Will Alzheimer's patients pretend to be in pain?

My mother wants to do the same thing, going to the ER gives her the attention she so desires. No more, we just placed her in AL, she tried her con game, they didn't fall for it, they reconfirmed the behavior with us, yes, she has done this before.

In her mind she is in pain. Don't think she is pretending. May be something that happened to her as a child? Or the arthritis hurts a little and she is blowing it up. My Mom did that.

Dementia patients are notoriously bad at localizing pain. The pain may actually be somewhere else entirely.

I would schedule an appointment with her geriatrics/internist and investigate all possible sources of her pain.

It isn't made up. It is her perception, which of course, due to dementia, is faulty.

After taking care of my mother in law at home for a year I have come to the conclusion that I am taking care of a toddler. She has aches and pains, especially new ones these past 6 months from falling. Some days she'll be crying because her neck hurts or her ankle hurts and the next day she is just fine. Sometimes I think it depends on how she sleeps. I also attribute it to neurons connecting differently on different days. At night she cries (because she's upset with what her body is doing to her. She has Parkinson's and dementia) and yells out for someone to help her, "Is anybody out there. I need help". In the beginning I checked on her a lot but after a while I figured out she did not really need anything. I know she is scared about what her mind is doing to her but I can't go in her room every hour at night. I have also added music that is soft and soothing. Back to my toddler comment - the times I do check on her, I just kind of knew something was different. It's the same way we are with our kids. We recognize their body language, their tone of voice or tears, and you just know its time to see what is happening. Trust your instincts after you have asked the right questions and observed her actions. Also try redirecting her focus. For me, asking her if she wants her favorite food or talking about the past seems to work. It's hard to figure out at times, what they really need. It is like we are detectives. One last thought. If they want to go the the Dr. or ER tell them you will take them tomorrow. By tomorrow they don't remember. Anyhow this is by no means a solution but I hope it helps. *** And yes I do care. It breaks my heart that she is going through all this. I work full time and I have to stay healthy to take care of her. If she really needed someone to stay with her at night I would hire someone. She does not cry every night, just enough that it bothers me.

The trouble with what I call The Boy Who Cried Wolf syndrome is that one day, there WILL be a true problem that requires the ER. But the vast majority of the time, the ER is NOT required, so it's up to US to figure out WHICH times we should take them and which times we shouldn't. Right? So.......you took mom to the ER and there is nothing wrong with her arms. When she complains of more pain in her arms, give her a couple of Tylenol and call it good.

Like the others have said, dementia patients are bad at being able to pinpoint their pain. That doesn't mean, however, that your mother should be taken to the ER every time she complains. I am 62 years old and wake up every single day of my life stooped over in back pain; it takes me 1 hour at least, and 2 ibuprofen to straighten up. That doesn't mean I need to be seen in the ER; it means I have chronic pain due to arthritis and that can't be 'fixed'. It is what it is. I don't have Alzheimers, however, so I keep the pain to myself and do what I have to do to minimize it.

In your case, take mom to her PCP for a full physical. If he deems her to be in fairly good health, then reserve the ER trips for what YOU deem to be true emergencies. I will never forget my mother insisting on going to the ER for black & blues she'd had on her arms. Honest to God. She would not stop carrying on until I took her; my father was getting surgery upstairs in the same hospital for a broken hip, and my mother was downstairs in the ER being seen for black & blues (while on blood thinners, I might add). The doctor looked at her and said, "What are you doing here, Josephine? I've never heard of a person coming to the ER for bruises. Go home." She had just started down the dementia highway when this incident took place. She is now over 4 years into it, and I've had her in the ER about 10 times since, but never for nonsensical reasons. Just last week she showed me about 4 black & blues on her arms and kept repeating, over and over again, what are these from? Oh my God, these are BAD. And the ER incident came to mind immediately. I told her to wear long sleeves and she wouldn't be reminded of the black & blues which were harmless. True story.

