Just venting

Geot

Yesterday was not a good day for my DW….It was a total delusional day. she thought there was people in the house, her dead sister, father, mother and our sons who live in another state. when no one has been here. She has been started on a new medication which seems to have very little effect, but it is early. She got up this morning asking if her sister has left yet…of course she wasn't here….hope the rest of the day gets better.

tonyac2

Hello @Geot

This is a great place for just venting. Everyone gets it as there are commonalities with our LO behavior.
My DH does the same thing, talks about deceased people as if they were alive. I find it works best for him if I just go with it. “I haven’t seen your dad today”, “You miss your dad, tell me about him” etc.

When I didn’t know any better, once I said “your mother died years ago.” My poor husband cried like it was news to him. It’s fascinating and sad at the same time how older memories last longer than more recent memories. I hate this disease. Hope today is a better day for you.

tboard

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/75317/just-venting

My DH has "people" and a "crew". he often talks to them and has lengthy conversations with them. I always assumed talking to people who are not there is a symptom of dementia. He occasionally asks where is dad is. His dad died in 1972. My father who had dementia often asked me if I had seen "dad". I used to tell him that I saw him early in the morning but that he went into town and would be back later. I think with or without medication people with dementia have hallucinations. We need to lmeet them where they are and accept the hallucinations.

Geot

I have accepted the hallucinations but sometimes it leaves me speechless…trying to come up with an answer…very frustrating to say the least as I'm sure it is for all of us…I'm doing my best.

SiberianIris

Being with someone who has dementia is like being an actor in a 24/7 improv production you never auditioned for. One bright spot is that the "scenes" frequently repeat, so you can reuse the same lines. The trick is keeping it upbeat and not let irritation come through your voice or facial expressions. (Yes, it is exhausting.)

Geot

SiberianIris..,you are exactly right but sometimes it is very difficult to hold back on your emotions. Sometimes I just feel like screaming out "for Gods sake stop asking me what day it is for 30th time" but I course I don't.

Jeff H

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/265648#Comment_265648

On point!

persevere

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/265648#Comment_265648

Too funny. 😄

Dan520

I sometimes tell people that having a conversation with my wife feels like Abbott and Costello.

Who's on first. I don't know.....

howhale

Meet them where they are is so true. They cannot come to us so we have to go to them. Sometimes, maybe most times, don't look for an "answer" that you will never find to satisfy their world. Just listening, acknowledging what they say with an "I see", "Oh yes", "Hmmm", etc., etc. maybe be all you can do. I tried, before I found this site, to explain, rationalize, answer, correct, prove, etc. and made our life together very difficult. Often the simplest response is the best one especially because they may have forgotten the question before we come up with a "good" answer.

Geot

Often times I will not try to answer a delusional question but just start talking about something different to shift her thought in another direction and most times she has already forgot what she ask me.

Bailey's Mom

I used to try to explain that we are the only people who live in the house…now I just say that the other people aren’t here right now, or that they aren’t coming for dinner tonight, etc. it’s another step down for sure. The good thing is that HWD blames them for almost everything…I used to take the blame for it all!

Geot

For the last 4-5 days my DW has called me Dad thinking I am her dead father. The hard part is she keeps asking me where has her husband has gone and why he didn't he tell her where he went….it's very difficult to come up with a quick answer for this delusion. Last night when I was preparing dinner she asks me when the other people were coming and I assured her there is no one else coming. That apparently didn't register with her because after being in her pajamas all day she began changing clothes and doing her hair when I just thought she went to the bathroom. I again told her no one else is coming for dinner she replied "I wished you had told me that earlier"…she finally accepted that and of course dinner was already cold at that point.

Just venting again…thanks for listening.

yardman49

You are definitely not alone. My DW talks to many other imaginary people. It is sometimes hard to cope with when she argues and get angry with them. i am even accused of letting them into our home. Yes, and she several times per day asks me where her father is and she tries to find him inside our house or outside when we go for walks. And every day someone is stealing something from us. It is all part of the ugly dementia package we experience.

Keep the faith and you are in my prayers.

Jeff H

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/267123#Comment_267123

So true. My DW talks about imaginary people. I try to come up with the proper response but most of the time it isn't the correct response she was looking for. Yes, the stealing thing is a thing. "Where is my money? Are you stealing from me?" "This is my stuff. You aren't trying to take it are you?" What a God awful disease our LO and us caregivers have to cope with! Here is to a better day…

Geot

The imaginary people my DW sees is a constant…like "where has the little girls gone"…"what is name of the little boy that was here",,,,,I am running out of answers to these delusions. I did locate some money she had tucked away and was able to secure that….so far, she hasn't accused me of stealing and has probably already forgot about it….I hope.

BPS

My wife talks to "people". I can't always understand what she is saying but she is usually smiling so that makes it much easier. She dos ask where the baby went and I tell her she went with our daughter. She still looks around but seems to be ok with that. It is not constant but it getting to be much more often.

Geot

My DW wife had some swelling in her ankles which I noticed a few days ago, so I had her see her doctor. At the time of the swelling, she was under a delusion that I was her dad. When seeing her doctor she told him that it was her dad that first noticed the swelling. Somehow the memory of her dad during her delusion remained even though she was back recognizing me as her husband in the doctor's office. My mind is on a swivel…never knowing what is to come next.

tonyac2

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/267115#Comment_267115

My DH frequently calls me mom, mother and once in awhile, grandmother, ouch I just go with it. I even call myself mom. Keeps him calm. And, I always take the blame and say I’m sorry. This is the world I live in now.