Since having a stroke, my mom claims to "see people" who aren't really there. What's happening to her?

Asked by jaczyns1  |  Dec 30, 2009

Hi! I am hoping someone else might have some insight into what I am presently going through with my 89 year old mom. She had been living with my husband and me for 8 years (due to a fall where she broke both wrists) and while she had severe pain from osteoporosis, was a recovering breast cancer survivor (had it when she was 85) and was suffering from congestive heart failure, she was able to get around our house on her own and her mind was sharper than mine. Last spring she suffered a stroke. Since then she has progressively gone downhill. She can only walk a few steps now with a walker, but that's ok. The struggle I am having is with her mind. She is seeing people, claims my husband and I are covering our pictures with sheets and bringing voodoo people in to pray over her. She still knows us and our friends and remembers things, but she is very paranoid and cries a lot. Nights are extremely difficult for me. My husband works nights so that he can be home with her during the day, but I am on the night shift. But my mom is getting more and more afraid at night, she calls for me approximately every 45 minutes and she either cries or yells at me for the voodoo stuff. I am so confused. I am not sure what is happening to her or how/why it is happening so quickly. Is there anyone out there who is dealing with something like this? (She is on hospice care and the nurse and doctor have tried several different medications to calm her down -- sometimes they work, sometimes they make her more agitated. I just don't know what to do and would welcome any help.) Thanks.

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Carol Bradley Bursack, Dec 30, 2009

Over the span of two decades author, columnist and speaker Carol Bradley Bursack cared for a neighbor and six elderly family members. Because of this experience, Bradley Bursack created a portable support group, the book "Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories."

 

You certainly can't keep up this routine for long, or your own health will fail. Since your are already consulting with doctors and hospice, I'm not sure what you can do if they have no other ideasfor medications, but there should be some way you can get respite care at night so you can sleep.

Check your state's Web site under aging services and see what the contact information is. There should be some respite help under the Family Caregiver Program.

Has your doctor tried eliminating any medications? Have you had the pharmacist run a check on drug interactions and side effects? There could be something about her meds, especially since this is so sudden. Did she have a change in mediation around the time she started to decline?

Good luck, my friend. This is tough. You've already done so much. Please keep us posted on how you are doing.
Carol

 
 

lisaalexis27

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Jan 18, 2010

My mom has hallucinations/delusions...it started about 4 years ago...she has been diagnosed with dementia...recently it got worse, I had to bring her to the ER for the 2nd time because of these delusions..now she is in a nursing home..and the evaluation from the Doctors, case worker & therapists suggest that she stay long term, because it'll only get worse. My mother also has glaucoma, she is blind in her left eye, and very little sight in her right eye, which supposedly has something to do with the hallucinations, but when she does hallucinate, she believes the strangest things and there is "no talking her out of it"....it's really very scary to her..it does get worse at night, I read somewhere it's called "sundowner's syndrome". She is on meds, has been, they seem to work for a while, then stop working...they currently have her on Haldol (again) but she still hallucinates. Alot has to do with the dementia progressing. My mother's Doctor has prescribed a drug called Ativan, and she was also given Ativan intravenously in the ER..however Ativan is not supposed to be given to dementia patients........the Nursing Home doesn't give it to her for that exact reason.

 
 

LynnPO

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Jan 13, 2010

My aunt had a similar situation and it was due, in part, to loss of sight and her meds. She often thought she saw cows on her lawn or strange cars and people walking past the windows. Her doc said it was because she lost some vision and cognitive ability. Her mind attempted to "fill in" the scenes based on what her brain received through the eye and her memories. Nights were terribly difficult due to bladder spasms; she wake up thinking she had to pee then get distracted by shadows cast by light poles or tree branches outside the window. A review of medications and changing them to morning rather than night, adding some additional meds for bladder control, a dark shade on the window and low light (30 watts) bulb on at night helped a lot.

 
 

lonken

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Jan 13, 2010

I am sorry to hear about your mother's issues. It certainly sounds similar to my grandfather's. He had colon cancer and underwent radiation to treat it. Soon afterwards, he started seeing people standing out on their lawn. He said they were getting rained on, but there was no one there and the sun was shining. Other times, he would say that men were coming in the house and taking my grandmother out on dates. But, she hardly ever left his side. I suggested to his doctor the possibility of Alzheimer's, but he flat out rejected that. Months later shortly after being put in the nursing home, another doctor told us that he had a form of dementia where he hallucinated. After being put on medicine, the hallucinations stopped. I don't know what the medicine was. I don't even know if the diagnosis was right, but I do know that he stopped seeing people and things who weren't there.

I hope that you are able to find out what is wrong and how to fix it. I would suggest seeing a doctor who specializes in elder care.

 
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