My Mom's been diagnosed with dementia and has started having weird dreams, not nightmares. Is this part of the process?

MELATONIN !!!
It has the opposite effect on me .... produces very dark morbid scarey dreams.... and the effect of it can linger on in the mood through out the day.
And it seems the amount to use differs with different people. (Nolagal).
I would recommend being very careful with its use.

My mum had "horrific" nightmares on aricept she was so scared to take them again i took her off them after 6wks when she started crying she was so scared of them. BUT this is not always the same for others some people have no problems on them?
I would check her meds and side effects. I also dont agree with dementia patients taking any drugs a good healthy diet and lots of fresh air is what i would perscribe but "doc" knows best and what do we know?

Long term memory seems to dominate dreams in persons with dementia, and there is nothing to get excited about, and she probably enjoyed the kids! The strings are another matter and try to remove them from the house as she could be ingesting them which would cause a bowel obstruction.

Sounds like meds to me. My mother had nightmares when taking Levoquin antibiotic. But at other times she was having dreams like the ones you are talking about. They have stopped but we don't know why she was having them to this day.

I think you should look up the side effects to her medication. I personally think dementia drugs do more harm than good and that people should be allowed to grow old naturally. A good healthy diet and fish oil is very important and lots of fresh air!

We went through this, and the next step is the dreams get mixed up with reality. She will think the dreams really happened, she won't be able to separate them.

My mom became delirious when on too much neurontin. She saw people, talked to my sister about the people. Talked to a little girl.

Definitely talk to her MD. As we age we process meds more slowly and they build up. We have fewer surviving brain cells, and need less medication.

In the mean time, normalize the situation. Give her a duster that removes the strings (like a swifter duster or feather duster). Assure her the children will find their way home if they were able to find their way here.

Definitely see a neurologist, my Mom had this and it was a reaction to medication, specifically morphine used as a pain killer after surgery. My sister was having weird waking dreams, doctor originally thought she was having hallucinations and diagnosed her with a type of dementia called Lewey Bars (not sure of the spelling) later after more testing is was not that and she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and given Namenda and Aracept does not have more episodes of those awake state type of dreams.

Having a Mom and two sisters with Alzheimer's we have learned now that it is extremely important to get a neurologist on board ASAP to diagnose the exact type of dementia you are dealing with as there are many types and they all have different symptoms and some require watching the diet, like with cardiovascular dementia one needs to watch fatty intake, so using coconut oil as a possible help for memory loss is not a good idea. Some affect balance (good to know so you can be sure they are protected from falling), some affect those daytime dream episodes, the list goes on it just really good to know what you are dealing with so you can be sure you are not making the symptoms worse with things you think will help. Because the research is constantly finding out new things it's important to stay informed. And it's good to have forums like this to turn to....it helps to know we are not alone in combating this terrible disease. God bless you all!

My wife has had the same problem, and sequel has really helped, so take her to a neuroligist for help.

My Dad for a time, was having lots of dreams about children! Most of the time, little girls, and always involving serious problems with them, that HE was responsible for fixing, keeping them safe, helping them find their way home to their parents. Then, for a time, he would, during the day, say that a little girl had come into the house to visit with him. He always worried that her parents didn't know where she was or would be mad at him because he 'let her in' etc. Some of the other described day time symptoms came with his dementia too.... I often wonder if the dementia pt's tendency to not want to sleep and to be up all night starts with not being able to handle the dreams? I know, in my 'semi normal' state of mind (!!), when I have an upsetting dream, I frequently decide to get up, walk around, get a drink etc, to try to make it go away. Now that Dad is in a facility, is under care of a geri-psych MD and gets different meds, we don't hear about these dreams anymore. He still does not always sleep all night, but they tell me he is easy to redirect....a trip to the bathroom, a drink and back to bed....much like a child. When he is more rested, the rest of his agitation and confusion during the day has gotten much better too. Sleep is key to having the brain function at it's best.

Have you tried melatonin before she goes to bed. Seems to help my mom with the bad dreams. Also, they could be a side affect of Aricept or one of the other drugs. Mom's dreams were causing her to wake up several times in the middle of the night and wake me up after we upped her Aricept dose. The PC gave her Seroquel and that helped a lot but the neorologists said it is dangerous and has taken her off, upped the Namenda and we went back to melatonin on a trail basis. So far so good. My mom never can tell me what the dreams are about but she has repeatedly made comments during the day like you better put that aways because when all those children come over they will break it or those bad kids were here earlier. I wonder if dreams involving children are common?

If your mother isn't on meds, perhaps she should be. When dementia patients reach this stage, what seems important to me is the day-by-day, hour-by-hour quality of life. Brain deterioration shouldn't be allowed to make people suffer if it can be helped. Blessings to you all and good luck.

This happened to my mum at the start. She said she had weird dreams and couldn't sleep. Then she started imagining bugs biting her. Bits of fluff became flying bugs. It's a terrible disease.

When your mom was diagnosed with dementia did the Dr. put her on new medication? That could be causing the bizarre dreams.

Dementia will gradually get worse. New behaviors, new fears, personality changes, anxiety, etc. Do some research and become familiar with what is normal for people with dementia and what isn't. No two people go through dementia in the same way with the same symptoms at the same time.

There are great articles on this site as well. You're definitely not alone and I hope you keep posting and letting us know how you're doing.