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My mom is 92 years old and from time to time she has situations where she basically hallucinates, she has anxiety and for sure either Alzheimer’s or dementia. I notice they happen when she doesn’t get sleep. She sees things, begins to pant uncontrollably and and screams that she’s in some pain or she is alone . It’s really hard to deal with . Other days she absolutely fine and her normal self it’s like Jeckle and Hyde !
Any thoughts friends !

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I've noticed the same thing.

When my 95 yo mother wakes up all night long, we both have a rotten day after.

Around the 4th or 5th "get up" she becomes combative and angry as I'm escorting her to the bathroom. The next day she will be disoriented, ill-tempered, disrespectful and demanding.

Same thing when she hasn't had a BM for a day or two.

The rare nights when she sleeps all night or only gets us up one time, she is a different person - pleasant, aware of her surroundings, thankful for assistance.

So, it's sleep and gut/bowel issues that have the biggest impact for better or worse.
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Caldinea Dec 2022
The guts/bowels is the worst.
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Has your mother been checked for a UTI (urinary tract infection )? If bad, a UTI can cause some of the symptoms that you mention.
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Lizhappens Dec 2022
Very true. Forgot about that
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When my dad was ready to go home from the hospital and was clearly dying, I asked his doctor to prescribe something for his agitation. The doctor said he couldn’t because he didn’t want him to become dependent on the medication. I was flabbergasted because dad only had a few months to live and I wanted him to be as comfortable as possible. I said that he was 92 and if he became addicted, so what? He was dying. Doctor seemed taken aback by what I said. But he prescribed the medicine. Try it with your mom’s doctor.
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NeedHelpWithMom Dec 2022
So happy that you enlightened your father’s doctor! You were a wonderful advocate for your dad.
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Lots of information available. Ask your health care professional or local Association. Following is a very small capsule of what I just researched:

Hallucinations and dementia | Alzheimer's Society
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk › symptoms-and-diagnosis

10 Ways to Respond to Dementia Hallucinations in Seniors
https://dailycaring.com › 10-ways-to-respond-to-dementia...

What stage of dementia are hallucinations?
Hallucinations are caused by changes in the brain which, if they occur at all, usually happen in the middle or later stages of the dementia journey. Hallucinations are more common in dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson's dementia but they can also occur in Alzheimer's and other types of dementia.May 11, 2021

What is the most common type of hallucination for a person with dementia?
Visual hallucinations (seeing things that aren't there) are the most common type experienced by people with dementia. They can be simple (for example, seeing flashing lights) or complex (for example, seeing animals, people or strange situations).

10 ways to respond when someone is experiencing dementia hallucinations
Determine if a response is needed. ... 
Stay calm and don't argue or try to convince using logic. ... 
Validate their feelings and provide reassurance. ... 
Check the environment and remove possible triggers. ... 
Look for patterns. ... 
Distract and redirect. 

What is the best medicine for dementia hallucinations? Antipsychotic medications for hallucinations, delusions, aggression, agitation, hostility and uncooperativeness:
Aripiprazole (Abilify®)
Clozapine (Clozaril®)
Haloperidol (Haldol®)
Olanzapine (Zyprexa®)
Quetiapine (Seroquel®)
Risperidone (Risperdal®)
Ziprasidone (Geodon®)

Gena / Touch Matters
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Bridget66 Dec 2022
Gabapentin is excellent hallucinations. Economical and does not cause falls as much as some of the other meds mentioned.
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Mrsmarie: One dose of morphine sent my mother into a tailspin of hallucinogenic visual disturbances. Insomnia with dementia present can cause hallucinations.
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We first noticed a memory problem with mom at 70. Now at 77 we had to move her to a assisted living facility b/c her memory was less than 5 seconds, hallucinations, not able to prepare meals, take care of herself and her home. I constantly was overwhelmed with worry for her living on her own. I am relieved she is being well taken care of in her assisted living facility.
on many previous posts I see many parents are in their 90’s . I pray my momma doesn’t have to endure another 20 plus years in this no state of mind!!! .
Most of the time when I visit she does recognize me or refers of me as her sister. Asks about if I have talked with mom and or other relatives that have passed a many years ago, of course I just roll with it all.
It is definitely heartbreaking to say the least!!!
my next steps are to figure how to continue to pay for the facility her funds are dwindling fast. My options are cash in her life insurance and have Medicaid supplement or sell her home.
if we cash in we have to maintain her home until passing which is a lot of work, I’ve been doing for the last 7 years with not a lot of help from other siblings. I would prefer to sell her home keep life insurance going and just keep going. Others I feel have another agenda. ?

I often think, how are all these baby boomers going to manage the cost it is going to cost down the road for them!!!??? It will be astronomically crazy!!!
For all of you in this same boat I wish you strength, endurance and blessings in this new year of 2023
😘🤗☮️🤗🙏🏻
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Sleep patterns with the elderly who suffer from dementia vary greatly from day to day. I find that my 91 year old mother will have hallucinations of someone standing over her bed shortly after falling asleep for the night always followed by her frantic call that she’s sure of an intruder which cannot be as she has furniture of some sort in front of every door each night. And before you berate me this “hazard”, she’s unable to actually stop the doors from opening in an emergency; we’ve gone into the house with them in place many times. It makes her feel safe…who’s to take that away from her.
I’ve often wondered if she’s “sleep talking” since she settles back down so quickly without further question. We have cameras throughout the house which I can check from home which proves she’s alone. She’s claimed to have searched the house but can’t find anyone. I remind her of the cameras (which I’ve checked) and that if the doors still have chairs in front of them that the house is secure and she goes right back to sleep.
I’m finding this happens on occassions where she’s had lots of unusual stimuli during the day, outings with family, no nap, extra or new caregivers. I’m glad she’s so easy to settle down as I prefer to stay on my own warm bed than to trod across the street in this winter weather!
I find that ANY changes to her day to daily schedule can be very disruptive. Her latest episode was Christmas night after a long day with family and friends at my daughter’s house along with a combination of different foods and drink (I forgot her tea bags) and no nap. Although we really try to keep long extra’s/changes to a minimum in terms of time spent, sometimes the fun out ways the cost of consequence.
All my best! I know how disruptive and disturbing this can be!
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Agentsmith Dec 2022
I do know why but some messages cannot be replied to.

Sounds like you are having a time dealing with her.
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I don’t know if you call it an hallucination but my wife frequently recalls events that never happened. I try to quickly try to get her on more real events. I think it is all just part of dementia.
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Yes my Mrs. would do that too. And it was periodic it wasn’t all the time. And sometimes she wasn’t filled with anxiety she was just talking so, for the most part we talked to her lovingly, reassuring her or ignoring it depending on what she was saying. We used meclizine or lorazepam for the anxiety or agitation when it got bad. You have to be careful with the lorazepam because it can be extremely effective. We had a very low dosage and even then we cut it up so one pill wouldn’t knock her out. We just wanted her to calm down. We gave like a third of a pill? It took about 30 minutes to kick in. Make sure you keep these medication‘s away from caregivers if you have them. They will abuse this so they don’t have to deal with her. Hugs!
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What does her Geriatric Psychiatrist say?
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