Hallucinates (sees, hears, smells things that aren't real)

Thankfully nothing like this has happened so far, but forewarned is forearmed

It's nice to be verified In an approach to this behavior and have other "right approaches" given. Sometimes you wonder if what you're saying is the best answer for them. Thank you

What about smells? My husband was adamant he smelled something "terrible" before he was diagnosed formally with Alzheimer's. He could not describe it, but it was very distressing to him. It seems to have disappeared now. We could not reassure him because no one else smelled it.

Mother has "visits" from strangers who come into her house. She thinks we should be able to see them too. We worry that she might actually allow people to enter her house when we aren't there.

My mom is very dependent on my 'taking care of things" real or not. When she is suddenly worried about something I ask her what she would like me to do, giving her control and then agree to do it right away. That usually calms her down enough to where she forgets about it.

Hi very new to the site. I stumbled upon this website as I was researching about a disease my Father was diagnosis with in the last 6 months. It's not exactly Alzheimer but falls under the umbrella of that being the "parent" to this disease. The hallucinations is #1 symptom to "Lewy Bodies Dementia" . We were fearful of Alzheimer because his sister had the disease for years and many years ago before research and knowledge of Alzheimer his Mother had memory problems and confusion. My Dad is 74 and was a very active man, working, traveling, riding horses, motorcycles and a very smart business man. Has a lot of real-estate so, when we first noticed the forgetfulness and confusion 5 yrs back was after a stroke. It was mild and didn't slow him down then either. Then my Mother noticed how difficult it was for him to do figures, The MRI's didn't resemble the known disease, Alzheimer, so they went with Dementia and white matter disease. I even work in Radiology so, had first hand conversation with the radiologist and he said there was some things in common with the Big "A" but not enough. We went with it and ask his doctor to put him on Aricept. So, as it rocked on I requested a one of our Neuro doctor', (fringe benefit working for organization of 140 doctor's) so, that's where the Lewy Bodies was first diagnosis. Since then I've researched, purchased books written by caretakers that husband had "LBD" that's what the Lewy Body Organization refers to it as. After reading the comments here, I too, wanted to correct my Daddy because I think was in denial and just wasn't going to agree to something as such because to me, my Daddy is a smart man. The disease is wicked and progressive, the life expectancy is much shorter than Alzheimer. Lew Body is Dementia and Parkinson combo. My Father is very suspicious of my Mother, after 50 plus years he accuses her of having a boyfriend. He recently with the hallucinations is claiming my Mother isn't my Mother. I live out in the country and thank God I built a house right behind them. My Mother is wearing out fast, and couldn't imagine her taking this caregiver role on alone. Thoughts and prayers with each of you.

My partner is convinced that gnats are crawling all over his head. He squishes them and says he can hear a clicking sound when he does that. I have not seen a gnat in the house or on his head. This usually happens when he is in bed at night. He puts my cologne all over his head and also wears a cap and complains that the gnats are crawling under the cap. He refuses to have a door or window open because he says the gnats will get him. How should I handle this?

Alzheimer's...a VERY devastating disease for patient & family. My mother-in-law has Alz dis, lives alone in a big house 40 miles from us. She REFUSES to move from her home to live closer to us or come & live WITH us. My husband took almost a year off work to care for his parents & went to their home 6 days a week for almost a year. My husband could see what was coming down the pike for his parents & wanted to be prepared. He found a brand new condo for them (7 minutes from us), arranged for financing, movers, etc. & they REFUSED to move. Father-in-law died 5 yrs ago & M-I-L still will not move. I have become her primary caregiver because my husband does not have the patience to deal with the constant repetition, argumentative nature, suspiciousness, telling the SAME stories over & over again & mocking that his mother does to both of us. I have learned much from coming to this site which helps deal with the daily problems of the disease. When Mom tells the same story over & over again in a 30 minute period, I pretend it's the 1st time I'm hearing it from her & she lights up like a Christmas tree. My husb would get mad at me for doing that but he sees now she responds to it in a positive way. We take care of her medications, banking, bills, laundry,etc. but she thinks she still does it all...we tell her, "yes, you do." It's very hard to deal with her arguing about everything we try to do for her & her suspiciousness but I know it's part of the disease. My husband, her son, has a very hard time dealing with it, especially when she becomes aggressive & physically strikes out at us. I could go on & on but you all know what it's like...it's just a good feeling to share some thoughts with others who know what you are talking about. People who have never dealt with Alz have NO idea what you are talking about or what it is like living with it daily. Good luck & best wishes to all who are dealing with this horrid disease.

