My mom's deceased sister exhibited the same habits. Her son said she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Mom is seeing people in her room. Last night she said a man removed the ceiling tiles and that dust was falling on her.
Visual and auditory hallucinations occur relatively early in Lewy Body Disease (LBD), and relatively late in Alzheimer's and other dementias. Delusions also occur in which the family member thinks things that are untrue (such as, "Your father is cheating on me," or "You're stealing from me.") An accurate diagnosis is important because antipsychotic medications make LBD patients severely worse and many never recover to baseline. If the hallucinations are benign (such as, "Look at the puppy!) don't get treatment.
Macular degeneration can also cause hallucinations of people. The person with that disorder may not be disturbed by it, but may show little awareness despite repetition that it is not real. Dr. Gross
Just don’t tell her there not there. Tell her she’s safe, and your there to make sure of that. Personally I believe dementia symptoms mirror a lot of schizophrenia symptoms. My LO had to be put on an anti-psychotic to get rid of the hallucinations. However, if they see children that is suppose to be comforting to them. My LO is diagnosed with vascular dementia, as well as Schizoaffective. Good Luck
Check her meds for side effects that cause hallucinations. Gabapentin, used for neuropathy, caused horrible hallucinations for my mom. It was a brand new med they tried for feet pain, so didn't take much for me to identify the new med and verify side effects. If there's no new med, rule out a bladder infection because it can create some pretty crazy thoughts, too.
If you can't id any thing, it could just be the progression. One lady I know swore her deceased hubby was on a tree limb outside and watching her through the window. Several deceased family members visited with her on a regular basis. We learned to just go with it because you can't argue a broken brain back into reality. As long as she is not fearful of her 'visitors', it's better to just agree or tell her it's someone you sent over to fix something.
I do not really have an answer for you, but I do share your concerns. My mother (95) has hallucinated people living in the upstairs of her mobile home for 2 or 3 years now. These began after she had a couple of episodes where she ran out of sugar and was entering a diabetic coma when family members called 911 and the EMT's came and revived her. My sisters and I disagree on her possible diagnosis. I believe she has many signs of dementia and we should prepare for more decline, my sisters believe this is not the case. Her doctors have tested her and said that she passes the tests and does not have dementia. As I am in the minority I am keeping pretty quiet about this and just dealing with the current day when I see her.
One sister tries to convince her that she is having hallucinations because her mobile home doesn't even have a second floor. She took Mom outside and told her to look at her windows and see that there is no second floor, but Mom knows what she saw and will not go along with such logic. (She was always stubborn like that: she knows what she knows and nobody could ever convince her she was wrong.)
I don't know that there is anything that you can do except wait for possible further developments. We continue to alter Mom's home to acommodate her growing list of disabilities: more grab bars, rubber sheeting on the ramp for better traction, arm rests attached to the toilet, etc. It is rather alarming for us, but her belief in her hallucinations has had no worse results than pans of scrambled eggs gone to waste that she made for her "houseguests."
I think our alarm and concern may be an over-reaction. It is very difficult to see your Mom changing, declining. The fact is that those changes are inevitable, if unpredictable. It is a wild ride, but we have very limited options. The option we do not have is to magically change Mom back into the person she was 40 years ago.
My sisters and I share our responsibilities by topic: one does doctor's appointments, another does groceries, I keep Mom in touch with her friends, take her to luncheons, and visit with her to try to keep her in touch with some version of reality. In doing this I have decided that part of her reality does involve the people upstairs. I neither deny nor accept her accounts of what the people upstairs do. It seems better if I listen for a while, then change the subject to the flowers that are coming up, the weather, the news. I find that photographs, both old and new are really helpful. As I am an amateur photographer I can print enlargements that she can see well enough to discuss them. Really big hits are photos from the past followed by what the places look like now. They help her to cope with the fact that the world changes, but not too much. I hope you can find something like this to share with your LO to keep your visits happy ones.
My own Mother called me in the middle of the night once and I could detect a great fear in Her voice. As I entered into Mom's bedroom She pointed up at the pleated curtains in Her bedroom and said ' I CAN SEE RATS UP ON TOP OF THOSE CURTAINS, I immediately got a fly slapper and I stood up on a chair to give five or six hard slaps at the top of the curtains and I reassured my Mother they were gone now and She need have no more worries. The next day I visited Mom's GP and I asked the Doctor what was causing this ? and She replied It appears that Peggy is hallucinating which is a side effect from those sleeping tablets that Mother had been taking, so Dr suggested to cut out taking sleeping tablets hence no more hallucinations.
