Has anyone tried hypnosis for their family member with Alzheimer's?

Before embarking down this path, I suggest you search long and hard to find out if any research has been undertaken by a legitimate research program on the effectiveness of hypnosis and Alzheimer's. Look closely at the goals of the research before you believe it applies to your situation. Perhaps you could take a close look at the original source for your question as a basis for analyzing existing research on hypnosis.
Dementia is a frightening disease that is hard to accept because it will change your life and there is no existing drug therapy to slow down its progression. As a result, some people feel desperate and are willing to try almost anything to help their loved one.
to determine effectiveness, the research must have a control group, which did not receive the therapy in question. Research with Alzheimer's sufferers is costly and takes a long time.
The only known tools we have for fighting the disease progression are exercise and social interaction with family and friends. Perhaps it would be better for your loved one if you focused your energies in those directions, You are in a tough situation, one that is hard to accept and even harder to live the day-today life as a care partner,

Depending on the stage and type of dementia,hypnosis
can only be accomplished with people capable of following direction and instruction and who want to be.
My dad has COPD,he is 90.He just had his 2nd acupuncture treatment,
ever.He agreed to try one,noticed a reduction in mucous and ASKED to go back.My mom had her first session at 80,after suffering with sciatica for 20
yrs.She got so much relief,that we went 2x/wk for 3months.Pain came back after 6mos.We went 2x/wk for one month.After a year,pain returned. We went 2x/wk for a month..no pain
for 3yrs.I'm 67 and went for sinus, truck accident (I was hit by 18wheel
JBHunt Transmodal) and mobility.
Entire left side of body in pain after 90
days of PT.After 6wks of acupuncture
there is only intermittent shoulder pain.I walk a lot better and now go for auto immune strengthening preparing
for Nov.fibroid surgery.God bless you.

I believe that there are other methods besides Western medicine that can be beneficial. Although my worry about Hypnosis would be confusing an already confused mind. Even if the addled brain of an Alzheimer's patient was receptive to it would not the power of suggestion just get caught in the quagmire of confused brain receptors and therefore cause the patient to be even more confused?

Quite honestly, sometimes these threads go down off the beaten path BIG TIME! Let's all try to get along.

well this was a great question...but has anyone with dementia tried this yet? would love to know the outcome. i believe anything method used to help someone deserves to be looked into! keep us posted!

lifeexperiences: Good point!

I ran a quick search on pubmed and nothing came up that was relevant to support this. I agree that it a rather benign treatment so worth a shot but most likely all that will happen is a loss of money. PubMed is a free government database and highly regarded.

Hypnosis is a valid therapy, if practiced by a certified and licensed clinician. However, there ARE dangers involved and potential for adverse affects. I would be very wary attempting hypnosis on an individual who is already struggling with confusion and memory impairment. The chance of triggering an adverse event, if one could even hypnotise the individual to begin with, is high. Too risky, in my opinion.

It's rather quaint how this website deletes my posts, which do nothing more than disagree with mysticism, mystery, and magic; and advocates science. However, if someone gets their feelings hurt because I use facts, reason, and logic to assess the advice given, I can be called names, told I have never experienced or researched these "treatments", and my posts are deleted. Thanks AgingCare.com for disavowing science for the sake of delicate sensibilities, and advocating pseudoscience for treatment of brain disorders.

dil9397,

Why is your nonsensical opinion attacking me allowed, you even mention me by name, but my critique of your unscientific, unverifiable, and pseudoscientific claims are not allowed? You don't know me, you don't know my life or what I have experienced. If this website hadn't deleted my other posts you would see that one of us has actually had medical training, and an advanced education. Unlike you I don't have to spread my mythology about "mucus" or ghosts or sticking needles in my skin to magically align energy centers in my body in order to feel better about myself. If there is no science behind it, no evidence, then I don't support it, period. If your feeling are hurt by those facts then that is not my fault, and I don't understand the censorship of favoritism this website displays when not one single person on this post can cite an actual scientific study that supports this nonsense.I didn't realize this page was reserved for armchair opinions of people who merely have internet access. My mistake. Try rubbing sand on your cancer and let me know how that works out, I have a cousin, who was dating this guy, who knew this girl, and she had cancer, and rubbing sand on it worked! It's only because you all are too immature to understand the chemical composition of sand that you think it is nonsense. *eye roll*

to each his own people!!!! everyone has the right to share their opinion!!

Well, actually, I do have medical training and have training in the clinical application of hypnosis, as well. There are studies that show the utility of hypnosis. However, I am not interested in spending my time searching for scholarly references via PubMed when anyone who cares to can do it for themselves. I have more important things to do, such as care for a cranky demented parent.

TruthTeller, I think you could be a real asset to this forum. We need someone willing to debunk voodoo therories that pop up once in a while. You sound like you have appropriate training and the mindset to do this. You could make a real contribution.

But first you'll have to understand your audience. We are all caregivers, under stress, searching (often desperately) for anything that will help our loved ones. We want facts, but don't want the stress of being attacked with them. You'll convert more caregivers with kindness than with calling us stupid.

If there is no science behind it, no evidence, then you don't support it, period. A perfectly defensible position. Long before science could explain gravity -- long before there was any "science" behind it, it existed and it was fully operational, whether we understood it or not.

I happen to think that there is at least as much evidence that acupuncture works in some situations as there is that the "scientifically" developed dementia drugs work. Sometimes for some people. Maybe. The explanation for how/why acupuncture works seems laughable to me, but just because we cannot yet explain it doesn't mean the practice itself is worthless. There is evidence, if not science, to support it.

The same seems to me to be true of hypnosis.

I don't think you have been censored for your opinions. I hope not. But participants and moderators try to keep this forum a source of encouragement. If you can get your points across without attacking I think you are welcome here.

Here are a few studies that you can look up that demonstrates the clinical successful application of hypnosis. Unfortunately, the only studies I found in relation to dementia were not successful. Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2016 Apr 4. [Epub ahead of print]
The Beneficial Effect of Hypnosis in Elective Cardiac Surgery: A Preliminary Study.
Akgul A1, Guner B2, Çırak M3, Çelik D4, Hergünsel O2, Bedirhan S2. Conclusion Hypnosis session prior to surgery was an effective complementary method in decreasing presurgical anxiety, and it resulted in better pain control as well as reduced ventilator assistance following CABG surgery. Ann Saudi Med. 2015 Jan-Feb;35(1):58-63. doi: 10.5144/0256-4947.2015.58.
Hypnosis for sedation in transesophageal echocardiography: a comparison with midazolam.
Eren G1, Dogan Y, Demir G, Tulubas E, Hergunsel O, Tekdos Y, Dogan M, Bilgi D, Abut Y. CONCLUSION:
Hypnosis proved to be associated with positive therapeutic outcomes for TEE with regard to alleviation of anxiety and maintenance of vigilance, thus providing more satisfaction compared to sedation with midazolam. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2015 May;41(9):844-55. doi: 10.1111/apt.13145. Epub 2015 Mar 4.
Hypnotherapy for irritable bowel syndrome: an audit of one thousand adult patients.
Miller V1, Carruthers HR, Morris J, Hasan SS, Archbold S, Whorwell PJ. These results provide further evidence that gut-focused hypnotherapy is an effective intervention for refractory IBS.
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Well put Jeanne! And Neo, I had no idea there were all those studies out there, I wont ever read them but its good to know there is "something" going on with those studied treatments. Science is always learning stuff that the world already knew.