Wishing you all the best in sorting the real from the fabricated. Sending you a hug, too, because you probably need one.

NOt sure, one day I went over to the facility so I could take mom somewhere, she couldn't or wouldn't bend her knees.... That freaked me out a lot, so I borrowed a wheel chair that could be used as a gurny... called an special ambulance, so I could take her to doc.... ambulance didn't show up... traffic or something... anyway, went to see MOM and she was sitting up.... legs/knees bent....all of a sudden, her knees bent?

I really don't know, but it may be possible your mom knows the signs or actions for attention.. Most things don't surprise me much...One day they look at you, like you are nothing, and then another instance, they know you with their WHOLE HEART... :)

ALZ... Who would have thought of such an evil disease... :(

Sorry, that's my thought that I texted here.. Please accept my apology if I overstepped my boundaries...

My mom does the same, but to a lesser extent. We were finally able to get her qualified for hospice. Now, when she begins to complain and want to go to the hospital, we call the hospice nurse. If it is necessary to go to the hospital, fine, but we have a qualified person making that call. Usually just the attention and a Tylenol stops the pain.
Please see if you can get your mom qualified...it is a huge help.

They are not intentionally trying to deceive or get attention. Their reality is the pain is real and exists. Their brain is sick and broken as Teepa Snow often says. They cannot control their words or behavior and they cannot manipulate; that cognitive act of planning manipulation does not work with a broken brain. Take her to the ER each time, it becomes documented and part of her medical record and disease progression. It will help in getting her placed in NH if/when times comes. Lots of patience and compassion are needed; and the caregiver needs rests to be able to give both. Sounds like you are doing a great job; hang in there & take care of you too.

DebRae69, if she groans and acts erratically, I'd consult with a doctor about medication. My LO was already disabled with arthritis when she got dementia, so, we knew she had a lot of physical pain. Then, there were the falls, fractures, etc. so, she needed something for pain, in addition to her anxiety and depression. Cymbalta (you can research it) really helped her not only with the pain, but, the anxiety and depression. It also treats muscle and joint pain. The contentment, it brought was amazing. People are different, but, I'd explore it, if her complaints persist.

I know what you are talking about. For years, grandma complained about how her knees hurt too much to get up. She would go on and on about it trying to get up halfway and then sitting back down. The thing was she only did this with an audience. I noticed she didn't have any problems if there was no one else in the room. Even while she did this, if I walked out of the room 5 minutes later she would be walking down the hallway.

Those were the good times. Now she screams out loudly in pain saying her knees hurt all the time. She lets out that exact same scream if my hands are cold when I change her diaper or if she wants the drapes closed. It's just her way of saying "hey".

When my daughter was young, she would cry with pain in her arm. I took her to the Dr. and he x-rayed the arm and did not find anything. I noticed certain movements made her cry, so back to the Dr.. I showed the Dr. how she would cry, so he x-rayed the clavicle area and sure enough, she had a hair line fracture on her clavicle. The Dr. put her arm in a sling and tied it around her chest so she wouldn't move it and in time she was well. Also, I had a fall and my arm also hurt really bad, but only with certain with movements, the x-ray did not show any fractures, but then an MRI was ordered and it showed I had a rotator cuff tear and had to have surgery. Just thought I would give you something else you might look into. Hope you find a solution.

Try distraction to another activity. If distraction works, the pain is probably to get attention. If the "pain" remains, she may have injuries to joints, muscles, ligaments or tendons. An orthopedic doctor can evaluate that for you.

As their Alzheimer's disease progresses, they are going to revert more and more into a childlike state. Perhaps, as she knows her family, she is acting this way. I don't know if she has the ability to alter her mindset to act differently to medical professionals. Her mind is broken and hard to discern if she has that capability. My late mother did not have Alzheimer's, but there were a few times when I was living with her that she said "Call 9-1-1, my pain is SO bad." Then there was nothing found at the ER. Strange....