Mom is still having visions even after being treated for UTI. How long do these last?

How is her sleeping? My mother went through this when she was sleep deprived. It was not a pretty thing. When she finally got enough sleep (over a few days) it stopped happening. She had a uti, was dehydrated and congestive heart failure. Kind of a triple play. Sleep deprivation really was the worst.

If it is Dementia with Lewy Bodies then in the UK it is well recognised that antipsychotics often make it worse and in some cases considered to be dangerous from one of our sites some help for the care givers :

How to help someone manage Lewy Body Dementia

When it comes to helping someone manage the symptoms of LBD, small things can often make a big difference.

Create a routine. It may help people with Lewy Body Dementia to have predictable routines, especially around meal times and sleep times.
Establish a nighttime ritual. Try to establish bedtime rituals that are calming and away from the noise of television, meal cleanup, and active family members. Limiting caffeine consumption during the day, discouraging daytime napping, and encouraging exercise can help curb restlessness at night.
Modify tasks. Break tasks into easier steps and focus on success, not failure.
Walk together. Taking a walk with the patient with LBD is a win-win activity. Being outdoors and exercising is vital for the health and state of mind for both the patient and you.
Strengthen senses. Have a doctor evaluate each the patient’s five senses in order to identify and treat any abnormalities. Then ask about exercises to improve them.
Make lifestyle changes. To help minimize the risk of fall-related injuries, you can help stabilize blood pressure. Help your loved one stay well hydrated, exercise, take in adequate sodium (salt), avoid prolonged bed rest, and stand up slowly.
source http://www.helpguide.org/articles/alzheimers-dementia/lewy-body-dementia.htm
However an additional tip from one of the care homes I visited is that remove all flowered/patterned stuff from the room because people can start to see faces in carpets/ curtains etc. plain plain plain seems to alleviate some of the stress and they use lavender fragranced polish, cleansing materials and sachets in pillows. We can but try and see what works best.

My Mom gets hallucinations sometimes when there is a UTI. Infections seem to cause these though once she got it from an antibiotic while in the hospital and it went away when they changed the antibiotic, so meds can do this too. She has had 4 episodes of this 4 years. I don't know why this happens to older people when they get UTIs but it is frightening as my Mom cannot walk and she tries to get out of bed so I end up calling an ambulance and they take her to the hospital each time. She gets antibiotics and then after two or three days she begins to sleep all the time and the hallucinations go away after a few days or so. When she gets this way they turn off the TV, darken the room, and keep things low key to keep her from getting confused. Last time she had this many of her hallucinations occurred in the area of the TV....lady sitting on the TV, people parading through the room in front of TV etc. so I limit her TV use at these times.

Hi, MamaVic. It sounds as though your mother may have Lewy Body Dementia. One of its hallmarks is visual hallucinations that often get worse when attempts are made to treat with typical antipsychotics. A number of unrelated drugs, such as statins and Benadryl can aggravate the hallucinations as well. Lewy Body Dementia is the second most common form of dementia behind Alzheimer's, but most people have never heard of it, and the average doctor has no clue how to diagnose or treat it. It's really important to get a correct diagnosis in this instance, because your mother's medications may need major adjusting in order for there to be any peace. Other caregivers for LOs with LBD will be your best ally. Arm yourself with the wisdom of people on similar paths, because you will have to be your mother's advocate in the face of clueless medical professionals whose instinct is to throw antipsychotics and sedatives at such patients, and increase the dose when the behaviors get worse.
Check out lbda.org and YouTube videos by Teepa Snow. If you're on Facebook, you'll find a warm and helpful group called Lewy Body Dementia Carers. It's a closed group, but knock, and the door will be opened. Good luck!

Agree with kym here I have had this with my mum on several occasions my doc now knows NOT to give her the meds after a UTI or a chest infection - the main times when this happens - these meds are usually used for a different type of dementia than your mum probably has. For my mum the meds made it ten times worse after just 2 tablets.

UTIs are the very devil - in fact any infection is. My mum still sees people but in a different format than she has when she has an infection. We talk about it now and I never contradict her we just talk gently and calmly about what or who she is seeing.

It is helpful if you can establish what she see ie man/woman/child/people/what they are wearing/doing because that tells the psych doctors a lot. You also need to note down what time she sees these people/where she is/what else is happening/has she just woken up from a doze while the TV is on.

I was at the Psych yesterday with mum and these were all the questions he asked her so clearly they have importance/significance. My mum's incidences tend to be when she has dozed in the chair while the TV is on and seem to occur about 10 minutes after I have been in to check on her so it might be thatit registers but not consciously - I have some more monitoring to do now because we established yesterday she didnt tell me EVERY time she saw someone so we dont have a clear picture just yet but we will.

As for loss of weight that needs a doctors input - you could boost her calorific intake with food supplement drinks but take advice before you do she may just be forgetting to eat and need more prompting thatn your Dad is giving, she may need to eat less but more often and sometimes an overfull plate just puts some older people off eating altogether...
..good luck hun

We had similar problems with a medication my mom was put on. It was Lyrica, so If she's having these problems check with the doctors about the side effects of the medications and they may take her off the ones that could be a problem. After we took her off this medication she went back to her regular dementia, not hallucinations, etc. As far as help goes, continue to push your dad for help. It took me about a year to get help, but after finally getting them to agree to help, they are happy that we did.