A Place for Mom's Family

My mother had brain aneurysm surgery in 2004.  She has suffered from vascular dementia since.  She is currently having some aggression but the most concerning thing is that she is “seeing” people and things that are not there.  My father is trying to care for her at home and he &  I are at a loss on how to communicate with mom when she convinced of what she is “seeing”.  Suggestions please.

I can see how frightning this could be. It is going to depend on what the cause of her hallucinations are. Is she seeing herself in the mirror or shadows? Is she on any new medications? Does she take any mind altering medications? Is she catching a glimpse of something and is this being construed as a person?

In general do not fight her when she is aggresive or hallucinating. You need to step back and give her a break from whatever you where doing. Also I would recommend seeing her neurologist to see if there could be a cause or a treatment like haldol that would be right for her. Also as a side note do not feel like she is responding to you in anyway. Family is always the people that patients with dementia and Alzheimer"a fight the most.

It may be helpful to get a type of caregiver so that your dad can get a break. Caretaking is exhausting.

I'm so sorry , Marina!  How scary!  One thing I learned to do working with dementia was to try to see what might be triggering these hallucinations.  For example somethign paranoid that someone is trying to break into the house at night actually had a large tree branch outside the bedroom window and in the streetlight when the wind blew and the branch moved for a moment you could imagine it might look like a person, but then you or I could calm ourselves down and reasonably see it for what it was:  a tree branch.  Someone without those mental abilities might get stuck at that first reaction of fear and not bea ble to mentally talk themselves through understanding the reality the way your or I could.  You might take a peek around and see if something/someone might be triggering the behaviors.  If you understand them, you might be able to help some.  Granted, you are also dealing with a medical and neurological condition that needs regular physician oversight and treatment which may include medications that will help you and Dad care for her longer by keeping her calmer and more relaxed, and thus more comfortable.  There are environmental and chemical treatments you can research online or at yoru library or Alz Association, too.  Hang in there!  Clearly you have a very loved Mom.