the ward wanting to eat him. And worse.

Might anything (medication?) help? He goes to bed very early (6 to 7pm-ish) so in a way, it's not surprising he's up and awake at dawn.

 

[Tatiana]

Kassy, UTI is a good suggestion to rule out. He's had many in the past - but this was when he & MiL were still struggling along at home and not drinking enough fluids. And again in hospital. The staff at the carehome here are ever so good at prompting their charges to drink squash/water/tea. He's had a chest infection that's not shifted despite three rounds of increasingly strong anti-bs. Awaiting results of a chest x-ray from 3 weeks ago. Infection is a possibility, most certainly.