Talking to her hallucinations all day long

kab2022

My mom has been living in a memory care facility for about 6 months now - 2 months ago I moved her 4 hours to be closer to me as I was the only person visiting her and it was a 4 hour drive for me. She is having hallucinations all of the time and only talks to the people on the ceiling. She does both sides of the conversation almost like she’s narrating a story. She’s never been given a true diagnosis because she wouldn’t go to the appointments as she would say there’s “nothing wrong with her”. My research leads me to believe she has Lewy Body but my question is, does anyone have any advice on how I interact with her when all she wants to do is talk to the people in the ceiling? I’ve tried to jump into the conversation with her and she usually stops and gives me a look and then goes back to talking to herself. Or do I just let her continue to talk to herself? I’m there several times a week so I’d like to be able to connect with her. Do I have false hope? Any suggestions?

harbene

I'm so sorry you are going through this. I'm sure it is hard to watch. My mom has hallucinations as well. She has interacted with them and insists they are real. She is also in MC for about 2 months. How is your moms vision? My moms hallucinations are caused by something called Charles Bonet syndrome which is a result of vision loss due to macular degeneration. We ended up taking her to the ER for these hallucinations because she wasn't eating or sleeping and out of touch with reality. This led to a stay in the geripysch and a dementia diagnosis.

Is your mom on any anti-psychotics? My mom take Risperidone. It has helped significantly with the hallucinations, she still has them, but they don't bother her as much as before.

I hope you are able to get some help for you and your mom!! I understand a little of what you are going through. Hang in there!

BassetHoundAnn

A couple times when I took my mom to the ER for falls she would be laying on the bed in the ER, reaching up toward the ceiling. When I asked her what she was doing she said "Trying to reach the people up there." I've heard others report similar incidents with parents. For the past few years, as my mom has been in memory care, nearly every time I visit her she tells me about all these conversations she has with friends and family who are long deceased. She claims to have seen them, gone to lunch with them. Or is miffed because they are avoiding her. She tells me about all sorts of other things she has done and conversations she has had which I am sure are hallucinations. It's absolutely devastating to listen to.

harshedbuzz

@kab2022

Good on you for moving her closer. Even if she's not connecting with you, it's important for you to be close as her advocate.

Have you tried redirecting her with a special food treat or messaging lotion into her skin? Sometimes that's enough to redirect a PWD to the here and now. Does the MCF have a visiting geri psych who could assess the situation? Your hunch about Lewy Body could be spot-on and there are medication specifically for these sorts of hallucinations vs the ones folks with other kinds of dementia have in later stages which are sometimes treated with low-dose atypical antipsychotics like Risperdal and Seroquel.

Are these hallucinations upsetting her in any way? Dad's were mostly pleasant-- visits from my late sister and his old golf buddies. But there were a few who he found frustrating-- the little people who walking in from the courtyard to use his toilet especially bugged him.

Are the hallucinations interfering with her going to meals and eating? Are they impacting her sleep?

HB