Delusions have started for my PWD and I feel lost

Joan_5704

Hi, I am the grand daughter and I help give care to my PWD. She has mid stage altzeimers dementia.I've noticed she's started to remeber false memories that didn't happen. She's started to see "animals" that aren't there. this is new. I've noticed this within the last month. How do I go about handling this? What should my family and I expect going forward with in coming delusions? They do seem to be causing her confusion and distress.

M1

Welcome to the forum. You should talk to her doctors, there are medications that can help. The atypical antipsychotics like Seroquel and risperdal are effective. Most delusions are unpleasant in character, so it would help her as well as you to try some medication.

terei

Are these behaviors upsetting her? If they are not, it is best that YOU do not let them upset you.

Joan_5704

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/220824#Comment_220824

Hi, thank you. I will make sure to bring this up. I'll do some reaserach on these medications. I realize I posted this high emotion last night. Thank you again for the advice.

Joan_5704

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/220846#Comment_220846

Hi. Yes they are these behviors are upsetting her, I definetly posted this high emotion last night. I will go back an edit it accordingly I apologize for that. Looking into antipsychotics.

I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Thank you ❣️

harshedbuzz

@Joan_5704

Hi and welcome. I am sorry for your reason to be here, but pleased you found this place.

It sounds as if you have 2 distinct dementia symptoms going on.

The false memories are likely confabulations. Often, PWD will recall something that happened— often something with a highly emotional weight to it— but will have the details wrong. They might place the event in the wrong decade or include people who had no part in it.

My dad did this routinely. Early on he accused me of doing all manner of heinous things my sister or aunt had actually done. I was never his favorite person, so this felt very like re-writing history to burnish my late sister's memory. Other times, he would accuse me of stealing $360K from him— usually by selling his house too cheaply. I was struck that the amount was always the same and figured it out when I looked at his investment accounts— he'd lost exactly that amount day-trading before he forgot how to use his computer.

If the confabulations are upsetting, validating that with her might help. Ridiculous as it sounds, apologizing for stealing the money and promising never to do it again was enough to calm dad down.

Delusions are false beliefs. If she's seeing animals, that's a hallucination. I don't mean to be pedantic, but in describing this to medical people it can help you report what is going on at home. Dad's had lots of delusions— some were mean and accusatory while others were laughably grand. Validation and/or apologies work here, too.

Dad had hallucinations starting in the middle stages. He initially heard "kids upstairs carrying on at bedtime". Mom found leaving the room for a minute or so and coming back to report she'd gotten rid of them was enough to dampen it down. Dad's visual hallucinations irked him at worst (the little people walking through the wall to mess up his bathroom) but some were pleasant. He once told me off sharply when I went to sit down as his golf buddy Tony was sitting there.

Another thing that could be happening is that your grandmother is dealing with a visual processing issue. Sometimes, PWD can't correctly identify what their eyes see. The reflection on glass at night could be animals or she could be misinterpreting a shrub or chair as an animal.

Meds can be really useful for delusions and hallucinations. IME, they didn't seem to tamp down the conflated memories at all.

When you research the class of medication needed for this symptom, you will notice that atypical antipsychotics all carry a Black Box Warning for use in the elderly and those with dementia. This can be very scary to read, but in many cases the benefit of helping with painful beliefs and feelings is worth a small risk. Seroquel helped dad a lot and made it possible for him to stay at home until about 2 months before he died.

HB

forbarbara

High emotion, low emotion — we do it all in this online forum. So bring it on!

IME the hallucinations were a phase for my PWD. Delusions, on the other hand, seem to be here to stay. But they are manageable, and fiblets really help. Seroquel is also helping keep my PWD calm and happy. Totally confused, but happy.

​fesk

Please rule out any underlying medical issues - urinalysis, bloodwork, etc. before starting medicine.

HollyBerry

My mom had vascular dementia and had all of these. I wish I had known what was going on! she would call at 2am and ask where everybody was, because she thought she was on a plane/boat/hotel/vacation and there was nobody in the dining room getting breakfast ready. Lots of stories that are funny now, but weren't necessarily funny then. She blended TV plots with memories, she made up conversations with the AL staff that didn't happen, she insisted things were happening in the room next door that couldn't have been happening. We tried to play along. We tried to reassure her that we'd bring it up with the person in charge. If I knew then what I know now, I would have tried to get some medication changes to calm her anxiety and turn off the imaginary soundtracks.

And definitely, ask her caregivers to check for a UTI or other infection. My mom was prone to UTIs and cellulitis and often we could match "acting loopy" (her words!) with an infection.

Joan_5704

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/220882#Comment_220882

Hello. Thank you, I'm very happy I found this website. Last night was tough but I'm hoping to help my grandmother as much as I can to keep her comfortable!

this actually sounds like exactly what shes going through. Thank you so much for clarifying the differences, I think she's starting to hallucinate animals, like her own when they aren't there or others. I'll bring up getting her vision checked You're totally right in the fact she will talk very fondly about a big moment but forget key details. Lucky she loves animals but she seemed confused and distressed when trying to communicate what she saw. I'll have to contact my grandfather who's her primary care taker. He seems scared about this and I want to be able to comfort her and be there for him. She needs a lot of help with direction. I've started giving her a lot of visual cues to help her make small choices ( even just for lunch when she's over.)

We're trying our best as a family unite to keep her with us for as long as we can, its very comforting to hear this medication helped your father when he needed it most. I will definetly just listen to her when she speaks fondly about an early memory. My biggest goal is to keep her comfortable. I will also keep in mind when reading the label when we find out whats going on. I can easily explain it to my family this way. Thank you again seriously reading this has helped greatly.

Joan_5704

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/220891#Comment_220891

Thank you! last night was a doozy but now its time for problem solving! ☺️

It sounds like shes starting to have Hallucinations by the sounds of it. I've deffinetly have used my fair share fiblets to help calm her some days. Whatever keeps her happy! I'll start researching Seroquel, and take next steps into serious consideration.

SDianeL

read the book “The 36 Hour Day” which was recommended by a nurse after my husband’s diagnosis. It explains the disease and gives tips for caregivers. She’s lucky to have a loving granddaughter like you.