Hallucinations

Mike1868

Hello everyone, I'm new to the group. My mom was diagnosed with dementia in October of 2023 & she's been having bad hallucinations the last few months. She believes the neighbors are trying to move the property line, have dug tunnels under our home and that someone is coming into the house and moving/stealing her clothes, painting items black & stealing her money. She feels helpless and gets very agitated. She was just crying a few minutes ago because she's so frustrated with this problem. She even wanted to confront the person she thinks is coming into our home, contact her attorney or call the police. We tried putting her on medication but it caused her hallucinations to get worse. Redirecting has no effect. Her ideal solution is to sell the house. I don't know what to do. Do any of you have any suggestions? Thank you!

terei

Different meds should be tried. There is no other way to deal with hallucinations, unless they are the type that are not upsetting to the PWD. If that is the case, you can go along with them. In this case, a geriatric psychiatrist may be helpful in trying different drug regimens

M1

Agree with terei 100%. Are you comfortable saying what was tried? Typically the atypical antipsychotics are effective, such as Seroquel, Risperdal, or Rexulti ( the latter is newer and exorbitantly expensive). Sometimes there are adverse reactions though. Definitely keep talking to her docs and ask for a referral to a geriatric psychiatrist if you need to.

Marta

She is having delusions (fixed, false beliefs), rather than hallucinations (seeing, hearing, smelling things that are not real). In either case, psychotropic meds can be very helpful, and the specialist most likely to assist with this would be a geriatric psychiatrist or a geriatrician.

scarfire

my mom has delusions as well. she was diagnosed almost 10 years ago and her ALZ dementia is advanced. sometimes she thinks she just gave birth to quintuplets and there's a mob of reporters in the room trying to get her story (happy delusion).

other times she believes she's piloting a bomber over germany during WWII and the plane has been shot down and everyone must evacuate or die. these delusions are very difficult to deal with. we usually move her to another room and put the TV amzon prime game shows on and feed her chocolate ice cream and wait for them to pass. eventually they do, but it is rough.

DTSbuddy

My mom kept seeing her mother, and was disturbed. I remembered that she had always felt guilty that she did not spend enough time with her mom in the later years. So I repeatedly talked about how loving, and helpful, and kind she was to her mother. She became calmer and stopped having so many visions of her mom.

Mike1868

Hi Everyone,

thank you for your helpful responses. We tried Namenda but it made her "see" more things after just a few days of taking it so we stopped. It got better. I feel for everyone here. I see from the brief stories many of you are struggling with this issue too. I have been hesitant to ask for antipsychotics or psychotropic meds since each can have unpleasant side-effects. There are good days and bad days as you all know happens. Taking walks seems to help and somewhat control what she thinks she's seeing. For the time being I'm going to try to stick to walks since there are no medical side-effects. If that fails, then a geriatric psychiatrist or some meds will have to be tried. Thank you all for your responses! I will keep them in mind.

harshedbuzz

@Mike1868

I can appreciate your concern over the side effects and warnings. And I can appreciate the impulse to look at a parent on a good day and not want to take away independence or add medication. Dementia only goes one way and to that end, care needs to be appropriate for mom when she's struggling the most for the sake of safety.

Is your mom living alone? Are these long-term neighbors she knows well? Would they be understanding if she approached them in anger and accused them of these misdeeds? Would they call police and trigger APS involvement or would they meet her at the door with a gun?

HB

forbarbara

Are the tools in place to give you control over medical and financial decisions? This is absolutely critical.

Delusions are scary as hell. Good luck and let us know how you’re doing.

three4rd

This thread is most interesting to me since it's so relevant to my posted discussion earlier today. My aunt is going through the same thing. Some of what you mention: "coming into the house and moving/stealing her clothes, painting items black & stealing her money" is on par with what my aunt claims is happening. People allegedly in her house, or more recently a whole bunch of young kids "running all over the place" in her house. Somewhat humorously (gotta laugh sometimes), of late she claims she saw my Mom (who's 101 and in AL!) "running around in a field". She's mad at my Mom for not admitting to it and not telling her why she was doing it! She also threatens several times to call the police (not sure what she'd tell them actually). I'm not familiar with most of the medications mentioned but glad for the info in case we wind up needing to go that route.

Mike1868

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/197691#Comment_197691

Hi Harshedbuzz, my mom lives with me 24/7. Fortunately, one of our next door neighbor we know for 40+ years and I've told them what's going on. They, when they can, will keep an eye out for her but the wife recently had cancer surgery so they are struggling with their own medical problems but have offered to help in any way they can. Two more neighbors a few houses away are also long time friends & have offered to help when needed. The other neighbors, although not "friends" they know who she is. If she called the police, it wouldn't take officers long to figure out something is wrong with her "story". It just won't make sense.

Thank you for your response and concern HB:)

Mike1868

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/197709#Comment_197709

Hi forbarbar, I already take care of all the finances. As for having a POLST or advanced directive, I haven't done so yet. It's something I know I have to deal with but since it's looking ahead of "the end" it's something I don't want to deal with now.

Thank you for your response Barbara & my apologies for the slow response.

Mike1868

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/198234#Comment_198234

Hi three4rd, dementia is a disgusting disease. It takes away a lifetime of memories and experiences. It's extremely sad to see someone we love disappear slowly. I wish I had some comforting advice to help you deal with this but, as you can see from my post, I'm also struggling with this problem. I wish you & your aunt the best and post here. Other users may have helpful advice and you can vent a bit.

Take care.

Mike1868

Jeanne C.

As for having a POLST or advanced directive, I haven't done so yet. It's something I know I have to deal with but since it's looking ahead of "the end" it's something I don't want to deal with now.

I know it's hard to accept that you need these things, but may I gently suggest that you meet with a certified elder law attorney soon? If you wait too long, she may not be able to legally sign documents and you will need to go the guardianship route (time-consuming and problematic). A CELA will understand the laws, longterm care processes, and the best ways to protect your mom.

You recieved some good advice regarding meds (Dr. M1 knows their stuff). We were able to get delusions/hallucinations to a manageable place with risperidone - it's truly a kindness for him, as the stress and anxiety caused by the delusions were cruel).

All the best to you and your mom. Thank you for being a good caregiver for her.

Mike1868

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/200372#Comment_200372

Hi Jeanne,

that's a good point you bring up. It's something that needs to be dealt with sooner or later and later will be more difficult and time-consuming. Thank you for the advice!

Mike1868