Alzheimer’s and Munchausens Correlation?

annettej · April 18

My father has always been a bit of an attention seeker and likes to create situations where he becomes the center of focus with health stuff. He’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and going through medical treatments. He is 81 years old and seemingly health as an ox otherwise. A few times now he’s been complaining of several different disorders and issues to gain the attention and has now even gone to the emergency room twice, and coming back with a completely clean bill of health.
it scares me because it’s like the boy who cried wolf and I can’t tell when the issues are real or not and it’s taking a toll on me and my mom. The last thing we want is to miss a real medical emergency.
Any tips or suggestions? He’s also stubborn as a mule.

terei · April 18

This is very very common behavior. Yes, you are right, it is impossible to know whether his complaints are ‘real’ or not. I will say, my mom continually complained of ailments that I dont believe were legitimate. I had her to the dentist at least four times because she claimed to have a ‘sharp tooth’. Drove me + the dentist nuts. I think a lot of this is obsessive behaviors that come with alzheimer’s. A calming rx might help

I would try to distract him + use excuses to avoid the ER…’I have to do this and such first, lets have some ice cream cream + see how you feel later’ hoping he will forget. You could also say things like ‘the news said because of covid, all the ERs are full right now…are you sure you want to sit there for 5 or 6 hours before they see you? Use your imagination for excuses. Your insurance covers only one ER visit every 60 days…if you go before such + such a date, the bill will come out of your pocket..etc etc etc

rosecoloredglasses · April 18

Hello, okay so first off your feelings of “the boy who cried wolf” are completely valid. My mama (59) was diagnosed about two years ago with Alzheimer’s, and she has always created some type of health problem. I highly recommend investing in a pulse oximeter, it’s like $50 and you can get them from pretty much any pharmacy. I got one for my mom as she was complaining about chest pains, dizziness, and difficulty breathing almost every day. With the pulse oximeter, I’m able to track her pulse ox and heart rate to show that she is okay! So it’s possible that the symptoms he’s experiencing psychosomatic. Your father is probably dealing with a lot of anxieties surrounding his new reality with the medical treatments and Alzheimer’s, and they could be manifesting as physical symptoms. Anxiety and Alzheimer’s are best friends unfortunately. What he’s feeling is totally real, but it’s not stemming from a physical source, if that makes sense. Much love to you and your dad!! You both are doing so well, even if it doesn’t feel like that right now.

annettej · April 18

thank you for that and we actually do have one of those devices too. He tends to start creating these situations when my mom has been out of the house more running errands or doing things for her.

annettej · April 18

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/206256#Comment_206256

thank you for this. I offered some soothing stuff at night the other day when he was talking about nightmares he had and was able to help

Him back to sleep by doing that and distracting and obviously showing we care and there to help.

housefinch · April 19

maybe an antidepressant (also can treat anxiety) might be worth considering if distraction/redirection aren’t sufficient

annettej · April 19

he’s actually on one currently specially for Alzheimer’s and the mood swings/anger associated. Maybe dosage needs modification

H1235 · April 19

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/206261#Comment_206261

It sounds like it might be good to make a mental note of when these ailments are showing up. If you can connect them to times he was not getting as much attention that might be helpful.

harshedbuzz · April 19

@annettej

Hi and welcome.

It could be he feels uneasy about something or has some discomfort and is seeking help and attention that is rising to the level of somatic behavior. Munchausen seems like a stretch for someone with a significant cognitive impairment; he wouldn't have the executive function to deliberately "fake" an illness.

Perhaps he is having some discomfort but lacks the language ability to precisely describe it. Dad went through a phase where he complain of bruised/broken ribs. This last for months. He'd not had a recent fall that we knew, he had no visible signs, and he didn't improve as either would over time. A routine chest X-ray showed he had some gall stones in a duct. Since he'd had his gall bladder removed I was curious and asked his new PCP who referred us to a gastro who explained that the previous surgeon probably wasn't able to remove the entire organ as it was an acute presentation. We put him on a gall bladder diet and he improved.

It's very possibly a bid for attention from someone who doesn't have the ability to entertain themselves. Sometimes lavishing attention or home care is enough to make the PWD feel secure. We did this a lot. We'd given him a Tylenol, a cool cloth for his forehead and generally fuss over him or distract him with treats if we suspected this was the real problem.

HB

Alzheimer’s and Munchausens Correlation?

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