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capnhardass Posted May 2013

Dementia overnight decline.

mom has had visuals at different time for years but suddenly this morning it got real. i asked her if she wanted breakfast in town, she claimed i threatened to gouge her eye out. took her to town she thought all the windows had been kicked out of the wendys resteraunt. they were dark tinted. it hasnt let up all day. she stood in my presence and talked to a little boy in the dining room. he doesnt exist but this is the first time shes openly conversed with the ' kids ' . she believes the house contains several people but its just her, myself and the parrot. she whispers to me so noone overhears us. i saw her stash money in a locked closet today. its a good thing i saw her cause she'll have the sheriff looking for it tomorrow . it isnt letting up. there are a steady stream of cars in the driveway, ducks in the yard, an ' elephant 'of a woman lying in her bed, etc.
oddly she is calm and often smiling , not under duress at all. called nurse, nurse will check for infection or fever but she told me the talking to kids and stuff was a pretty normal (re) gression of the dementia. it sure happened fast is all im sayin. im not letting it get to me and im not disputing what shes seeing, just downplaying any danger the intruders might pose. ducks in the front yard? meh, live and let live i say.. if i dispute everything she sees ill be the enemy in 10 seconds flat. it aint worth it..

MishkaM May 2013
Oh my- what a visual I had!! Maybe you should get her a basketball hoop.

Maybe you and the deputy can grab a beer sometime together and commiserate. Always good to have a deputy as a friend!

((((hugs))))

JessieBelle May 2013
capn, it may be that she can't stay home anymore. It would be nice if she could, but sometimes it is just too hard. You are extraordinary. I would be totally freaked out if mine were doing this. Big hugs coming your way.

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jeannegibbs May 2013
Hang in there!

capnhardass May 2013
nurse is trying to get mom on haldol permanently. shes so out of it this am that i felt it necessary to forewarn the sheriffs dept. the deputy said the county has many such cases to incl his MIL. mom has been standing in the driveway this morning throwing my wrenches and sockets as far as she can throw em. with that out of her system she seems to be calming down. nurse will be here shortly. mom wont take her morning meds, im trying to poison her. gorgeous morning here in central indiana otherwise. lol

MishkaM May 2013
I am SCREWED!! ( reading about serotonin levels!!)

Capn- how are you and your Mom? Please let us know how you are doing!!

msdaizy May 2013
Sorry...I hope things get better for you. Its so scary to see them this way...especially when you feel that you can't do anything to help them. She's lucky to have you there for her. God Bless.

msdaizy May 2013
Captain...I had similar things happened with mom about 3 months before she passed away. She accused me of steeling her shoes, she woke up in the middle of the night thought there was a naked baby sick she had to help. Then one night she had a look of horror when she said there was a little girl in her closet that was all scarred up and she was crying. I'm thinking it's part of the dementia. It does affect the serotonin levels..

Here is part of the article I read...
It is essential that all of these neurotransmitters maintain their delicate harmony for soundness and sanity to be maintained. If they should slip out of proper balance, abnormalities in thought, emotions and behavior can begin to appear. In the case of a severe serotonin imbalance, anxiety, depression, panic, rage, and obsessive compulsive behavior can result. If breakdown continues past a certain point, these abnormalities can deteriorate into dementia.

Once dementia has made its presence known, many new and disturbing behavioral and psychological symptoms can appear. The individual may suddenly be prone to wandering, and may become uncharacteristically aggressive. They may be highly depressed and forgetful, and lose their desire to eat. Excessive anxiety and phobias can increasingly hold sway over them.

MishkaM May 2013
Glad to hear today is better for you both! :0)

golden23 May 2013
Glad the Haldol worked It. It does sound like she has taken a step down. Hope you are getting good sleep - update us when you can. Do you have a plan B in case your mum's care becomes too difficult for her to stay at home?
As always - look after you.

JessieBelle May 2013
Hope you can get a little sleep in today, Capn. You've earned it. I can have a hard time sleeping after things like this. I'm tired, but it's hard to get out of overdrive. I hope your mother can stay at home longer, but sometimes it is just too hard. Good thoughts coming your way.

yaya51 May 2013
So sorry for the rough night cap'n but glad to hear things are calmer this morning. Sounds like the haldol is helping so far. Guess it's kinda like being lost at sea...all you can do is stay the course, hope the weather holds, and the sharks keep a respectable distance. (((Hugs)))

capnhardass May 2013
mom seems considerably better today although i did see her smile, squint and wave at a youngster in the yard. clearly shes taken a little dip downward but shes happy and that still beats the hell out of despondancy hour after hour. for everyones information, the er doc, a young lady from iu sed that for ongoing maintenance she prefers low dose hadol to ativan. later her er nurse echoed the same opinion.

MishkaM May 2013
Welcome, DAH4048! :0)

MishkaM May 2013
Long night for you Capn!! Hope you are sleeping right now! Let us know how your Mom is doing today if you can. Wow. Soooo sorry you and Mom are going through this!