I would check for UTI, dehydration, other infections and neurological issues and if all come back negative then just go along with whatever your mom is saying. Maybe she really is seeing someone or it just could all be in her head. Who knows!
For my mother, I just go along with it. She tells me that her dad visits her and I tell her "well he dad must really love her to come here and talk to her." If my mother says that someone is knocking on her bedroom door as this happens a lot; I tell her it is God and she says, "oh, God is always welcome into my room." She even tells me that God isn't talking to me anymore. I just tell her that I will have to talk to Him and see what He is mad at me about. All this seems to work for her.
As long as your mom isn't scared and there is no underlying medical cause I wouldn't worry to much about.
My mom had Alzheimer’s and when she saw or more often was hearing music none of us could, id have her checked for a UTI. She works a catheter so was more prone to the infections. I’d ask Mom about whoever she saw and made sure she wasn’t frightened. She also saw deceased family in her last week. I hope that’s what angels are about. I know it brought her peace and comfort.
My husband has seen three angels for 14 years. He has described them to me from their clothing to their weapons. He says he talks with them and they laugh at his jokes. I humor him and say I'm jealous -- I would like to see them too. Who knows for sure? Maybe they are real!
Sounds like you're acting perfectly when it comes to redirecting or playing along, Flash. When Mom had hallucinations of a man or woman standing in her kitchen, I made show of ordering them out of the house, walking them out, slamming the door and locking it. I'm still amazed that made the hallucinations go away.
I echo recommending checking for a UTI. You also could have a pharmacist check over all her medications. There may be a medicine she's taking or a combination of medicines she's taking that could cause hallucinations. Perhaps a med needs to be adjusted.
There is a book called 'I'm not sick and I don't need help' by Xavier Amador. He is talking about how to deal with schizophrenia. His suggestions for how to deal with delusions could be helpful.
There are ways to respond where you aren't directly challenging the person's "reality" but you also don't reinforce the delusion. Maybe that would be helpful for you.
I can't seem to paste the link but Teepa Snow has a short YouTube on redirecting hallucinations. The idea seems to be to engage with the emotion.
When faced with this - I don't pretend to see it/them too. I will admit I can't see it/them if directly asked but don't explain it's not real - as it is real to her.
I sometimes wonder if the brain/eyesight play tricks, like *dust* & the brain concocts a story to make sense of it.
With your Aunt, I thought Schzophrenia was dx 20s-30s? (But could be wrong) Was your Aunt DX with that when younger or in older age? Sometimes it is Lewy Body Dementia - but can appear in other types of Dementia or Parkinson too.
Hopefully the Doctor's visit is helpful & supportive.
My mom has moderate to advanced dementia, she said there was a man looking in through a fake window decoration with a wreath on ithe haging on the wall. Mom was an artist , she said give me a pencil . I will draw him. She drew a creepy cartoonish face. She was so surprised that I didn't see it ! Delusions are very common in dementia as it advances. UTIS are also common . My mom is always seeing little things like bugs and animals.
Your profile says she suffers from a Dementia. Seeing things is par for the course. My Mom always saw a little girl who disappeared when I came into the room.
Bring it up to the doctor and a Urine test to check for infection wouldn't hurt.
