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Can the belief that others are stealing be treated medicinally?

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Is your loved one super disturbed by what she/he perceives as stealing? My mom will say that her clothes have been stolen, but she doesn't obsess about it or seem really angry about it. I just agree with her that having your clothes stolen is extremely aggravating. If she does seem concerned about a particular thing, I will say that I think I may have seen it and will look for it later. So far that seems to work. Some people do respond to drugs such as aricept and namenda. We just started on aricept, and I haven't seen a change in the delusions. Mom perhaps seems less agitated, but it's only been 3 weeks, and she's pretty far along in her dementia, I believe. One thing I do know, don't try to talk your loved one out of whatever belief he/she has. Try to move the conversation on to another topic. MUCH easier said than done, I know.
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swflj, It is a SIGN of dem/Alz, or if she is on meds, perhaps she is having delusions: your profile says she is recovering from a broken hip. Which came first?
My Mother started thinking people were stealing her jewelry about 5 years ago. She was diagnosed incorrectly with Lewy Body dementia, but put on Exelon patch. I have recently read that Detrol--a bladder control med--can cause dementia, or dementia-like symptoms.
Whatever, don't argue with her about any of it, or try to PROVE it's bogus. Will wear you out and she won't believe you anyway. Redirect, stay sane, vent. HUGS, christina
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Oh this is SO COMMON!!! I think they all do this, you need to read thru all the threads, its alzheimers, they dont mean it, they cant help it.
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Swfloridajay, My mother-in-law is convinced that people at her asst living facility are stealing her bananas. First it was her clocks, jewelry & magnifying glasses now it's bananas. It was like a treasure hunt at first when she started talking this way. I would find every single thing that was 'stolen' hidden around her apartment and show it to her. She would come up with some sort of excuse as to 'why' it was under her towels in the closet. Part of the reason I think this started happening was, she was moved from her house where, because of her terrible eyesight, she had everything in it's place and could find it in the dark. Then she moves into an apartment where everything is out of place, even though all the things were hers. Then couple that with the beginning of Alzheimer's and we have a recipe for 'stealing'. Once I verified that nothing WAS being stolen, then I'd just find what she was looking for and move on. You can argue till you're blue in the face to her that nothing is being stolen, but to her she could swear on a stack of Bibles it's true. At some point I just had to laugh at the whole thing. Just like when she was convinced the eye glasses she was wearing couldn't possibly be hers......oh well.
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I have a mom who has that problem. When she uses up one of her products, or thinks objects are missing, or even if a plant is dying in her yard, she believes it is because others are targeting her. My mom lives quite well on her own, and is probably experiencing some form of dementia. Regardless, I have read that there are some medications that can help alleviate some of the abnormal personality symptoms: sulpiride and thiiridazine - both at very low does sometimes helps. Too much of these med could lead to an overly-sedate condition. Also, if she is being cared for by strangers, it may actually be true that someone is stealing. If you are sure that is not the case, then perhaps a little meds could do some good. So sorry.
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I will suggest you go to the "grossed out" thread, as that seems to be the only one people go to. Let them know you have had an unanswered question....
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