Dementia Support Group
Dementia is the progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the brain beyond what might be expected from normal aging. Particularly affected areas may be memory, attention, language and problem solving, although particularly in the later stages of the condition, affected persons may be disoriented in time, place and person (not knowing who they...
I'm trying to figure out if this is a dementia sign and if anyone else is getting this same reaction from their loved ones. My dad, 86 and undiagnosed has always been a strange bird, but lately he's come up with some stuff that making me wonder if I'm dealing with something that is not dementia. Here are some examples:
1) He hired a lawn person and is convinced the man is riding around stealing bills from his car. The man has even found a way into his house to steal the same bills.
2) His VA psychologist is listening in on all his phone conversations and have turned his phone off. Later this same psychologist turned the phone off of a few relatives and one friend. He even deleted all the names in his phone(land line). Finally after months of this my father called the telephone company who confirmed that his psychologist did this, but said they could do nothing about it. Then last week my father figured out a way to stop the psychologist from listening in on his conversations__He told the phone company to route his calls through California.
3) His cousin is always taking his things. Why just a few months ago he tried to take a picture of a painting of Jesus. My father is convinced that it is an original piece worth lots of money. His mother picked it up in a store back in the 40s. She worked a common labor job at the time.
4) The bank keeps stealing all my money.
5) A thief stole his bank account info(new account, by the way) and decided to arrange a monthly contribution to WTTW. This thief didn't buy anything else.
The above is just a sample. So, are any of you experiencing this with your loved ones?
1) He hired a lawn person and is convinced the man is riding around stealing bills from his car. The man has even found a way into his house to steal the same bills.
2) His VA psychologist is listening in on all his phone conversations and have turned his phone off. Later this same psychologist turned the phone off of a few relatives and one friend. He even deleted all the names in his phone(land line). Finally after months of this my father called the telephone company who confirmed that his psychologist did this, but said they could do nothing about it. Then last week my father figured out a way to stop the psychologist from listening in on his conversations__He told the phone company to route his calls through California.
3) His cousin is always taking his things. Why just a few months ago he tried to take a picture of a painting of Jesus. My father is convinced that it is an original piece worth lots of money. His mother picked it up in a store back in the 40s. She worked a common labor job at the time.
4) The bank keeps stealing all my money.
5) A thief stole his bank account info(new account, by the way) and decided to arrange a monthly contribution to WTTW. This thief didn't buy anything else.
The above is just a sample. So, are any of you experiencing this with your loved ones?
My mom has some similar stories. Often they are based in a fact and then dissolve from there. Mom's apartment complex has gotten hit hard by the life alert scammers. They do call but mom has added her own twist. She is now convinced that every call after 3 pm is from this. She also thinks she can hurt them by answering and leaving the phone laying on the table which means no one can call her. Last week she told me that the government stopped these people because the calls stopped. I asked where she heard this and she says the Internet but you know nothing stays on the internet for more than a few hours.
Mom also has had some other stories like this. One was from a night dad spent in the hospital after a pacemaker change. She stayed in the room with him. Next day she calls me very upset because they left them all night with no one checking. Stories of parties down the hall, no one at nurses station, monitors flashing on and off and the person who died in the next room and the nurses not letting them out until they removed the body. Mom was certain that all of this happened. I'm sure it is based on some bits and pieces of what actually happened. She also has a vivid memory of a fire at their old house after it sold. My dad was there but dad died before the house was sold so it was impossible. My brother figured out that this was a flashback to a small kitchen fire from 50 years ago. Again some bits of reality with lots of imagination thrown in.
Can you talk to dad's therapist about this? Maybe try to record the stories without your dad knowing? Just so you can let him hear what dad is saying.
The reality is that there is nothing you can do about this. Until dad requires more care you won't be able to force him into an assisted living home. It also takes a huge loss of mental ability before dad will be declared incompetent. Often a serious medical event gets the ball rolling.
Sometimes the symptoms increase due to certain medications that they're taking and sometimes it's just the progression of the illness.
I'm sorry you have to go through this; it's a struggle some days.
We eventually became accustomed to the changes and just went along with certain things; there wasn't much else you could do but comfort him when he had an episode.
The best/worst one was the missing iron. Mom was convinced someone stole it, specifically my sister-in-law had taken it to send to her daughter (who I am sure has never ironed anything) in California. I found it behind some books.