I agree with suggestions to have a urine test done - however My mother has been put on antibiotics four times with a suspected UTI - only to find out after the cultures came back that it is revealed that she did NOT have a UTI. The suggestion to have cognitive test done is critical, and one that I did not know about until the third UTI testing done because of erratic behavior of seeing & hearing things, people and deceased loved ones. I particularly like it when she sees flowering fields and young children playing or an occasional loved one who has passed on - because those are the ONLY positive ones she sees -- most of the time it is something that is very upsetting to her. (i.e. : my Dad & "his <non-existent> girlfriend" riding bikes up the hill and along the ceiling, she keeps trying to run after them but can't get to them - which has also caused some pretty serious falls.) She repeatedly sees my husband outside her window asking her if she is ready to go yet. (my husband passed away from cancer 12+ years ago) This one is particularly emotional for me when we talk about it. But it also makes my heart happy that maybe he is there to help her eventually "across". (I was at my husband's side at home when he passed, and there is no doubt in my mind that there were loved ones there to help him across.) I am not suggesting that because she is seeing and talking to people, etc. that she is near death. Please forgive me if I have caused you concern over this. I don't think my Mom is near death at this point yet either - but I also think that she needs some reassuring regarding the confusion and fears she has about what she is going through - and if "filling in the blanks" includes seeing and talking with people - I am all for it. I just wish it was more positive than negative. We try our best to deflect a BAD vision into a GOOD one - for example asking what the girl on the bike with Dad looks like - and if she says long dark hair we convince her it must be Amanda (her granddaughter) who is always trying to get them to exercise more. That usually works, but not always. If it were me and my Mom told me that the ceiling tiles are falling all over her - I would say something about how the renovations and the new ceiling are going to look BEAUTIFUL once it's completed! We just have to get through this messy part. It's all about trying to help them make sense of what they think they are seeing. If all they are believing they are seeing is negative or horrifying things - they will probably be terrified & miserable all the time - and not find any peace at all. And I think that is what my role is now -- to try to help my mom find some PEACE in this horrible situation. (My sister and I call them "chicklets" -- which can also be called "fiblets" - but if we say fiblets in front of our mother - she seems to know we are lying. Chicklets works for us.)
Sorry for the long message - I hope you find some way to divert the things your LO is seeing & make them more pleasant for her.
Flash, at 81 yrs old the likelihood that she is experiencing mental illness is not as great as the likelihood that she is having age-related issues. Like freqflyer stated, take her to get tested for a UTI, which is very common in the elderly and can cause them to display the symptoms you describe. Often it is the only symptom of a UTI, and they can get many of them. While at the doctor, discretely ask them to perform a cognitive exam so that you know what you're dealing with (but may not be recommended if she does have a UTI...wait to do cognitive exam until she is fully recovered). Her hallucinations could be other medical causes but discount the easiest and most likely first. Let us know how it goes!
Flash7, have the doctor check your Mom for a Urinary Tract Infection. Such an infection in old folks will cause a huge array of strange behaviors, and one is seeing people who are not there.
Clearing up a UTI is easy if your Mom doesn't mind taking the antibiotics. If the UTI initial test comes back clean, at least the doctor can rule out that is the cause.
Macular degeneration can also cause hallucinations of people. The person with that disorder may not be disturbed by it, but may show little awareness despite repetition that it is not real.
Dr. Gross
My LO is diagnosed with vascular dementia, as well as Schizoaffective.
Good Luck
If you can't id any thing, it could just be the progression. One lady I know swore her deceased hubby was on a tree limb outside and watching her through the window. Several deceased family members visited with her on a regular basis. We learned to just go with it because you can't argue a broken brain back into reality. As long as she is not fearful of her 'visitors', it's better to just agree or tell her it's someone you sent over to fix something.
One sister tries to convince her that she is having hallucinations because her mobile home doesn't even have a second floor. She took Mom outside and told her to look at her windows and see that there is no second floor, but Mom knows what she saw and will not go along with such logic. (She was always stubborn like that: she knows what she knows and nobody could ever convince her she was wrong.)
I don't know that there is anything that you can do except wait for possible further developments.
We continue to alter Mom's home to acommodate her growing list of disabilities: more grab bars, rubber sheeting on the ramp for better traction, arm rests attached to the toilet, etc. It is rather alarming for us, but her belief in her hallucinations has had no worse results than pans of scrambled eggs gone to waste that she made for her "houseguests."
I think our alarm and concern may be an over-reaction. It is very difficult to see your Mom changing, declining. The fact is that those changes are inevitable, if unpredictable. It is a wild ride, but we have very limited options. The option we do not have is to magically change Mom back into the person she was 40 years ago.
