Seeing Bugs - Just this past week!!!

[ToBeFreeToRoam]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all the help! I really appreciate it. So far my dad has not seen or talked to any relatives that are not there. Of course, he is pretty smart about sitting there quitely, so you never know what he is thinking. He would see shadows and think they are people or animals. Or at night, he would tell my mom that someone was in the bathroom (when they were in bed).

I think that in my dads case (about the bugs), that it probably is a combination. Of, that he has seen a few real bugs (they had termites about a year ago) and often have gnats (because food is not put up). And now, he "thinks" he sees bugs/lots more bugs. But, I am going to talk to his family dr. today. He callls all his messages back after the office has closed. So, it will not be until 5, 6, 7 pm today.

I do think that this is a step downward, or upward on the # scale. He is getting a bit worse, in several directions. More wobbyly. I even told my mom about the adult day care about 5 min. away, that he could go to, whenever she needed to get the #U&%$*(&#$ out of dodge!!!!! :> She seemed interested, but I do not see it yet.

Will talk more later. Intend to talk to the dr. tonite, if he calls me back. And I go back to their house on Tues. So, I can see and hear what else is going on. If you talk to my mom, just right, she will tell all!!!

Take care.

Love, Wannabe

[ToBeFreeToRoam]

Hi All,

I did talk to my mom today and the dr. My mom said that my dad was on the floor in the bedroom looking for the bug in the carpet. She thinks that he was just trying to find it, to prove that he saw it. I dont know! I told her to vacuum the bedroom and see if that helped, and she said they already did. She said that if she keeps him busy and takes him for errands in the car, he forgets for a while.

Then she put him on the phone, mostly to distract him from his bug search!!! I talked with him about that and church and just general things. I told him that instead of looking for the bug(s) down on the floor, he should vacuum again. And told him to check the vac. bag to make sure it was ok - just mainly trying to keep him busy and maybe vacuum the whole house.

I do not know if he has the energy/strength to do that, tho.

Maybe I will find out tomorrow. I talked with him dr. and he told me that a lot of times that the combination of alzheimers and parkinsons and the carbidopa/levodopa, for the parkinsons, sometimes causes the hallucinations. The only way to stop the bug, thing right now, would be to take him off of that drug. And then he would get worse faster. The doc. said he would probably be in a wheelchair, very soon, if we did that!

So, for now, we just distract and look for bugs sometimes. He told me that if he gets violent or more aggressive or totally focused on the bugs, then to call him back and we would have to try something, even if it is taking away the sinemet! I hope not. So, far he is a calm, quiet little man.

I will talk with my sister on Tues nite. She works full-time at the moment and I have to call her at nite, when she is tired!!!

I do not know about the cleaning people. Unless my dad makes a deal with my mom - about no more looking for bugs and then she might would deal for a house cleaner, for 1 day?! I doubt it. Right now, unless my sister has some pull, no cleaning, unless they (my mom and dad) do it. Which they can slowly, slowly!!! And he will drive her crazy...

Well, enuf of a tale for now.

Talk to yall later.

Love, Wannabe

[sueb2b]

hi wannabee,

don't know if this applies to your dad, but when people are on a lot of medication seeing bugs seems to be a common reaction. happens a lot with substance abusers, and i have a client whose chronic pain is managed by lots of meds and she's just learned to live with it. weird, i know.

another thought i have is that i've heard Haldol helps minimize psychoses associated with AD (seeing things that aren't there). i know, it's heavy duty but the geripsychiatrist who evaluated my mom when she was in the hospital strongly recommended it, said it helped his mom a lot b/f she died from AD.

take good care of yourself : )))
suzanne

[ToBeFreeToRoam]

Hi Sue,

Thanks for the haldol information. Ya know, he is on a lot medicines, but not so much pain meds. Only 4 aleve per day. For arthritis in his back. But, he does have his 1 aricept and 2 carbidopa/levadopa, and an allergy pill and meclizine 2 times per day for dizziness. The other two are stool softener and vitamin. But, you really never know with older people...

No bug hunt today. Too busy with the odd goings on with 90 something neighbors across the street. 2 old friends/neighbors, who should be living in a ASL, instead of at home by theirselves.

I did notice, right by the door to his bathrrom, there was a jar with some dirt and carpet threads and 1 BUG !!! :> I did not mention it, because I would rather he forget about it?!

Thanks again. I am just worn out. Stress makes me more tired than physical work!

Love, Wannabe

[Adidas0298]

I had to reply because I was laughing (not at you, but because of my Mom with dementia)....

About 2 years ago, she complained about the bugs.... But it was so hard to keep a straight face when she talked about them. She would say "Those little buggers.... little green bugs that laugh at me and when I try to kill them they spit at me!! Look at my shirt" (she then points to a flower embroidered on her shirt. "Look!! theres one!!" (she points at the wall, and its a dead spider that was squished there who knows when.....

I would laugh out of nervousness and sadness because I hate to get depressed at little declines like that. She would pull me aside some days and say "you dont think im crazy do you?? I swear there are bugs!" I always believed her and told her I was doing my best to catch them.

I thought it was all over with, now she's been having audible hallucinations. When she hears any kind of rhythm (music, wind chime, humming of an engine, etc) she thinks its my Aunt singing and harassing her. Bizarre.
Then last week she complained of little orange bugs that bite her. Oh boy, here we go again I promised her that I would call the bug exterminator. She was very happy about that, which makes me happy to see her happy God Bless her