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My mother, whose 74 years old, became unable to live by herself due to some falling issues. As a result, I moved her in with me. She is still able to get around to fix her own meals and take care of her physical needs and I rarely have to assist her. She stays in her room 99% of the time entertaining herself on her computer, watching TV and listening to music. Since I have moved her in, I've noticed she talks to herself non-stop. She makes up stories in her head and talks them out loud playing different characters. If she thinks I'm listening, she stops, or when I confront her about it, she admits that she likes making up stories in her head. Her memory and social skills seem fine. A couple of rare occasions she has blurred her stories with reality when I was talking to her. I took her to her PCP a few months ago and he discovered she had a UTI and prescribed some antibiotics. I know UTI can manifest itself with mental confusion and after taking the round of pills, that seemed to clear up and she hasn't blurred the lines since then. I've listened outside her door and sometimes her "characters" become violent. She watches lots of movies, so I don't know if that plays a role or what. I don't think this is "normal aging" behavior, and I sometimes worry that she might blur the lines again and act out some of the violent acts she talks about. I've tried researching her condition online and it doesn't seem like dementia since she shows no other cognitive decline. I'm starting to believe she has developed some sort of personality disorder. I'm not sure at this point what to do. Any insight or advice would be appreciated?

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It sounds that the only potential problem here is if she starts acting out violent or dangerous things. I very often tell myself the plots of novels when I am awake in the night and want to relax, I just don’t say them aloud. Your mother may be going through a mish-mash of novels, TV shows and old movies, and I hope that she enjoys it!
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Sounds like she has a creative mind. Could it be that the TV programs she has been watching influence her violent story lines? Would she be interested in writing in a journal?
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revolverone Feb 2020
I've tried to encourage her to write her stories down, but she says she rather just talk them out :(
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Some types of mental illness and some types of dementia can manifest in these hallucinations. You need the help now of your MD to recommend a good neuro assessment. Hope you will update us. And keep up on that urine testing with dip sticks, as yes, urinary tract infections do cause some very strange stuff.
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revolverone Feb 2020
Her MD recommended sending her to a neurologist if the antibiotics didn't clear up the UTI. Problem is, that she gets very defensive if I even mention it.
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I don't know.............this behavior sounds odd to me. Maybe it's normal for little kids to do this once in a while, but women of 74? Not so sure. Perhaps it's confabulation? Check out this website & see what you think:

https://www.verywellhealth.com/responding-to-confabulation-in-dementia-97969

They are attributing 'confabulation' to Alzheimer's and an assortment of other conditions as well, not just dementia.

Did you speak to her PCP about this issue to gain his/her perspective? I'd be curious to know what s/he had to say. I've never heard of this specifically myself.

Hopefully someone here will have heard of it, and have some fantastic info for you! Good luck!
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revolverone Feb 2020
I read the article, she really doesn't lie or anything like that. Other than the stories, she seems perfectly fine.
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I think it sounds like she is trying not to be lonely.

I would get her involved with something at the senior community center and see if having a real friend counteracts this behavior.

Little kids do it and it is never seen as a problem, it shows a creative mind and good coping mechanism.
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revolverone Feb 2020
This is where I've been leaning. I know she's lonely. My father died 10 years ago and she lived by herself for all those years and I think that was her coping mechanism. I can't get her to get out an socialize. She's happy as a clam in her room. Also I don't know about genetics and creativity, but my grandfather (her father) was our family's 'story-teller.' Also I'm fiction writer. A couple of months ago, when I confronted her about her behavior, she said she just speaks her stories out loud instead of writing them down.
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