Hello. This is the first time that I have used Talking Point, and, as you may guess from my title, things have recently taken a dramatic turn for the worse, leaving us bewildered and unsure of where to turn.
Situation: Mother, aged 88, lost her sight gradually over a period of 20 years (glaucoma.) About 4 years ago, she began to "see" quite vivid experiences, long-lasting, persisting episodically over a period of weeks. These became more like nightmares and eventually she was unable to stay in her own home. After living with self and husband for about 3 months, she went into a Residential Home at her own request. She has been there for two years now. The Home has ben very good and we have no complaints about their care.
However, her ability to understand that the hallucinations are not real has receded. Within the last four months, she has begun to insist that her version of the world is the real one. She has become violent at times (throwing shoes at people she "sees" who are annoying her, but of course, hurting other residents who are themselves v frail. She has barricaded herself in her room, shouted abuse, wandered around (dangerous as her blindness is complete) at night and gone into other bedrooms. Her old character, a humorous, tolerant, practical lady, always laughing, seems to have vanished.
Psychiatrists and Community psychiatric nurse have assessed her on several occasions, asking her questions from a clipboard (about her past, spell "walk" backwards, count backwards in threes etc etc.) All these she answers perfectly. Everything she relates sounds quite sensible until you listen carefully or compare it with reality (tunnels from the home to our house 13 miles away, to her paternal relatives old home on the continent etc etc)
Now the people who care for her are at their wits' end. The doctor says it is a Social Services Problem; the Social Services, when they can be reached at all, say it is a medical problem. She needs expert care. Is there anything we can do?
Situation: Mother, aged 88, lost her sight gradually over a period of 20 years (glaucoma.) About 4 years ago, she began to "see" quite vivid experiences, long-lasting, persisting episodically over a period of weeks. These became more like nightmares and eventually she was unable to stay in her own home. After living with self and husband for about 3 months, she went into a Residential Home at her own request. She has been there for two years now. The Home has ben very good and we have no complaints about their care.
However, her ability to understand that the hallucinations are not real has receded. Within the last four months, she has begun to insist that her version of the world is the real one. She has become violent at times (throwing shoes at people she "sees" who are annoying her, but of course, hurting other residents who are themselves v frail. She has barricaded herself in her room, shouted abuse, wandered around (dangerous as her blindness is complete) at night and gone into other bedrooms. Her old character, a humorous, tolerant, practical lady, always laughing, seems to have vanished.
Psychiatrists and Community psychiatric nurse have assessed her on several occasions, asking her questions from a clipboard (about her past, spell "walk" backwards, count backwards in threes etc etc.) All these she answers perfectly. Everything she relates sounds quite sensible until you listen carefully or compare it with reality (tunnels from the home to our house 13 miles away, to her paternal relatives old home on the continent etc etc)
Now the people who care for her are at their wits' end. The doctor says it is a Social Services Problem; the Social Services, when they can be reached at all, say it is a medical problem. She needs expert care. Is there anything we can do?
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because if a home couldn't look after him who the heck could??!! We definetly couldn't anymore.
