The latest news from my brother - who visits Mom 4x a week at the NH - is that she has been having terrible 'dreams' or hallucinations which she believes really happened. One example: she thinks she saw her brother cutting both his hands off. My brother explained that R died years ago and had the full use of his hands until the end, he was an artist. Mom said, "but I saw it!" I think he convinced her it was a 'dream', but there have been many more bizarre hallucinations.

I wonder if there is any medication out there that can stop such problems. Or could it be a side effect of some new med she may be on? The NH doctor examines her once a week and adjusts her meds. Maybe she needs something to lift her mood? B says she has been depressed lately.:confused:

Any ideas?

love,

Martha

If she is so stressed and unable to express it, it can throw you into night terrors.I have them.From being abused for 26 yrs.I thought what i was seeing was real.I had actually tore my room apart, grabbed my ex and actually hurt him,but to me he was not him but something out of a horror movie? hope things get better.:angel:

I have been lurking for a couple of years, wish I knew of this site when I was dealing with Alz.

My Grandmother had hallucinations. Fortunately most were more annoying than scary. The scary one involved a man who would bring a platter of snakes into her room at night. The snakes would slither under the bed and it would keep her up all night. Another one involved a little girl who would run into her room and hide in the closet. I would come to her room to take her out and she would be starring at the closet door, waiting for her to come out. I would open the door, fuss around the closet for a bit and then say "seems she has left". Grandmom would say "but I haven't moved since she ran in there and I know there is no back door in that closet". My standard answer was "you know how fast little kids run, they can be outa sight before you know it, they're alot faster then us". She would say your right and then I would ask her to freshen up so we could go out and off we would go. With annoying hallucinations I say go with the flow, with the scary ones I would tell her I would speak with "the man in charge" to stop the old man with snakes from bothering her. They need to adjust your mom's meds and check for any urinary tract infection. It was very difficult to keep my Grandmother hydrated and lack of hydration apparently causes infections which can set off bizzare behavior because they can not tell you what is really wrong.

Hope you have a nice visit with your Mom and they can calm her down again.

Thanks to both of you for your answers. I will ask them to check her for a UTI.

This morning I bought her a teddy bear, very soft and cuddly. I hope she likes it. I might just set it down on her bed 'for decoration' and leave it up to her if she wants to cuddle it.

I told the cashier that it was for my Mom and she said "I'd love to have one of them " so I hope it isn't too silly an idea!

I'm looking forward to seeing her and also dreading it, both at the same time.

Love,

Martha

I was just going to suggest a UTI also. My mum did get hallucinations but they got scary and realistic when she has a UTI. Also her behaviour would also become very erratic again due to UTi. After a while I knew to check for uti when I saw the early signs of hallucinations etc. Some of my mums meds did also need to be changed at one point as hallucinations were a known side effect. These were not alzheimers meds though so may not be the issue here.

I hope things improve ,

For all the posts I have read over the last couple of years (lurking in the background) I don't think I have seen anyone talk about hydration. Older people, as we know, lose their sense of thirst and must be very conscious of their fluid intake. Especially when on lots of meds the kidneys must be flushed. Now, when dealing with someone with dimentia, the problem becomes worse because they can not be reasoned with.

An ongoing problem with my Grandmother, even before we realized she was slowly loosing it, was drinking water. No one could get her to drink enough water and it caused so many problems and she would become dehydrated. This would cause infections, muscle weakness, blood pressure problems and mental confusion. And hospitalizations

UTIs can be caused by dehydration probably even more so than sitting in a damp diaper. And I would guess that a younger victim of dementia (50s/60s) might be affected in similar way, simply from not knowing to or remembering to take in fluids.

Just something to consider.

Right, that's something else I need to get the NH to watch out for. Mom has trouble swallowing and has to have 'thickened water" and even thickened coffee. This is not pleasant to drink and she often doesn't drink it.

Will get that checked.

Thanks!

