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New here. Main caregiver for my dad who still lives alone. He's paranoid schizophrenic, on meds, but his mental state has declined since having a heart attack and stint placement in April. He's delusional. People are coming in at night stealing his groceries & clothing but they leave some of those things also. They've left food he doesn't like. Food that he's normally eaten as long as I've been alive. His mental health provider says dementia/sundowners or possible stroke. He has a primary care appt later this week. I've talked to the dr to let him know what's going on. I told him I need to know what to do. He said we'd talk about what to look for, what to expect, etc.


I'm also probably going to get a nanny cam before his appt. I'm curious to see if he's up at night.

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I'm curious as to how things went with his doctor appointment this week.

I would also be concerned about his delusions. We had a family friend with dementia who had delusions. He lived alone and he became convinced that there were loud children inside his home. He ran out into the street, fell and fractured his hip. He never recovered from it. So, delusions can cause the patient to harm themselves or others. I'd stress that to his healthcare providers.
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After a total reverse shoulder replacement surgery, my dad experienced major delirium for at least several weeks. He experienced auditory and visual hallucinations along with aggressive behavior. At one point he wholeheartedly believed he had given birth to a child that we were keeping from him . It was so scary . The hospital wanted to release him to a nursing home because he was no longer eligible to go for inpatient rehab at Skilled Nursing as was the original plan . I contacted a patient advocate and explained my extensive research regarding delirium. Delirium is common and somehow overlooked (or not discussed with family) after major anesthesia. A psychiatrist was brought into his care team and fortunately she understood that he was no way near the person he was prior to surgery. Did your dad have any similar symptoms prior to surgery? They ruled out a UTI and made sure he wasn't on any wacky medications contradictive to delirium. He was on a medicine with a black box warning for someone with delirium. It was also imperative that the blinds were opened in the morning and closed in the evening and that he wore his hearing aids and Eyeglasses . The nurses wanted to restrain him at one point which is completely against the protocol for delirium . We fought like hell and ended up getting our dad back after about a month +. He has no memory of that time. It angers me that people who are unaware of or have a hard time fighting for their rights can get screwed under those circumstances. I'm not sure how you should proceed since he's already been released to his home. There must be some recourse at the hospital. Go to Patient Relations and ask for an advocate if you feel this situation may apply to your dad. Like you I am searching for the best wireless video monitor. My concern is that he sleeps with the television super loud so the audio part can't interfere with the video and walkie-talkie part. Please hang in there. I feel for what you're going through. My nephew has the worst case of paranoid schizophrenia in our area. It's heartbreaking.
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katladly, welcome to the forum. There could be two things going on with your Dad... one is that your Dad has Alzheimer's/Dementia.... or two, he has a urinary tract infection which can mimic dementia. Have Dad checked by his primary doctor for a UTI, or take him to an urgent care clinic which can run a test and have the results quickly.

If it turns out to be Alzheimer's/Dementia, here on this Aging Care website are excellent articles. Scroll down to the bottom of the age to the blue section, and click on ALZHEIMER'S CARE.... now start reading.

Hopefully the doctor will be able to narrow down the issues, and possible give Dad some meds to help him out.
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