My sisters and I share our responsibilities by topic: one does doctor's appointments, another does groceries, I keep Mom in touch with her friends, take her to luncheons, and visit with her to try to keep her in touch with some version of reality. In doing this I have decided that part of her reality does involve the people upstairs. I neither deny nor accept her accounts of what the people upstairs do. It seems better if I listen for a while, then change the subject to the flowers that are coming up, the weather, the news. I find that photographs, both old and new are really helpful. As I am an amateur photographer I can print enlargements that she can see well enough to discuss them. Really big hits are photos from the past followed by what the places look like now. They help her to cope with the fact that the world changes, but not too much. I hope you can find something like this to share with your LO to keep your visits happy ones.
The next day I visited Mom's GP and I asked the Doctor what was causing this ? and She replied It appears that Peggy is hallucinating which is a side effect from those sleeping tablets that Mother had been taking, so Dr suggested to cut out taking sleeping tablets hence no more hallucinations.
For my mother, I just go along with it. She tells me that her dad visits her and I tell her "well he dad must really love her to come here and talk to her." If my mother says that someone is knocking on her bedroom door as this happens a lot; I tell her it is God and she says, "oh, God is always welcome into my room." She even tells me that God isn't talking to me anymore. I just tell her that I will have to talk to Him and see what He is mad at me about. All this seems to work for her.
As long as your mom isn't scared and there is no underlying medical cause I wouldn't worry to much about.
Good luck!
I echo recommending checking for a UTI. You also could have a pharmacist check over all her medications. There may be a medicine she's taking or a combination of medicines she's taking that could cause hallucinations. Perhaps a med needs to be adjusted.
There are ways to respond where you aren't directly challenging the person's "reality" but you also don't reinforce the delusion. Maybe that would be helpful for you.
When faced with this - I don't pretend to see it/them too. I will admit I can't see it/them if directly asked but don't explain it's not real - as it is real to her.
I sometimes wonder if the brain/eyesight play tricks, like *dust* & the brain concocts a story to make sense of it.
With your Aunt, I thought Schzophrenia was dx 20s-30s? (But could be wrong) Was your Aunt DX with that when younger or in older age? Sometimes it is Lewy Body Dementia - but can appear in other types of Dementia or Parkinson too.
Hopefully the Doctor's visit is helpful & supportive.
Bring it up to the doctor and a Urine test to check for infection wouldn't hurt.
I particularly like it when she sees flowering fields and young children playing or an occasional loved one who has passed on - because those are the ONLY positive ones she sees -- most of the time it is something that is very upsetting to her. (i.e. : my Dad & "his <non-existent> girlfriend" riding bikes up the hill and along the ceiling, she keeps trying to run after them but can't get to them - which has also caused some pretty serious falls.) She repeatedly sees my husband outside her window asking her if she is ready to go yet. (my husband passed away from cancer 12+ years ago) This one is particularly emotional for me when we talk about it. But it also makes my heart happy that maybe he is there to help her eventually "across". (I was at my husband's side at home when he passed, and there is no doubt in my mind that there were loved ones there to help him across.)
I am not suggesting that because she is seeing and talking to people, etc. that she is near death. Please forgive me if I have caused you concern over this. I don't think my Mom is near death at this point yet either - but I also think that she needs some reassuring regarding the confusion and fears she has about what she is going through - and if "filling in the blanks" includes seeing and talking with people - I am all for it. I just wish it was more positive than negative. We try our best to deflect a BAD vision into a GOOD one - for example asking what the girl on the bike with Dad looks like - and if she says long dark hair we convince her it must be Amanda (her granddaughter) who is always trying to get them to exercise more. That usually works, but not always. If it were me and my Mom told me that the ceiling tiles are falling all over her - I would say something about how the renovations and the new ceiling are going to look BEAUTIFUL once it's completed! We just have to get through this messy part. It's all about trying to help them make sense of what they think they are seeing. If all they are believing they are seeing is negative or horrifying things - they will probably be terrified & miserable all the time - and not find any peace at all. And I think that is what my role is now -- to try to help my mom find some PEACE in this horrible situation.
(My sister and I call them "chicklets" -- which can also be called "fiblets" - but if we say fiblets in front of our mother - she seems to know we are lying. Chicklets works for us.)
Sorry for the long message - I hope you find some way to divert the things your LO is seeing & make them more pleasant for her.
‘I do “sense” them though.
Clearing up a UTI is easy if your Mom doesn't mind taking the antibiotics. If the UTI initial test comes back clean, at least the doctor can rule out that is the cause.