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I have been my mom's caregiver for the past 2 years. She has been diagnosed with onset dementia. Recently, within the past couple of weeks, she is having full blown conversations with someone. She is not talking in her sleep because that comes out like gibberish. She is actually having a conversation. When I enter the room and ask her who she is talking to, she snaps back and looks at me with a blank stare and says "no one". I wonder if she's talking to family members that have gone before her. I wonder if her time is near. She is nearly blind, cannot walk, and has trouble communicating. She sleeps about 18-20 hours a day. Kind of creepy when I catch her in conversation with "someone".

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Ah yes, my mother does that too. She tells me their is a dead boy that lives in the house and visits her. And others too that she sees and they are all dead. So yeah, it's freaked me out too, but I realize that it's the vascular dementia.
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Your mom may be hearing voices. She might not be. Medicine can be the cause and/or could also help. She may think she is protecting you not to tell you about the voices if she does hear them. There is quiet a bit about this online. There are even social groups for people (of all ages) who hear voices to  gather. It's very difficult for them as others (who don't hear) assume they are crazy. Consider your own reaction. Tell your moms neurologist what you have observed. Try to soften your reaction. In her condition, if she finds the conversation soothing, accept it.
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My dad has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and he has mentioned talking to and receiving visits from my Mom who passed recently. He also has paranoia about bugs and illnesses. His doctor listened carefully to all of this and prescribed seroquel Dad is doing much better now! Talk to your doctor. There is a little bit of paranoia psychosis that can be helped with this drug and then they can live a little more comfortably.
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Yes, mention this to the doctor. However, if she's not hurting herself or causing a disruption that affects you or affects the rest of household, then I would just let her be because all psychiatric medicines have nasty side effects. Maybe she is comforted by talking to this invisible person/thing.

When my father was on his deathbed, I witnessed him shaking his head up and down as if he was in agreement with someone, like he was talking to someone, but that someone wasn't there. I just remember thinking this was so odd and a little scary, yet I was curious. A few hours later he expired. I like to think he was talking to someone who was helping him transition to the other side and that this someone was comforting to him during his last minutes on this planet.
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I'm open-minded about this sort of thing. Something weird happened with my Mom.

I came home one night and my Mom had left several messages calling me from the nursing home. I asked her what it was about and she said she had had a dream and wanted to know if it was true. Her last remaining sibling had visited Mom in her dream to tell Mom she had died but assured Mom she was fine.

That was on a Thursday. I received a notification in the mail the following Wednesday letting me know my Aunt (mom's sister) had passed away that previous Thursday, the night my Mom had that dream. So, hey there may be something to all that. I am a strong believer in God and the afterlife. So not to freak anyone out but perhaps your loved ones are talking to someone. By the way, my Mom passed away 5 mths. later. Tomorrow is the two year anniversary.
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My mother, who has been diagnosed with moderate dementia, talks to herself often. It is disconcerting to hear her talking away when she is alone but I think it is harmless. Perfectly healthy people talk to themselves, afterall! However, I have also had the sensation that mom is sometimes talking to someone I can't see. I can never get a clear answer from her about who she is talking to but I think that delusions and hallucinations are not uncommon with dementia. Frankly, I hope she is seeing and talking to her parents, my grandparents, which would give my mom a real sense of comfort and safety!
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Perfectly healthy people talk to themselves, after all - I'm so glad you said that, Bbtwinks!

I first misread the headline as 'aging mother taking to spirits' and was ready to leap in with "let her drink what she likes within reason."

Frannyjean, your mother may be ruminating on past relationships and expressing herself verbally. (I have to admit I do this rather a lot. Gulp!) As long as she isn't working herself up into a tizzy about it, and getting stressed or depressed, I should turn a deaf ear. Or even use it as an entry to talking things through with her that seem to be on her mind, perhaps.
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To a certain extent, my Mom has been talking to someone since I moved in with her. I would hear her telling someone in the room that she would check to see if someone is here, etc. That lead up to full blown conversations with someone after I had put her to bed. One night, she kept talking and talking to someone, I entered her room and told her that it was her bedtime and she needed to ask the people to go home so that she could get some rest, she had a big day tomorrow and she needed her sleep. She got up out of bed, motioned to the person (or people) walked to the door, opened it and told them they had to leave. For a few weeks, I didn't hear her talking to anyone.

Then, she discovered the full length mirror on back of a bedroom door. I hear her talking to it, such as, "how are the kids?" My 3 year old granddaughter says she is playing mirror, mirror on the wall.

My brother was here for a week from Florida and saw her talking to the mirror. He said maybe we should take it down. I then stated, who will Mom talk to? She doesn't get aggressive with it so what is the harm ? It's funny, when she talks to the mirror she doesn't slur her words but when she talks to me she gets stuck on a word and keeps repeating it.

In talking with other Caregivers and reading about this disease, it is fairly normal. Mom is healthy as a horse other than her brain doesn't function very well. If talking to that "old lady," as she refers to the person in the mirror, gives her something to do or someone to talk to what is the harm?
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My Mom lived to 95, and was of sound mind to her last day. She was in a care home due to a severe stroke and was completely immobile. Towards the very end of life, she heard spirits around her. She didn't know who the spirits were. I asked if they frightened her and she said no, they were "interesting". Who knows . . . ?
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On the other hand, my 90 year old father-in-law, who lives with, has dementia. He has been talking to himself for years but now he hallucinates, both audio and visual and it does frighten him. An anti-anxiety drug has helped some but not 100%. So every situation is different.
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