I made a mistake .she doesn't hallucinate. Sorry.

My mom rubs a dog, sews, folds clothes in her sleep is this part of the hallucinations?

You reaffirmed to me that going along with my gut feeling is the correct path. My brother with Down Syndrome and Alzheimers is experiencing alot of hallucinations. My first response is to reassure him. If it is scary or he says someone is telling him to do something like follow them outside or they are "bad people", I calm him down and reassure him that there are no bad people in this house and I would not ever let anyone hurt him or come into this home that want to hurt any of us. Sometimes I tell him that his brain is just playing tricks on him, though I know that response won't work forever. Other times I go along with it to a point and try to change the subject. As long as I can, I will continue to be as honest as I can with him. This works for us (right now) and might not work with everyone. You just have to kind of navigate through this terrible disease and see what works best for your loved one. As we all know, it also happens that what may work today might not work tomorrow.

My lover is 93 yrs. old. For the first time in his life he is dealing with chronic disease. April 2010 surgery for removal of colon cancer and resectioning of the colon. Excellent surgery and recovery. Two days later he tore the muscles in his esophagus and couldn't swallow regular food for 2-3 months. Had dialation twice; that is all he can have. The esophagus is too thin and fragil. Cancer metastasized April 2010. Started on chemo in tablet form that same month. Started radiation 5 November 2011. Stopped radiation and chemo after 16 treatments. Had good results. His decline started March 1 and has excelerated since April 1. In my opinion he is preparing to release his sould and depart from his physical body. We both feel he has had excellent care and all of his medical care team were the top of their class in knowledge, caring, compassion, etc. Each one talked to him first before addressing my or whom ever were with him. We have Medical Advantage 3rd party HMO with Regence Blue Cross. They have been super in handling his needs. I am glad they were the insurance provider. He has been home except for the short hospital stay as required following surgery. Up until two weeks ago we have been well cared for at home. We are both from very small families. I prayed for rememberance when we were meeting with the doctors so I could explain to the rest of the family memebers. I prayed for knowledge so I could understand what was being needed from me. I prayed to be calm and clear at all times. I was blessedf with answers to each prayer. The thing I missed the most was are conversations and intimacy (?). We are both LDS and believe and have knowledge of life after death. We are grateful that he has had no pain; or had recognize no pain and has been of comfortable. I joined a cancer support group two weeks ago and it has made a tremendous difference in my life. I did not realize how much I filtered what I said when talking to others. Love your self each day. You are giving a very special gift to you loved one. Let that person be the guide to what is needed and what is desired.

2 weeks ago we moved my mother from a fair-sized enhanced care facility, where she was not getting the attention we felt she deserved, to a group home with only 6 residents. 2 caregivers all day, then one at night who stays awake. They are absolutely wonderful to her and she has shown much improvement emotionally from when she was in the larger facility. Problem is, now she is having traumatic hallucinations. It takes them up to an hour to calm her down and it is happening around every 2-3 days. They are now threatening to let her go if it doesn't get under control. We have an appt. with an Alzheimer's Specialist (neurologist) in 5 days and hope to get some good answers from him. Maybe there is a medication that reduces hallucinations or at least makes her more calm about what she thinks she's seeing. She goes running and screaming, sometimes hitting those who come near her and sometimes runs out of the house so they have to chase after her. She is disrupting to the other residents who are all extremely calm all the time. Does anyone know if there are certain types of dementia that cause more horrifying hallucinations than others, and if there is a good medication for this? She is already on Serroquel and mild ativan. Soo sad for her, and terrified they will kick her out. : (

thanks aviovaimo for responding. working on all of the things you suggested. it just isn't as simple as that but i'm working on it. Best of luck and wishes to all of you ~WG

Sorry---left the word "husband" out ! My HUSBAND hallucinates.......

