My 86 year old dad is obsessing about my 85 year old mother of having an affair with my uncle that has been deceased for many years.
Dad has been to a Neurologist and she has witnessed these psychotic episodes. They do a MRI on the brain in June. My poor Mother is devastated, scared and feels very stressed. Any suggestions on what to do?
lealonnie1 - has great suggestions. I have one more. Have dad checked for a UTI. UTI's affect olders way different than youngers. My Daddy thought I was trying to poison him. Very hard, you and yours are in my prayers!
Sadly, paranoia is typical with dementia so dad accusing mom of a fabricated affair with a deceased uncle is not unusual. A brain MRI won't necessarily confirm dementia, nor which type, or will it help you to get dad off of the loop of thought he's presently on now, harping on an "affair" she's not guilty of. Is dad angry and acting out? Presenting a danger to mom in the way of getting violent, possibly? These are serious concerns bc when dementia is at play and the brain is damaged, elders can undergo personality changes and things can get ugly fast. Mom needs to call 911 if necessary and have dad taken to the ER for a psych evaluation.
His doctor needs to be called for meds to calm down this agitation and loop thinking that's plaguing everyone. If a resolution cannot be found, then you'll need to consider placement in Memory Care Assisted Living so everyone gets to live a full life in spite of dementia. Mom should not have to live in fear in her own home, nor die an early death due to stress from all this.
My mother had an excellent quality of life in Memory Care Assisted Living for the last 3 years of her life and nobody suffered a nervous breakdown trying to manage her care alone in home. Some things are just too much to manage!
Dad started having these episodes a month ago. My sister called 911 and two policeman came to their home and suggested he go to ER. Dad refused. Fine the next day, but 4 days later he accuses Mom of having a affair again. My sister finally gets him to see a Neurologist. He has to do the MRI and then is scheduled to do a four hour test and the Doctor said not to bring the spouse, because she makes him more agitated.
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His doctor needs to be called for meds to calm down this agitation and loop thinking that's plaguing everyone. If a resolution cannot be found, then you'll need to consider placement in Memory Care Assisted Living so everyone gets to live a full life in spite of dementia. Mom should not have to live in fear in her own home, nor die an early death due to stress from all this.
My mother had an excellent quality of life in Memory Care Assisted Living for the last 3 years of her life and nobody suffered a nervous breakdown trying to manage her care alone in home. Some things are just too much to manage!
Good luck!
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