Not sure what to make of new behavior.

LaneyG

DH and I until very recently have been able to enjoy a movie or tv show together even if he has trouble following. All of a sudden, he thinks the movie is trying to communicate to him and he asks me to help him write down their instruction so that he can get the key. He becomes very agitated if he can’t get the message and the key from the movie. Real off the wall stuff. I’m saddened by this as it was one of a few things we could still enjoy together. I have noticed that this seems to happen most often in late afternoon. In general he is becoming a crankier this time of day as well. Is this sundowning? I’m thinking he may need some sort of med adjustment targeting this time of day? However, if we are out and about doing stuff, he seems ok.

Phoenix1966

My grandmother, who definitely suffered from sundowning issues, would take what happened on the television, whether it was a show or a commercial, and then incorporate it into her “memories”.

Woman in a commercial fell down and was stuck for hours with no way to get help became her story. Some lawyer commercial where a person’s testimonial about losing $50, 000 became hers. In retrospect, it was usually the commercials she co-opted, probably because they were shorter bursts of information.

She was 94 at the time and probably at least 10 years into her dementia journey. She never responded to Seroquel, although her PCP kept her on such low doses and was loath to increase it at all. She may have done better with a higher dose, so maybe a med adjustment will help out.

LJCHR

Just throwing this out there but a sudden change could indicate a UTI.

M1

Definitely sounds like sundowning to me Laney. Talk to his docs and specifically mention the delusion that the TV is talking to him. Something like low dose Seroquel might well help.

I'm sorry you're having so many challenges right now.

harshedbuzz

@LaneyG

It sounds like you have 2 distinct issues going on.

TV was a problem for my dad as he progressed. In the middle stages, he too had trouble distinguishing dramas from reality and would conflate the plots of mom's crime dramas, news and weather as memories. When I'd visit, he'd report having been kidnapped and murdered the night before or would tell me that he had wildfires burning in his backyard. I put parental controls on the TV and mom stopped watching these things with him.

That said, anytime onset of a new behavior is stark and sudden, it's not a bad idea to rule out a UTI.

The general crankiness is likely sundowning. When dad started with this, at about the same time as his TV confusion, his geripsych bumped up his Seroquel to include a lunchtime dose. It didn't extinguish the edginess entirely, but he became easier to redirect.

HB

Arrowhead

My wife doesn't watch TV anymore, but when she did, she often talked to the people on the screen.