Hallucinations

There is no need to be scared. “Oh, beetles in the window? “. Spray with something + wipe window. ‘There, mom. I think they are gone’. Repeat if necessary.

Hi, My mom started having hallucinations last summer mainly in the middle of the night. She was coming in and waking me very upset saying there were people outside or in our front room or seeing little children running around "bothering her". She's 87 and was at stage 5 then (now transitioning to stage 6).

The doctor prescribed Buspirone for agitation dementia-related paranoia, which we were taking once a day in the morning 10mg along with Citalopram 10mg. When the hallucinations started we upped to Buspirone 10 mg taken at night as well. This stopped the hallucinations all together which were upsetting her in the middle of the night. Starting last summer also she was becoming more agitated/paranoid during the mid day as well and started abusing our cats (just not understanding how to be gentle with them - pulling their tails so they wouldn't leave her, closing them in her room, not letting them out of her sight, etc) . At that point the dr suggested upping again to 10mg taken mid day as well (so 8am 2pm 8pm schedule). This has greatly helped my mom with her agitation/paranoia as well as like I said, stop the hallucinations.

At times here and there she will have a hallucination, but it's not disruptive to her (or us) as it was before she started taking the meds, rather just us realizing that she is having one and trying to make the situation normal (as in just go along with it - like the person said above to spray the window and say they are now gone).

It is important to my sister and I not to "drug" our mom for our sanity and comfort, rather only if it is helping her, and this helped her tremendously, which is why I am passing it along to you if your doctor has not suggested. My mom is generally a gentle woman who laughs all the time. We are very lucky for that.

I think the important thing to remember it's just a part of the process of the mixed up brain they have now. I know at first when it happens it's like wtheck and is a freaky. But know it's a normal part of the process and don't try to explain or argue that things are not there that they are seeing. Going along with it (agreeing, answering them back normally as if it were real, etc) and distracting with something else are good ways to handle this.