Worriedgirl-----get on a plane and go see your Mom! Or arrange for someone else to check on her---any friends or relatives nearby? Not being able to get in touch with her for a week is NOT a good sign........she needs to see a doctor to have some kind of diagnosis A.S.A.P. Only then do you know what`s going on and what to do next. My hallucinates quite a bit----nothing to do with religion---and it is quite commom with dementia.But you won`t know what`s going on with Mom unless she sees a doctor----she`s not too young to have dementia but it could be something else.Good luck ♥

oh boy. My mother is changing. we live in different states now but I've always been there for her. emotionally, financially, anything she needs which isn't easy as I don't have much myself. It's becoming increasingly difficult to help her lately as she never takes my advice. She's alone and lonely and recently up & quit her job because she "couldn't take it anymore" Life has always been hard on her her but almost a year ago now she started experiencing "visions" and what I call extreme paranoia. She has not been diagnosed with dementia but I am suspecting it. She seems to think that she's having some sort of spiritual awakening and I tried really hard to be open to that but I think it's dementia. Of course there are times when she seems normal just overwhelmed and depressed but always very aware that what she is experiencing is not normal. I'm very worried. I've been calling her for a week solid now and the phone just rings and rings. I know she's in her apt. because I sent her a gift for her b day and I could see that the UPS package was received. Sorry for this long story. I guess my main questions are: Is it commom for sufferers of dementia to confuse these hallucinations with religious awakenings???? Is it common for them to be aware that they are "seeing things" and realize that it may sound strange to others? She said she didn't believe that she was going crazy or even hallucinating. but that these things were really happening. Also, she's not very old. only 62. Her mental state seems to be changing so rapidly. any advice other than "get on a plane and see your mom" would be helpful. Because I know it will take so much more than that to actually help her for the longterm. Thank you for listening

it hasn't happend to my husband, but I didn't know how to handle it in the event that he was having one. Thanks for your information.

I have been correcting my mom until I saw how aggressive and angry she got. So I just go along with it now

It's helpful cuz now I kno her behavior is due 2 the disease & thers really no need 2 try 2 correct her. Most things we just go w/it.

It is good to find out that going along with what my Mother sees will not make her worse off.

Some people choose to try medication to help with the hallucinations and delusions---I have chosen not to take that route as I seem to be able to handle it so far.The only thing that would make me consider meds is if my husband became aggressive or really too agitated.So far listening,reassurance,touching and "playing along" have been enough.Of course the disease progresses so nothing is written in stone!Try and explain to your mom that her husband is not the same man he used to be(sad,I know)so quite the same rules don`t apply anymore.Perhaps she can come on this site and do some reading?Also,try alzheimersreadingroom.com--lots of good articles there!

Thanks aviovaimo - you describe the kind of things we are also dealing with. My mother is unfortunately not 'psychologised' to the situation, making it tough for everyone concerned but this too seems to be easing as she doesn't seem to be taking as much strain from the situation. We will continue to take it one step at a time. God bless you.

I think your dad has sundowning,meaning in the evenings he gets more anxious,moody and well,strange.My husband has that as well plus he`s always seeing people here,there and everywhere but more so in the eveningtime.He likes to shut and lock doors early,which I don`t always like.I have some problems at night sometimes,he keeps waking me up and talking about different people doing this and that.He also one time was convinced that we had to move out,that seems to have gone.You just have to expect the unexpected and try to play along .I try to enter my hubby`s world as I know he cannot always enter mine.It is not easy always but you get used to it.

I have recently moved my father (and my mother who is in good health) into my home as I felt that I was missing out on an important part of their lives. I've noticed a pattern where he seems to get withdrawn mostly in the evenings. We go for walks in the late afternoon but he will not recognize my house once we get back. He also thinks that we have just arrived from his house (a good 1000km away). Sometimes he's in a hurry to get to 'our grandfather's funeral' and at times he will pack his bag (anyone's clothes) to go home - and so it goes on. What is surprising is that most of the time he knows that he's at my place and seems to be on top of things, then these 'crossed wires' seem to come out of the blue, but mostly in the evening. We normally go along with whatever he's saying, but sometimes I sense an anger in him - when he won't engage and wants to do things his way. This is how we first started taking him for walks, but at times this does not seem to get him out of the glum mood. I keep wondering if it was a good idea to move them, but my mother assures me that nothing he does has not happened when they were in their own home. The swings in behavior are sometimes baffling to my young children but I think they're now learning that gramps' thinking is sometimes odd and that he can't seem to remember the simplest things! I keep wondering where he will go from here and how long the lucidity will last. Should he go back or stay (I want him to stay), what is the best for him. He is not on any medication and we pray for him everyday.

