My mother with Alzheimer's hallucinates and sees people. At first, the geriatric psychiatrist took her off Ambien and then Namenda. But the hallucinations and delusions have continued. As I have learned more about "confabulation," and heard my mother come up with stories and realities that only exist in her mind, I have come to realize this is all part of the Alzheimer's Disease/Dementia process and that she has such hallucinations and delusions as part of her mind trying to fill in blanks or to cope with things it cannot understand.
My mom sees people including dead relatives and has two way conversations with them as they are very real to her in the moment. At first I found it alarming but now I just let her be, and enjoy the moment and memory. She is never scared or agitated.
I documented and reported to dr but he felt it was common and okay. She did not have other ill health, other than dementia.
As long as the visions are pleasant, ask her to share what she sees and tell you all about them. It would appear her brain is in it's happy place, a secure place. I would only seek medications if the visions were frightening her. Some will say these are visiting Angels, messengers. Who am I to say they are not?
Is she by any chance taking Ambien? One of its side effects can be hallucinations. This happened to 2 family members and a friend; 2 of those were nurses and recognized that Ambien was the cause of the hallucinations by eliminating the other meds as causal factors.
Assuming she doesn't have a UTI and these visions don't scare her, leave her be. They could be hallucinations or visits from spirits to comfort her. We will never know. My mother often sees spirits, people and dogs,and she finds it very comforting.
You should be concerned to the extent that you report this to the doctor who is following her dementia. Hallucinations are common to some types of dementia. If they are not disturbing to the patient there is no need to treat them. But they could be clue about what kind of dementia is present, and the doctor should be aware of them.
Hallucinations are also common in the elderly when they have urinary tract infections. That can be and should be treated. Strangely, a uti does not always have the usual symptoms in the elderly. When hallucinations start occurring it might be a good idea to have her checked out for a uti.
Yes, you should be concerned, but this is nothing to panic over. Just check things out with her doctor.
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I documented and reported to dr but he felt it was common and okay. She did not have other ill health, other than dementia.
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Hallucinations are also common in the elderly when they have urinary tract infections. That can be and should be treated. Strangely, a uti does not always have the usual symptoms in the elderly. When hallucinations start occurring it might be a good idea to have her checked out for a uti.
Yes, you should be concerned, but this is nothing to panic over. Just check things out with her doctor.