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Anyone with lewy body dementia lo? My mom hallucinnates..she yells at me. She won't wash her hair and i have a shower.we 'er ljust coming coming from two week trip.she was.

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I'll bet you can find somebody who would love to sit with your mom through care site. I have a lovely caregiver who lives in our home and works for $10 per hour ad throws in extra time for me to run to the store or to get some sleep if I've been doing the night shift. Agencies charge an arm and a leg. I pay through a PEO. They are actually the employer and I "rent" the caregiver from them for a small percentage. Their fees are less that you would think. They offer background checks, payroll service and they are responsible for unemployment, worker's comp etc. Check out Einstein and see if they are in your area. First screen your applicant yourself the person you choose from on care.com, get a background check offered by care.com then call a PEO and let them hire the caregiver of your choice. It is a godsend. We are spending less than $20,000 per year, not counting the housing that we give to the caregiver (a small apartment in our home) We're all happy with this arrangement. Mother's caregiver actually acts as a home manager, getting in groceries when needed, taking her to her doctor appointments, etc.
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Thinking ahead, I would love for my mom to stay home forever. But she is getting more confused lately. She did not have any UTI. She doesn't take any meds that would cause confusion. But it is almost not safe for her to stay at home alone all the time, and the cost to hire paid in-home carers for only 8 hrs per day is more than nursing homes ($30/hr in my major metro area ). $240/day times 52 weeks is $87,000/yr. I'm not sure she would get better care with only 8 hrs a day, and me a few times a week for a few hours each time. Plus I would have to manage the carers, which is a lot to do (or hire a GCM and that costs more too).
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Check for a UTI. My mother is somewhat demented, but with a UTI, she is CRAZY. Also, don't use Valerian as a sleep aid. Although it is an herb, it can cause hallucinations.
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My mom had Lewy body dementia and Parkinsons, we were able to keep her home with the help of family and paid caregivers for a few hours in the afternoon. I would always give my mom warning that so and do was coming over. When I walked in the door I would say hi mom, stand directly in front of her and say it's patrice mom im here to stay with you. Seroquel was a life saver for us. My mom would tell me that the cleaners were in the room all night. I would ask her questions like did they bother you or just clean? If I told her no one was there she would get upset. She saw them, they were real to her. Everyday was a juggling act. Sometimes at lunch she would start saying she wanted to go to bed, if I could not convince her otherwise, a half or quarter of a seroquel would calm her, she would nap then be fine. This happen mostly towards the end. Originally we only used the seroquel at night to help her sleep all night. My moms motor skill were greatly diminished so wandering was not an issue. Talk to the neurologist, for me, this was the main doctor for medication. Good luck and just take one day at a time. What worked today may change tomorrow.
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i stand corrected sandwich . " extreme dedication to the cause " , and all the help you can muster , both paid help and otherwise -- cause s*it gets real in the last few months of life .
still the care can be higher quality than NH . ive heard many people at ednas NH crying " help me " at various times . they dont have a particular or immediate need , theyre just out of their environment and " lost " .
imo , home carers deserve more help , recognition , and appreciation . their skills often exceed what ( major ) money can buy ..
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Absolutely home care is an option for 24/7 supervision and care.

It's a lot more difficult that way if the person wanders, but it can be done with house modifications.

I wish there was a training film for those considering home care, like the ones we watched in school about "the strange and wonderful things about to happen to your body". Some people have a wonderful experience doing dementia home care. Others find it to be a living h3ll. Nobody can know in advance.

It will more than likely turn into a 24/7/365 job, 3 shifts a day, and there will have to be reliable relief help in the picture.

The only wrong answer is the one where the patient is not safe, clean, fed, interacted with, and provided the right medication at the right times.
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" Your mom needs to be in 24/7 care now "
sandwich ,
this would be a good time to consider what the patient wants . too often thats overlooked . terminal dementia care in ones home IS a credible and sometimes desired option , it just takes some extreme dedication to the cause .
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Overwhelming, what an accurate name you have!

Your mom needs to be in 24/7 care now. Dementia is going to play a bigger part than macular degeneration, but the mg isn't going to help any. Dementia can cause hallucinations for different reasons. It will get worse, not better.

The dementia brain mis-processes information from eyes, ears, nose, and touch. And it sounds like your mom's eyes aren't sending in very good info to start with. My mom sees big black holes in the ceiling and floor. This is the sight center of her brain breaking down. She sees animals following her around. It sounds like some of them are conglomerations of pets she had in childhood. She sees dead relatives. She can't tell what's real from what's pretend. She swears there are people standing over her all night long with red eyes.

Emotional dysregulation is part of the dementia. The part of the brain that controls behavior and a lot of process following ability starts to go, and you get someone who is very emotionally unstable and they can't tell you why they're upset.
It does not get better.

Along with a neurologist, it might not hurt to have mom see a geriatric psych. This doctor can help her emotional deficits. It is really common for dementia patients to eventually need anti-anxiety meds. In later stages it can progress to needing anti-psychotic meds. This is just the way it is.

I highly recommend finding a place for mom where they get doctor house calls there. This is more & more common. Then mom doesn't have to deal with the disruption of a trip to the doctor. There are entire doctors practices who only go to senior residences (any kind). This has been a huge life saver for me. Mom gets so much better care this way.

This is so hard, so know that you get all the support we can send you.
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overwhelm,
you have to enter and exit a dementia patients visual field with a great degree of tact , sometimes verbal cues before you step in and spook them . sometimes you feel like a ghost what with the gentle fading in and fading out of their realm . they live in a spooky world , youre entering theirs , they cant hop into yours .
i suggest creating a very distinguished look for yourself . for me it was a brightly colored bandana or i was considered to be an imposter . its nothing short of mental retardation your dealing with , aint easy ..
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my advice is probably better late than never ;
do NOT eat the brown ACID ..
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I can't answer your question but if anyone can give me advice I'd be grateful. I took my mom to a neurologist yesterday. He thinks her macular degeneration is what's causing the hallucinations and agitation. He thinks he anger at me is her lashing out because she hasn't accepted she's losing her sight. She wants to live alone and the doctor said no way it would be a safety hazard. She also has a mild case of dementia. He gave her namenda xr but she has only taken two pills. She's always angry at me. She can't see me well enough so she thinks there are people in the house all the time. I think she sees shadows from different shades of light
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Yes, the don'tdo well out of their comfort zone. Even then they get condused. Mom thinks she is still in her house at times. Just now DH asked her if she wanted the rest of her coffee. She said no, she has a pot going all the time. Yes, years ago in her own house. We don't drink it. I have to make it special for her. Mom seems to last about an hour away from the house. I give u credit taking yours away for two weeks.
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The two week trip has thrown her into a tizzy. Call the MD tomorrow and explain how the trip has thrown her for a loop, and get some meds for her.
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I think some of your thread got lost.
My Mom sees a neurologist every six months. He looked her right in the eye and told her she would see things that weren't there. If she isn't going to a neurologist than I would set up an appt. for her. There may be a medication he/she could give her. Medicare and Moms supplemental pay all but $15 of her visit.
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