I printed it out for the kids to read, to help them understand Dad's problem and what they need to be doing to help him.

Hi everyone----my husband hallucinates a lot,there are people who come to do work on the house or garden,people who manage to get fish from the lawn,cats that have penknives and try to steal my purse,people conducting burials in our garden,trees falling down,babies visiting,runaway teenager,men with wooden legs........it`s all sorts of things......I ad-lib a lot,never tell him that it`s not real,just play along----at least I get to tell off lots of people!It can be tiring but I`m getting a bit better with it now--getting used to it.I`d be surprised if a day went by without our "visitors".Today he tod me that a man came in and put his penis in the electric socket---well we both had a good laugh at that one......it can be bad when he gets anxious but it can be funny sometimes,too.

Dear Heartbroken Child - I know how you feel. Perhaps you could try to have your father briefly greet/speak to your mother as the person she believes him to be and then have him leave the room for a while. When he returns, you could say "Oh there's Dad now". It works for us sometimes.

Please, can someone tell me the best way to handle it when my Mom (who has Alzheimers) is confused about who or where my Dad is, her husband, when he is right there and she is convinced and determined that he is someone else? She will strongly deny that he is my Dad, her husband, and instead is an uncle, cousin, boyfriend, etc. and does not believe me or him that he is in fact my Dad, her husband. Then she starts asking where is he? I can usually play some things off and divert the conversation, but with this it is really a challenge for me.

My husband sees things that don't exist but they don't bother him. The strangest part is, that at times he will say, Oh I must be hallucitating again.

Bernie has night terrors about WWII and it 's usually every night. I use to run to him and comfort him, but sometimes it made it worse. Sometimes he did not respond to me as his wife. We had to sleep in seperate rooms for the last four years. I could not deal with the sudden shock and pain he was inflicting on me. Fortunately, I knew it was not his fault. But, I feel it's better for both of us not to engage.

When my mother was recovering from a broken hip and I was staying with her I moved her walker so I could put a tray in front of her to serve her breakfast. While I was in the kitchen cutting up her fruit and making her meal I heard a blood curddling scream and of course ran to her room to see what was going on fully expecting to see her lying on the floor etc. When I got there she was perfectly fine in her bed, and I said what's the matter, she replyed, you moved my walker, and preceded to scold me for doing so saying that was the first thing they told you in rehab not to move the walker. She then went on to say what if a semi-truck came crashing through her window and she couldn't find her walker? Now I can see she was clearly delusional, and have since seen several signs of her falling deeper in dementia. At the time I was angry because I had put my life on hold to take care of her and was getting no appreciation, but now I just do what I can for her and don't tale things personally.

Hello BigFatlynn, Thank you very much for your question. Here is an Ask & Answer page you may find helpful: ( http://www.caring.com/questions/does-risperdal-relieve-agitation ). If you have questions or concerns about your loved one's medication and behavior, we recommend you speak with a medical professional offline. Take care -- Emily | Community Manager

Send hug or prayer, I sure will ! Readuing your comments brings peace to my soul. We are all going through the SAME thing ! My Mom sees dead relatives, etc, etc. I can't repeat it is too sad. She was on Resperidol .5 mg It seemed to help settle her down and give her an appetite. Lately, though, she has been shaking, Doctor thinks it's her Liver. The awful thing is, I have trouble getting her to appointments. Going through a tough time right now. How I wish this were all a dream.

Is an anti psychotic a good idea, if the patient is very agitated?

Thanks..I appreciate your site...It's important to me to know how others handle the problems I must deal with with my husband...Fortunately he is very kind & has not gotten angry....

My mom is between Stages 5 and 6 and nearly every morning, she asks me where her sister, Donna, has gone. Some days it's easy to tell her it was a dream and that her sister is in Florida. Some days it's good to call said sister. But some days, she will become frustrated and ask me why she has this same dream over and over. I have gently told her that this is part of the disease and that it is alright and she will usually say "I hate Alzheimer's" and it will be finished until the next day.

