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I might have her checked by her doctor to see if there is something else going on, such as a UTI or medication side effect. If not, there are some meds that might help with paranoia. That's an option. If they don't work, then I'll tell you how I have handled the matter with my loved one.
My loved one's paranoia doesn't lasts long. She had a bad weekend recently, but then it got much better. I just tried to redirect her and focus on other things. For example, if she said that she was upset about what was going on at the assisted living, I would ask for details, but she had none. I would then tell her it has all been sorted out and things would be fine the next morning. That seemed to make her feel better and I just repeated it every time she showed concern.
Another time she was concerned that she had done something wrong, but she didn't know what it was. I told her that she hadn't done anything wrong, but just in case someone thought she did, I had gone to the office and straightened it out. I comforted her and said it was all worked out and no reason to worry. And then I would suggest we go for a walk and I'd talk about art on the wall or her next snack. I would just keep repeating the story that everything was worked out. Eventually, she stopped it. Now, she rarely goes paranoid, though it could happen at any time.
I do not believe that correcting her or trying to convince her that she's wrong will work.
I agree with Sunnygirl, you will probably not be able to convince her otherwise if you tried. The best path is to reassure her that you've taken care of her concern. I've even taken my cell phone out and made a pretend phone call in reference to my Mom having fears that something bad had happened to one of my brothers. I've "called" to have skunks and other small animals that she believes are under her bed or her chair removed. Once I tell her that someone is coming to take care of the problem, I am usually able to get her to start focusing on a different topic of conversation. Hope this works for you.
Go with the flow; Alzheimer Society of Canada, http://tinyurl.com/oujghvy 20 Eglinton Avenue West, 16th Floor Toronto, Ontario, M4R 1K8
Hallucinations and delusions are symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. With hallucinations or delusions, people do not experience things as they really are.
Delusions are false beliefs. Even if you give evidence about something to the person with dementia, she will not change her belief. For example, a person with dementia may have a delusion in which she believes someone else is living in her house when she actually lives alone. Delusions can also be experienced in the form of paranoid beliefs, or accusing others for things that have not happened. For example, the person with dementia may misplace an item and blame others for stealing it. Some people with dementia may have the delusion that others are "out to get them." For example, he may believe that his food is being poisoned.
Hallucinations are incorrect perceptions of objects or events involving the senses. They seem real to the person experiencing them but cannot be verified by anyone else. Hallucinations are a false perception that can result in either positive or negative experiences. Hallucinations experienced by people with dementia can involve any of the senses, but are most often either visual (seeing something that isn't really there) or auditory (hearing noises or voices that do not actually exist). For example, a visual hallucination could be seeing bugs crawling over the bed that aren't actually there. Of course, people also make “visual mistakes,� mistaking a housecoat hanging up for a person, for example, because they can’t see the object clearly. This can happen to anyone, and is not considered a hallucination. -- here is a good reading for caregivers: "A Common Sense Guide to Alzheimer's Care Kisses for Elizabeth is written for both family and professional caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. It is a practical resource for anyone experiencing difficulty with significant behavioral issues but is also helpful to caregivers who simply want to provide the best possible care.
The author has developed 15 common sense guidelines which address a wide variety of concerns by helping caregivers to solve problems or even prevent them. The guidelines also address negative behaviors such as wandering, combativeness, paranoia and sundowning. The book explains what dementia is, how it affects people who suffer from it and why these behaviors occur.
Stephanie D Zeman MSN RN has included over 40 true heartwarming stories about her patients with dementia and ways in which the guidelines were applied to help resolve their problems and enhance the individuals quality of life
Since one of the best ways to learn is by example, Stephanie D Zeman MSN RN has included over 40 true heartwarming stories about her patients with dementia and ways in which the guidelines were applied to help resolve their problems and enhance the individuals quality of life."
Just go with the flow follow her lead sometimes we invite my mom's FRIENDS to have dinner with us. As long as the Hallucinations aren't scaring her just go with it
If your Mom does not have a history of hallucinations, you should definitely have her checked out for a urinary tract infection (UTI) -- it is extremely common among elderly women and causes a kind of psychosis that goes away once the UTI is treated. UTIs are the number one cause of false psych admits among the elderly. Usually within 24 hours of being treated, the symptoms will go away. Another note: sometimes a patient will start to show the symptoms before she tests positive for the UTI -- if you get a negative test and the symptoms persist, insist that she be re-tested. (This won't be a problem in your Mom's case since enough time will have passed already that she would test positive if she has a UTI). Also, a number of meds that are perfectly safe for younger people, do cause hallucinations in the geriatric population. Sadly, despite how common both of these things are, there are a lot of doctors practicing on a geriatric population who are unfamiliar with these very common problems. Good luck.
Agree with above (testing for UTI) and go with the flow. My Mom thought her son was in a room down the hall. I told her he was sleeping and we should let him get some rest.
My 84 year old mother with Alzheimer's Disease has had hallucinations. A lot of people told me to have her checked for UTI; that was not the issue. It was just the Alzheimer's Disease affected her brain. (By the way, I didn't know if she could figure out how to give a urine sample for UTI, but doctors have something they can put on toilet to collect a sample.) I don't think there is one right answer for hallucinations. At first, when she started seeing other people, I did try to go with the flow. One time, when she had a hallucination and thought the living room was a lake, I had to demonstrate to her that it was not. I think go with the flow is OK for some hallucinations, but not others, which will be common sense for you. If the hallucination is frightening her, this is your mom, not someone's patient, you need to help her not be frightened. There are some hallucinations you can't allow her to believe for her own safety. The nonsense hallucinations don't argue with her about them. Try to just go along and change the subject and her focus. They go away. And sometimes come back. I would talk to a geriatric psychiatrist about the medications she is on, they may need to adjust that.
Get her to a psychiatrist ASAP. This is a symptom of a mental illness and could be managed with medication, unless it is dementia, but the right type of med could help her anyway with the hallucinations. Trying to explain hallucinations is a waste of time.
In my book The Crown of Life Society, I have some examples of these kinds of delusions, among residents in a continuing care retirement community. As one character comments, "If you can't give them a better reality than what they have, go with what they have." My own mother, who lives in a large retirement community, believes the director of security is sleeping on her (my mother's) couch every night, to keep her safe. She keeps a pillow and blanket on the couch for him. I am not about to tell her she's delusional. I just told her it would not be a good idea to tell other residents about her special treatment.
Every time my dad had such hallucinations, starts speaking gibberish or was unusually tired we would get him tested for a UTI or when he had a persistent cough we got him checked out for that and sure enough he would test positive for a UTI or beginnings of pneumonia. So I agree with the above, before you just "go with the flow", see if there is a medical reason first that is causing your loved one to hallucinate. My dad is very sensitive to the adding or taking away of meds, so for us, that would be the last resort.
Sometimes hallucinations can be a sign of lewy body dementia and this should be confirmed. The treatments may be different that for alzheimers and in fact the wrong medication can exacerbate symptoms and impact diagnosis. For more information check out info at the Lewy Body Dementia Association http://www.lbda.org/content/symptoms)
I went through this with my mother who had Alzheimer's Disease. Unfortunately, it is a normal symptom of the disease. Trying to explain will only confuse and upset her more. Just change the subject and talk about something positive, that usually works. If she has a favorite thing, try to get her to focus on that. My mother loved Johnny Depp, so I had an illustrated book of him that I would give her to look at. It is not easy and will only get worse. She really needs to be diagnosed. It is terrifying for them to walk around so scared.
My 71 year old mom has horrible halusinasions about things that are going to happen to her I. The NH. She is terrified. She gets checked for UTI and usually has one. So for about 2 weeks she is imagining all kind of things. The worst was the day she told me I came to see her execution. HerNH and others locally do not seem to have much psyc care. The psyc dr comes one day a month and will not consult with family. Last year she went to the hospital psyc ward fir 2 weeks but by the time she got there the meds kicked in and she was doing fine. It's horrible to try to end a visit when she believes she will be hurt after you leave. I pray with her before I leave and ask to fill her room with the Holy Spirit and ask Jesus to lay in bed with her and hold her so no evil can come anywhere close to her.
I live with my mother and she has auditory hallucinations in which she accuses me of coming home late, being drunk and crashing into walls, stumbling on steps and slamming doors. She tells other family members and maybe her friends. None of this is true. Do I tell her the truth about her condition? I think some people may believe some of this as mother is quite convincing and appears to be normal to others most of the time.
Oh....the UTI...My Mother was in the hospital from a fall and they had been giving her Morphine introvenience(sp!)..anyway, just all of a sudden, she was calling my name and telling me to quit letting these people in, and to look right around the corner and i would see them in the 'kitchen'. She told me there were a lot of messy people and then said that they were 'MY friends'...The nurse was going to give her some morphine for her pain and she became combative and told me to make him go away, that he was trying to poison her. I also noticed her bag of urine was almost coffee color...the dr put her on antibiotics as she had been tested and was positive for UTI...Antibiotics started working very soon after they started them. It was very scary as it caught me completely off guard.
Vision loss can cause them to see things that aren't there. This is called artifacts. My mother's Opthamologist confirmed what my mentor/teacher, a prominent psychiatrist told me in our course on grief and aging.
One of my concerns is with the horror stories you hear about nursing homes and the type of stories mom tells even though I know they cannot be real is something else going in that I don't see that is causing them. She keeps telling me they have me fooled. This is not the first time she has gone through this and it has been other places. But it's always in the back of my mind what's going on when no one is looking. Maybe I'm getting her paranoia.
I agree with the doctor's appointment, it never hurts to get things checked out, especially if this behavior is new or has worsened in a short amount of time. If she has dementia, what I do if someone thinks they are being followed or people are out to 'get' them, I just say that I'll watch out to see if I can catch them. Every case is different, if she has dementia you can contact the local chapter of the Alzheimer's Association for information on how to deal with difficult behaviors. A sudden change in behavior can indicate an illness such as a UTI or pneumonia or some other medical issue. First order of action is to see the doc. Good luck.
If she is physically OK then it would most likely disturb her more if you tried to explain it. Sunnygirl's explanation and those like it are quite good. Diversion works most of the time. Change the subject or activity. It's called "de-railing". Get her thoughts on a different subject. Recap: Doctor first, then deal with mental issue.
Have you talked to your mom's doctor? My mom has spells like this and the doctor advised us to go with the flow if at all possible. She most likely will not understand if you try o explain. Just reassure her that she is safe and that you are watching out for her and will keep her safe. Each day brings a whole new set of problems with people with this problem, so do yourself a favor and try not to stress yourself out about things that you can not change, God bless you and your family. Know that there a lot of us out here in the same circumstances and know just how you feel. We are always here to listen, so vent when you need too! Smile and laugh when you can, it really does help!
The thing is, it IS true - true, that is, that she does have the constant feeling of being followed. Try explaining to her that her brain is making her feel uneasy like this, but that there is nobody there and nothing to be afraid of. (You will probably have to do this rather a lot, I'm afraid).
my friend's mother has hallucinations about being a young girl in Czechoslovakia. When she was a girl they caught the last train out of the country before Hitler invaded. Her hallucinations are about having to catch the last train she's packing her bags and is very agitated. My friend just consols her and repeats that they don't have to catch the train. It's difficult situation, sometimes she wakes them up at 2 or 3 in the morning telling them they got to catch the train. I think go with the flow is the best advice. She also thought she saw her son walking in the hallway so that was kind of weird too. It certainly is strange and I think we have to have compassion and yes these are our family members that we love so we do the best that we can to try and calm them and comfort them.
I really don't have a good answer. Because she has this condition, it is no use telling her there is no one following her. Tell her that you will check it out and if so, you will have him arrested. May that might help. What do her doctors say about it? Verna
I wonder what medication she is on because some psychiatric drugs can cause hallucinations in the elderly and rather than put it down to her dementia you could check out her medications Sometimes these drugs interact with each other and especially antipsychotics can have strange effects on an older person . Also any infection can effect the brain. Im sure that having you constantly in her life will help her feel loved and secure and I hope she will improve soon .
I would definitely keep checking for UTI's, and if there are none, I would keep doing what you are doing. They don't seem to be that bad, and putting her on meds might give you side effects that are even worse. My mother does that also, and when they really get bad then I know its time to check for a UTI.
I agree as well, go with the flow as long as they are not scaring her. My mom sits and has conversations with blast from the past, I just say hi and let them visit. I tried explaining, it either made her upset or angry so I don't do that anymore.
My mom had dementia she would often see my father after he past. Then after her dementia progressed she would talk to him, her late father and other relatives that had past on. It gave her comfort so I just went along with it. If you try to correct her she would get upset and more confused. So unless she is sick or scared just go with the flow.
Not sure if this falls into the category of hallucinations per se but my 91 year old mother complains long and loudly that her keyboard is not in tune. We have brought the keyboard to a well known and respected music store that specializes in this and were told that electric (digital) keyboards) cannot be tuned but the pitch can be adjusted. So, we did this and she is still complaining. To be fair, my mother sung semi-professionally when she was in her twenties but her hearing is now so impaired, and the arthritis in her hands so significant, that we really don't think she can play and/or hear the chords accurately any longer. Of course, this doesn't stop her from fixating on this until I want to tear my hair out. We may just cave and take her to the local store to play some new keyboards (not an easy feat as she really doesn't want to leave her apartment) but we simply won't invest in replacing the current board with another unless she signs off on it, so to speak. Anyway, that's my contribution to this thread, for what it's worth.....
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I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
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APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
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My loved one's paranoia doesn't lasts long. She had a bad weekend recently, but then it got much better. I just tried to redirect her and focus on other things. For example, if she said that she was upset about what was going on at the assisted living, I would ask for details, but she had none. I would then tell her it has all been sorted out and things would be fine the next morning. That seemed to make her feel better and I just repeated it every time she showed concern.
Another time she was concerned that she had done something wrong, but she didn't know what it was. I told her that she hadn't done anything wrong, but just in case someone thought she did, I had gone to the office and straightened it out. I comforted her and said it was all worked out and no reason to worry. And then I would suggest we go for a walk and I'd talk about art on the wall or her next snack. I would just keep repeating the story that everything was worked out. Eventually, she stopped it. Now, she rarely goes paranoid, though it could happen at any time.
I do not believe that correcting her or trying to convince her that she's wrong will work.
Alzheimer Society of Canada, http://tinyurl.com/oujghvy
20 Eglinton Avenue West,
16th Floor
Toronto, Ontario, M4R 1K8
Hallucinations and delusions are symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. With hallucinations or delusions, people do not experience things as they really are.
Delusions are false beliefs. Even if you give evidence about something to the person with dementia, she will not change her belief. For example, a person with dementia may have a delusion in which she believes someone else is living in her house when she actually lives alone. Delusions can also be experienced in the form of paranoid beliefs, or accusing others for things that have not happened. For example, the person with dementia may misplace an item and blame others for stealing it. Some people with dementia may have the delusion that others are "out to get them." For example, he may believe that his food is being poisoned.
Hallucinations are incorrect perceptions of objects or events involving the senses. They seem real to the person experiencing them but cannot be verified by anyone else. Hallucinations are a false perception that can result in either positive or negative experiences. Hallucinations experienced by people with dementia can involve any of the senses, but are most often either visual (seeing something that isn't really there) or auditory (hearing noises or voices that do not actually exist). For example, a visual hallucination could be seeing bugs crawling over the bed that aren't actually there. Of course, people also make “visual mistakes,� mistaking a housecoat hanging up for a person, for example, because they can’t see the object clearly. This can happen to anyone, and is not considered a hallucination.
-- here is a good reading for caregivers:
"A Common Sense Guide to Alzheimer's Care Kisses for Elizabeth is
written for both family and professional caregivers of people with
Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. It is a practical resource
for anyone experiencing difficulty with significant behavioral issues
but is also helpful to caregivers who simply want to provide the best
possible care.
The author has developed 15 common sense guidelines which address a
wide variety of concerns by helping caregivers to solve problems or
even prevent them. The guidelines also address negative behaviors such
as wandering, combativeness, paranoia and sundowning. The book
explains what dementia is, how it affects people who suffer from it
and why these behaviors occur.
Stephanie D Zeman MSN RN has included over 40 true heartwarming
stories about her patients with dementia and ways in which the
guidelines were applied to help resolve their problems and enhance the
individuals quality of life
Since one of the best ways to learn is by example, Stephanie D Zeman
MSN RN has included over 40 true heartwarming stories about her
patients with dementia and ways in which the guidelines were applied
to help resolve their problems and enhance the individuals quality of
life."
Also, a number of meds that are perfectly safe for younger people, do cause hallucinations in the geriatric population.
Sadly, despite how common both of these things are, there are a lot of doctors practicing on a geriatric population who are unfamiliar with these very common problems.
Good luck.