Dementia and hallucinations. Any advice?

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 ..

" 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 .

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 ..

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.

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.

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

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.

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).

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.

my advice is probably better late than never ;
do NOT eat the brown ACID ..