Grandmother is talking about people who aren't real?

Question

My grandma has Dementia.. Over the years she refused to get help and now it is to the point where she can no longer care for herself. We take turns staying with her as she is blind in one eye and now has a tendency to roam off, and cause mayhem. Today as I was watching her, she kept talking to someone named Rodney, she kept pointing to the bathroom and said he is hiding in there. The only people there were her, myself and my 8 month old daughter. She kept saying he is a basketball player for the team she owns (she does not own a team or anything for that matter) and that he was studying to become a Dr. Then she looked at me and said "Rodney says your baby is dying." I got really upset by that and told her to please not say something like that about my child. She kept at it, insisting my child was choking and dying and that Rodney saved her life. When I finally had enough, she told me I was "fired" from her corporation. I have no clue where any of this came from and she lied repeatedly over and over again. She used to lie before she had Dementia and it seems it stuck with her. Does anyone else have any experience with this?

MountainMoose · Accepted Answer

My mom has dementia and occasionally sees people who aren't there. I don't get excited, I just pretend to see them. Then I ask Mom, "Do they have your permission to be here?" If she says no, then I loudly tell them to leave and actually escort them out of the house, slamming the door and locking it. I let Mom know they're gone. She's relieved and that's the end of it. I've scooted chickens out of her bedroom too.

Above, talkey mentioned to have her check for UTI. My mom also has delusions and hallucinations and after checking for a UTI, she is positive. With antibiotics those hallucinations pass. Though the past two times she's hallucinated/delusional, she tested negative for UTI and the doc believes it's her disease progression.

bevbungalow3 · Answer

My MIL sees people in her room or in her bed or looking in the window all the time. We are constantly telling her there is only the three of us in the house. This was a surprise to us, but hallucinations can be a part of dementia.

SCmartin1 · Answer

My Mom had people in her car that would not leave and she would stand outside the car and talk to them to try to get them out of her car until finally she called the police on them and ended up in the hospital in the psych ward, we then proceeded to get rid of the car and get her on medications to help with the delusions, she still sees things but they are not so real for her now so she can cope with it.

Luonax0 · Answer

That was the whole purpose of me posting, to learn others experience and learn more about the disease. Her Mother, my great grandmother, had the disease and it presented in a totally different way. The reality is that her son is her caregiver and I was helping him out and he will not get her any of the help she needs. I came for advice on how to deal with the delusions and others were very helpful and I thank you for the replies and will try them.

cwillie · Answer

I get how upsetting her pronouncement about your child is, even if it isn't rational. The best response would probably be to say "thank goodness we have Rodney here to help", or to just walk away for a while.
There are two women who talk to invisible companions at mom's nursing home, one of them actually seems to "hear" replies and answers (it sounds a lot like listening to someone on the phone), the other just drones a constant monologue, telling and re telling her stories. It's sad.

talkey · Answer

You may want to have her dr check for UTI and do bloodwork to see if there is a physical cause. Otherwise, it may just be the progression of the disease.

jeannegibbs · Answer

I know where it came from. She has dementia. She has delusions.

She is not telling lies. That is, she is not deliberately saying things that she knows are not true. She is telling the truth of her own reality, which is very definitely not your reality.

If you are going to continue taking care of someone who has dementia you would probably be A LOT more comfortable if you learn about the disease.

Grandmother is talking about people who aren't real?

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