DAH4048 May 2013
Hi all, I'm new to this forum.
This post caught my eye quickly. My mom was recently diagnosed with dementia following a stroke (cat scan and EEG verified the diagnosis).
Mom has been seeing "visitors" at night too, her apartment is a hopping place some nights. I'm often told the next morning about the Chinese lady, the nurse in the orange sweater, or any number of folks that aren't there. Recently there has been an imaginary cat. Of course this freaked me out at first, but she seems to deal with like it nothing new.
All this is terribly overwhelming and I'm getting my feet on the ground for the long haul. Glad I found this web site..... thanks for listening

babalon1919 May 2013
I spent the day in the ER on Friday. I don't envy you
Hang in there.

My mom acted very weird in the day or two before breaking each of her hips, respectively, including ambulating herself around the house to pack up clothes for the little boy she was hallucinating, evidently in her care....when we found out in the ER that her hip was, yes, broke...she simply said, "No more babysitting for me."


That was a rollercoaster day, for sure.

capnhardass May 2013
back home. they shot her with 5 mg hadol. things still not ideal, she refuses to believe shes in her own house but finally did lie down in her bed. no uti found. if shes going to be so far out of it im not sure how long she can be at home. thinks there are no ceilings in her room. dont want to be rained on while shes sleeping. if a one off phsyc episode wasnt the entire issue then she just jumped about one stage of dementia in a matter of a couple days. im going to bed, hope she sleeps till noon. today wore me out a little. phew..

golden23 May 2013
do they still use it?

JessieBelle May 2013
I know this one is bad if she is on her way to the ER. Let us know soon as you do. {{{{Capn}}}}

capnhardass May 2013
were waiting on an ambulance. hope the thorazine has a y - fitting.. i needed some 3 months ago..

golden23 May 2013
((((((hugs)))) capn - hang in there -you gotta do what you gotta do.Hopefully she will forget the episode - make sure they check for an infection when she is in there. Good luck and let us know how things turn out.

capnhardass May 2013
bummer. this isnt dementia per se, mom is having an extreme episode of phsycosis and wont go to the hospital with me. gonna have to call the rubber truck. shes gonna see that as the ultimate betrayal but its thorazine time..

capnhardass May 2013
damn, thanks for all the support this evening. there may be ducks in the yard but i saw kangaroos. i aint sure enough of myself to argue with her. " crazy " doesnt fall very far from the crazy tree iz what im sayin. ( sigh )

horserider May 2013
The overnight part DOES sound like UTI. Definately best to roll w/hallucinations (but you knew that already!). There are some conditions that I have come across in doing internet research where vision loss can cause hallucinations in NON-DEMENTIA patients! Extremely vivid visions that can be described in the tiniest detail ("a girl of about 12, with patent leather mary jane shoes, ankle socks with lace, sitting on the chair in the corner..." etc etc). What is going on is that the brain is filling in images where the vision has suddenly disappeared.

In the strictly medical realm, is a detached retina possible?
BTW, have you ever watched "A Beautiful Mind"? Even had some of the same cast of characters (small child). The "other people" may be her brain's interpretation of the sounds in the house (living with a parrot...he counts as a "person" probably!).

jeannegibbs May 2013
I'm glad you are going to have Mom tested. A sudden increase in strange behavior could be from a uti. It could also, of course, be a permanent decline into a new phase.

An apparent decline for my husband always signaled some kind of physical ailment, and usually was the first symptom. When he started acting odder than usual I'd be a the lookout for a fever or an ache or a complaint, which usually came within two days. Occasionally the odd behaviors would clear up without any sickness showing up. I always figured there was something there but it never developed to be serious enough to show other symptoms.

PS...If there is duck poop in the yard tomorrow then it is time to question your vision and not hers!

capnhardass May 2013
ive seen ups and downs on different days but this evening is like 2 hits of microdot, 14 beers and some goldbud. yea, thats how long its been since ive seen this much crazy in one place at one time. nurse sed it could be an extreme manic upswing and thats possible. shes a long way from sad. i dont like the sad but this is a tad unnerving.. shes using her swivel chair for a walker but its too wide for the doors. claims the rolling walker would collapse if you looked at it too strongly. i may have to fly up there and get her down.. metaphorically. lol..

yaya51 May 2013
You're doing everything right capnhardass. As long as the hallucinations remain benign it's best to just roll with 'em. If your mom starts to feel threatened or scared at all the best thing to do do is be calm and reassuring. Sleep can help too, so if you can coax her to lie down and "rest" for a bit their frequency might ease up. Hopefully the nurse will find a UTI (not a GOOD thing but the lesser of two evils!) and a course of antibiotics will calm things down. Sending you more (((hugs)))!!!

JessieBelle May 2013
I'm glad you're there with her, capn. My mother is worse on some days than others. It sounds like you are handling everything well. The only malicious visual it appears was that you threatened to gouge her eye out. it makes one wonder what deep, dark recess of their minds they are visiting. We will probably never know. At least I hope we don't learn personally.

I hope that tomorrow is better for you and your mother even if it is only for a day. :)

MishkaM May 2013
Makes one wonder if the veil is lifted some when the dementia gets to a certain point. But, ghost ducks? - well, who knows, maybe.

Hang in there Capnhardass. We are here for you. ((((hugs)))

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