Martha

Martha, I know you'll be leaving in a few days so I just wanted to say I hope your visit with mom is pleasant and that you have some time to visit old friends and favorite places.

Love, Barb

Hi all,

I just wanted to butt in an say, my dad has hallucinations. He sees bugs but just in his house. We tried some medicine adjustments - the doctor and us. But that did not work. The bugs still are there. Every now and them they get on his arm and bite him. But, most of the time, they are on the carpet!

We asked the dr. if there were any drugs to make them go away and he said only haladol? Or something like that. I thought I had read that that drug made you sleepy and was not to swift?!

Anyone know. He is not taking that drug, but if anyone has any experience in the med., let me know, just in case his dr. decides later.

Also, do any of you think that if my dad says his back hurts all the time (almost), that his could be a UTI or something else? He is already taking 2 aleve, 2 x day (4 total per day). Said he has arthritis in his back.

I do not think he should be taken to a rheumatologist at this point. And I do not think the family dr. would up the Aleve???

Thanks for listening, and may all our hallucinations go away or may we be able to cope with them. I dont know if I could just do nothing.

Take care.

Love, Wannabe

We will find out today if Mom has a UTI, or if any other physical problem can be causing the hallucinations.

My sister does not want Mom on an antidepressant. Her reason - her daughter was on them once and it made her foggy in her thinking, and Mom is foggy enough.

I say, Mom is so foggy that it would be a blessing to get on something that makes har 'happy foggy' again instead of 'terrified foggy".

I can't wait to get there, and meanwhile my ex has shown up here in the USA, for what purpose I do not know. This gives me a lot of stress because even after 6 years separation I, am afraid of him.

Love,

Martha

one lady that I cared for a few years ago had a baby doll. she thought it was her first child and would hold it and try to feed it and change it then one day she forgot about it. the lady now use to think her sheet on her bed was her baby and would cradel it like you would a baby and talk to it and tell it it was a pretty boy. and when she would have a bowel movement she always thought she had had a baby and would want to hold her baby when you changed her. I wish those days were back. now there is nothing.

Oh Martha, is he anywhere that you'll be? I remember some of the things you said you'd endured with him. Whatever the reason he's here, please don't let it scare you and ruin your trip. Might he be here to visit your children or maybe a buisness trip? Anyway it really doesn't matter. Should you run into him, just smile, say hello and walk away. But do try to avoid contact if you feel it's too much for you.

Have your mom's test results been released yet?

Phooey on Moo. She has NO idea how horrible this disease is since your "mom's perfectly fine" in Moo's eyes. You are absolutely right on the anti-d's. Every person is different and there are MANY anti-d's out there where if one doesn't fit right with your mom, another one can be tried. At this point, how could mom be worse off for at least trying them?


Love, Barb

Outside of leaving a PA phone number on my daughter's answering machine, I haven't heard any more, and that was Wednesday. I am leaving for NY in 4 days ..in fact this time Wednesday I'll be there. I have no idea if he is planning to come here to see the grandkids - he has a right to do that. I really don't know why I get so uneasy - I just wish he didnt cross paths with me at all. I am hoping therapy will get me over this irrational fear. Thanks for caring! He is retuired, so it's not business.

Mom 's urine test was negative. No infection.

The doctor says hallucinations are quite commen in late stage AD.

But it scares her so much since she believes it's all real.

I'll try to find out about meds when I'm there.

love,

Martha

Hi, I am glad you are getting a handle on your fears of him.Mine are hidden so to speak.I didnt realize the stress i was in nor was holding in.Until i got pregnant with my 2nd child.Because he was furious i accidentally got pregnant.He ran our car into ditch and me 8 monthes, i swore he wanted me to miscarry. And he done alot more to me when i was pregnant.I stayed scared and worried.Thats when my night terrors were the worst.I saw snakes coming from the vents in floor.Id feel my blanket being pulled off the bed.And eve n though it was a dream i thought it was so real.sounds crazy.lol but i am sane.And far better off without him and his contolling abusiveness.GODLUCK sweetie.:angel: