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By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
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.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. 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.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment. You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
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Mostly Independent
Your loved one may not require home care or assisted living services at this time. However, continue to monitor their condition for changes and consider occasional in-home care services for help as needed.
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Hallucinations, as well as Paranoia Type A and Type B are serious mental illnesses, not to be ignored nor taken lightly. A pychiatrist whom she likes is the best person to handle this problem. There are medications for this which should help her very much. Good Luck!
why does my 96 year old mom that is pretty sharp and does not have dimentia insists on pulling her diaper down when she is in bed therefore in the morning she is all wet and so is the bed. she insists that it is not her that does that. has anybody ever gone through this.
I just need to say how this is such an amazing community that helps people so much, I love reading the advice and learning how to be a better caregiver from so many perspectives. Hugs and thanks to you all!
All good answers. Add: Sometimes, people are in a state of fear, and can imagine people following them related to the major life changes they are experiencing, the small amount of life they have left, etc. ASK her: Do you know who it is? See if she can answer clarifying questions. IF she has been listening to too much fear-inducing programs on TV, or other media, for instance, see about blocking those programs. Substitute programs that are uplifting, pleasant, fun, comedic, etc. Sometimes that is all it takes. IF her fear-related perceptions of people following her persist, some have tried making a game of spotting the color of car or the license plate, or trying to be the first one to see the store or destination one is going to---those types of games require paying acute attention, and distract from the other fear-focued followers. Bottom line: one cannot reason logically with someone who's mind is affected with any kind of dementia. We can distract them from things, or block things that trigger those delusions or hallucinations, and we can check for UTI's and get those treated; OR we can give pills that have side effects to control them if they get too far out-of-hand [like running or trying to escape those followers..] People with compromised minds can and do have some odd perceptions--sometimes, those perceptions can trigger them to doing things that might endanger themselves or others--THAT must be watched out for, to do what's needed to protect them and us.
Be also aware: many classes of medications they may already taking, can cause delusions or hallucinations! Sometimes, it takes some questioning to learn what might be triggering the assumed hallucinations. One patient kept seeing a monkey in his room. Staff kept charting "hallucinating", due to Morphine. I questioned him more, and it turned out that the bolts holding the metal support plate for the TV wall-mount, actually looked like a monkey-face. Once he knew what it really was, and that his mind was a bit loose due to morphine, he calmed down, relaxed; it was no longer a problem. Evaluate the medications the elder is taking!
It sounds like she may be delusional as opposed to having hallucinations. You didn't say whether or not she thought she saw a real person following her or just thought someone was following her. Sounds like a UTI to me. Mom gets delusional as the only symptom of a UTI - said the office at the nursing home sent her a notice not to drink the milk because the kitchen was trying to poison her, etc. - delusional but not hallucinating. Also, vision might be an issue. My mom's vision is bad but at this point, she could not even answer the questions to be fitted for new glasses so sometimes she sees things (shapes) and thinks they are something they are not, such as a large flower pot in the distance being an animal that's about to get her - things like that. A doctor will always prescribe one medication or the other for mental issues, however, on little old ladies, the side effects are much worse than any benefit. Good luck
GayleinJaxFL is right! ==Hallucinations stem from unknown brain glitches--there's no external physical thing being mistaken. ==Delusions are triggered when someone sees something, and the brain perceives it as something else. EITHER can be caused by drugs of many kinds, nutritional deficiencies, blood sugar issues, UTI's, elevated inflammatory issues in the body, chemical exposures, even pain or fear.
Have your mom checked to make sure she doesn't have something medically going on with her that could be causing her hallucinations. Be very careful about the use of antipsychotic medication to treat her hallucinations, because if she has Lewy Body Dementia, the use such medication for her can be deadly. Lewy Body Dementia should be diagnosed and treated by a neurologist, not a psychiatrist. Other than this, I concur with the others here who have advised you to go with the flow regarding your mom's hallucinations. Just keep reassuring her that you have taken care of what she is seeing and that what she sees isn't going to hurt her.
That is paranoia she is experiencing. Perhaps you could say something to get her attention on to something else, like "Oh Mom look at this dress isn't it beautiful dont you just love the color?" It can be hard to do all the time but you do what you have to.
Mom had visual hallucinations that were charming but when the auditory hallucinations started (repetitive music - same songs), that was another matter altogether. She was very upset by them. They woke her up and she couldn't fall asleep because of them. After being sleep deprived and totally not herself, her doctor found the right medicine, Exelon patch which turned out to the perfect meds. Now she doesn't hear them and finally looks more rested and herself. BTW, she never did test positive for UTI.
Is your mother vision impaired? It is common for the visually impaired to see what are know as artifacts. It is the brain's way of keeping the mind entertained in the absence of visual stimulation. This was confirmed by Mother's ophthalmologist and by my psych instructor.
With my dad - the Alzheimers meds and pain meds caused hallucinations, as soon as we took him off of them he was fine, well as fine as could be expected. Meds can do things to the elderly, especially those over 90, that would have never bothered them before.
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
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.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
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.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
B.
APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
Add: Sometimes, people are in a state of fear, and can imagine people following them related to the major life changes they are experiencing, the small amount of life they have left, etc.
ASK her: Do you know who it is? See if she can answer clarifying questions.
IF she has been listening to too much fear-inducing programs on TV, or other media, for instance, see about blocking those programs. Substitute programs that are uplifting, pleasant, fun, comedic, etc.
Sometimes that is all it takes.
IF her fear-related perceptions of people following her persist, some have tried making a game of spotting the color of car or the license plate, or trying to be the first one to see the store or destination one is going to---those types of games require paying acute attention, and distract from the other fear-focued followers.
Bottom line: one cannot reason logically with someone who's mind is affected with any kind of dementia.
We can distract them from things, or block things that trigger those delusions or hallucinations, and we can check for UTI's and get those treated;
OR we can give pills that have side effects to control them if they get too far out-of-hand [like running or trying to escape those followers..]
People with compromised minds can and do have some odd perceptions--sometimes, those perceptions can trigger them to doing things that might endanger themselves or others--THAT must be watched out for, to do what's needed to protect them and us.
Sometimes, it takes some questioning to learn what might be triggering the assumed hallucinations.
One patient kept seeing a monkey in his room.
Staff kept charting "hallucinating", due to Morphine.
I questioned him more, and it turned out that the bolts holding the metal support plate for the TV wall-mount, actually looked like a monkey-face.
Once he knew what it really was, and that his mind was a bit loose due to morphine, he calmed down, relaxed; it was no longer a problem.
Evaluate the medications the elder is taking!
==Hallucinations stem from unknown brain glitches--there's no external physical thing being mistaken.
==Delusions are triggered when someone sees something, and the brain perceives it as something else.
EITHER can be caused by drugs of many kinds, nutritional deficiencies, blood sugar issues, UTI's, elevated inflammatory issues in the body, chemical exposures, even pain or fear.