Hi dodgepot, Thank you very much for your question. I'm so sorry to hear that you've been having difficulty lately with your mother around hallucinations. That must be hard to deal with. If you'd like, you can post your question in our Ask & Answer section, here: ( http://www.caring.com/ask ). Take care -- Emily | Community Manager

Just returned home from visiting my mum in her care home. It's very difficult to listen to my mother getting anxious believing that my father has visited her and leaves without ever saying goodbye (he would never do this...they have been happily married for 64 years!) Sadly, mum will then search the home looking for him, becoming increasingly distressed in the process. In fact, he had not visited her during these imaginary visits. How best to manage such situations?

My suggestion to Sam's daughter is to get your father's car out of his sight. If you have to sell it or give it away, whatever you have to do, so he will not continue to obsess about it. It sounds like he is stressed and worried about his car because he isn't able to drive any longer, and seeing the car is a constant reminder of that fact. When my husband got too confused to drive safely (earlier in his illness) and finally turned over the keys to me, he would forget from time to time that he couldn't drive any longer and would ask for the keys, then get combative when I said the doctor said he couldn't drive any longer because of his Parkinson's. Finally, I gave the truck to our son so my husband didn't have to see it all the time. After a while he forgot all about his truck, and driving. I have discovered that "Out of sight - out of mind" works very well for my husband. Hope this helps.

my dad is now thinking that someone is messing with his car, its either someone in his building or someone at work, but everyday he says someone is messing with his car but we don't see anything different in the car. we keep telling him that he can't drive anymore but he becomes compative when tell him this. What should we do about this

My Father-n-law woke my mother-n-law up and asked her in a very mean way why she had thrown the waste basket full of trash on him as he slept. She told him she did no such thing he said yes you did "why do you have to do that to me while I sleep". She told him I must have been mad at my first husband. She then got the waste basket and pretened to clean the mess up. And they finally fell back to sleep.

I need to add - sometimes other 'ideas' pop up. the past two days she has wanted to go out to her job. She worked outside the home very little in her life.... I just have to let her know that if they come pick her up, that means they need her today - satisfies her - for a bit, then she forgets.....

thank you

Mom used to hallucinate alot, but that has almost completely disappeared. Thankfully!

My Mother started this stage. I sometimes get annoyed at her and correct her, but then I realize I just have to go along. It's SO tough. I live with her so I'm the number one cargiver. This disease sucks, and I know it's going to get worse. I feel bad for my mother, but, I also sometimes feel bad for me.

My wife sees pair of snake winding up on ceiling fan. Because there are two brass rings for decoration on ceiling fan. My wife sees the cock on a/c is disturbing her. She sees cock out of some similar sticker on a/c. These are the things when she is fully awake. Now she started dreaming too with her long sleeps.

I am glad I am doing the correct thing as you mentioned. My husband refused to go to the bathroom as he said there was coffee all over the wall. I went to look and said oh yeah, but I think it is safe for you to use the toilet.

My mother was getting these hallucination effect awhile ago. Trying to catch bugs in the air that weren't there..it could be anyttime but mostly at night. I would wake up because i could hear her making noise..come to find out, it was the medicine she was taking. Aricept..with the combination with of Namena . Since then, no more visons..Hope this can help someone else.

I have found that telling my husband that he must have fallen asleep and was having a "waking dream" seems to work well most of the time when he has hallucinations. Once when we were in the car he started to look around on the floor and under the seat, while I was driving, and when I asked him what he was looking for he said he was looking for the baby rabbits our son gave him. When I told that we didn't have any baby rabbits and he must have dozed off and was having a waking dream, he was satisfied. The same thing with imaginary cats in the house, etc. Although one night he was up for a long time banging around in the cabinets in the bathroom and I got up to check on him, he had put a cup of water down in the middle of the floor and when I asked him about it he said it was for the puppies. He said he couldn't go back to bed until he found the dog food. I told him we didn't have any dogs it must have been a dream, he got mad and argumentitive, so I told him that if he would go back to bed I would feed the puppies. He was satisfied with that and let me lead him back to his room. Sometimes we just have to do what we have to do to reassure them that all is well in their world.

My mother has 'visits' from people whilst i am at work. some of these are no longer with us but they visit her and she gets very distressed when she 'remembers' they are gone as she only saw them a day or two ago

Just want you to know that I have been reading the symptoms and the solutions and they are very helpful...I have done some of them on my own but reading 5 or 6 suggestions helps...thanks! Kirch

Hallucination is reducing day by day.