My 77 year old mom has hallucinations or is it the anxiety meds. she's on? I can't tell if mom is in late stage dementia or not. She has been incontinent with her bladder for awhile but is now with bowels. She is on anxiety medicine. She is having hallucinations but I don't know if its due to the medicines or just the disease. She doesn't know anyone by name any more but does still have some face recognition. She has severe back pain from previous surgery. she is starting to hold food and fluid in her mouth and has started spilling her drinks and food on the table and floor. My mom is 77 and was diagnosed in 2009 but we know she has had it longer than that. I love her so much I hate seeing her struggle every day. She lives with me and I wouldn't have it any other way.
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Last December we had an appointment with his neurologist and I asked her about a medication that I read about on this website for dementia. She said she would rather try Aricept and, if taken with his largest meal, should not upset his stomach. She said it should take care of the hallucinations. She started him out on 5 mg. The hallucinations were pretty much stopped during the day but we were still having problems with his sun downing. So she increased it to 10 mg. 2 weeks later the hallucinations stopped! I am so thankful!
He still occasionally sees a bug that is not there or a skunk running through the back yard, that thankfully is not there. But little things like that we can live with. And if things start to get worse, the Aricept can be increased. This drug has literally been a God-send! Many have told us that it seems like the old Dennis is back!
We also found that using a therapy lamp (the kind used for SAD disorders) helped with some of the daytime hallucinations even before he started on the Aricept.
Ask you doctor and see what she/he thinks.
Blessings to you and your Mom.
that was the first sign for me that something was wrong with my mom. She was convinced something bad had happened to her and I knew it hadn't but I could not do anything to make it right. It was an absolute nightmare. Oddly in a few weeks she seemed to forget about it. Which became a clue. And this group helped me tremendously. First thing is look at her meds. You mentioned anxiety meds. My mom was on Ativan and doctors later told me it can increase odds of dementia. Unfortunately, she accidentally took one extra pill a day...for a few days and this was when the trouble accelerated. So look at all of her meds and ask your doctor could she be having any issues due to those. Perhaps there are some alternatives. Also, get under the care of a geriatric psychiatrist. They will help evaluate her situation....ie. is it dementia..is it the pills.....Tramadol --a pain med they gave my mom for her back problems caused severe paranoia...she was convinced this time even more so that terrible things were happening. It was like hallucinations. Also if possible, without upsetting her, if you can video tape her in a state, and show the doctor it might help. My mom was blind so it was easier for me to use my phone to do. It helped me show the doctor what I was talking about as when she went to the doctor, she downplayed it. At least for as long as she could. Wish you lots of luck, Keep coming back to this site and updating --the people here got me through the hardest time of my life!! They will guide you through too.
Has parkinson induced hallucinations and yes she does screen at night so much so I had the police breakin my Hime because they thought someone was hurting her and she was sitting up in bed when I realized she was talking to someone I got up and was surprised to see police in my home they said a neighbor called I said this is normal she has Parkinson's and dementia darn me for leaving windows open......yes she lives with me and now I have to keep my windows n doors locked now all this because there was a baby under her......she also does not sleep at night hence I am not getting any sleep. I have recently started taking her tones doctors to try and get everything under control there is hope don't give up
Meanwhile, try not to argue about what she says she sees. Acknowledge her reality without necessarily agreeing with her. If she sees children in the room, you might say something like, "Children can really brighten up a room, can't they?"
In general, benign hallucinations or delusions don't need treatment. If she sees cats and she likes cats, no problem. My husband saw a dead body in our bedroom but it didn't bother him a bit. He was too busy playing CSI on the scene! But hallucinations that frighten her or keep her from sleeping are worth medical attention.
When you are discussing this with her doctor, you might consider asking about hospice care. If Mom is in a late stage this could help you both a lot.