behavior

[Guest guest]

My father has LBD and has had it for several years. When company is at their

house my dad can carry on a conversation, he knows who you are, etc. Then when

company isn't there he turns into a different person. He does go through times

when he is worse and right now he seems to be going through it. He is staying

up all night and insist my mom stay up with him. He will wake her up in the

middle of the night and tell her he is hungry and to get up and fix him some

breakfast. He won't go back to bed. He has been telling her if she wasn't out

running the streets she wouldn't be too tired to get up and fix his breakfast

(she doesn't go anywhere). But he says that there is a man in the house whose

name is Bob and that he knows my mom and him have a thing going on. He also is

convinced this Bob is there to get his house. They don't even know anyone named

Bob. She can't convince him that this is not true. She doesn't know how to

handle this or what to say to him. Any

suggestions. He also has been coming downstairs without any clothes on and she

has to tell him to get upstairs and get dressed or someone might come in and see

him naked.

Kathy

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Kathy

I can relate to your post. My mom has LBD also. She lives alone and I have to

help her alot and check on her always. For the past 3 weeks she has been

seriously acting out. She threatened to beat me with a baseball bat and then

called the police to report ME. She also called the police dept where I live and

told them someone called her and said my life was in danger and would they go

check on me. The slightest thing was setting her off into agitation. I started

to worry that she was moving into some new worse phase, what would I do blah

blah blah. High stress. This week she has been gentle as a lamb and I breathe a

sigh of relief. She has only been diagnosed since last summer. I am still

learning about this condition as we experience it. Seems the ups and downs and

fluctuating moods and behaviors are just the nature of this beastly disease. I

hope I can remind myself of this the next time she starts having bad days.

Good luck to you and your family.

& ginny 83

[Guest guest]

Kathy

Welcome to the board. The place no one wants to be, but grateful for

it anyway... Those symptoms that you listed certainly sounds LBD'ish.

The extreme fluctuations in cognition for one (your dad's " showtime "

when company is visiting.)

In regards to staying up all night we recently posted information

about Melatonin:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/LBDcaregivers/message/57833

In the article it mentions that Malatonin can help with sleeplessness

and aggitation -- but not many here have tried it yet. Seroquil is

the weakest form of anti-psychotic that has helped many with LBD and

their aggitation. What meds is your dad on?

And the Bob issue -- delusions are very common for those with LBD.

It's also quite similar to another form of delusion called Capgras

syndrome (but instead of two wives, your dad is seeing two men for

your wife)-- read more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capgras_delusion

The delusions (also their hallucinations) are as real to them as

seeing you or I -- so telling them otherwise won't get you anywhere.

It's been best practice to go along with the delusion/hallucination

and then gently redirect the conversation. In your case, admitting

there's another person may only make the matter worse. I'm sure

others on this board have been in similar situations and can give you

some 'redirecting' suggestions...

In regards to the nakedness - my mom with LBD had trouble dressing at

one point in the ALF, so it may too be one of the symptoms (as in

confusion and being confused in what to do in regards to dressing)

and your dad may now just be in need of help in that area. But just

to 'cross it off the list of possible diagnoses', do this: With your

index finger, tap your dad on the forehead between the eyes to see if

he blinks or not when doing so. If he doesn't blink he may have FTD

(Frontotemporal Dementia) (This was something that my mom's

neurologist did and then ruled out FTD at the time.) I'm saying this

b/c many with FTD has the behavior symptom described as: " This is

often associated with a lack of inhibition , resulting in impulsive

or inappropriate behavior, such as swearing at inappropriate times,

outbursts of frustration, or lack of social tact. " Just making sure

that the nakedness is not from FTD vs. just being confused about

dressing in general.

Be sure to visit our Links section on the board (link below) -- tons

of useful information for you.

; loving daughter of Maureen of Boston, MA; dx'd with LBD in

2/2006; fell victim to rapid decline from Risperidone; Was successful

on Celexa, Exelon, ALA & B1; Mom became my Guardian Angel on Sept.

30th, 2006.

Visit the LBDCaregivers board on the web:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LBDcaregivers/

>

> My father has LBD and has had it for several years. When company

is at their house my dad can carry on a conversation, he knows who

you are, etc. Then when company isn't there he turns into a

different person. He does go through times when he is worse and

right now he seems to be going through it. He is staying up all

night and insist my mom stay up with him. He will wake her up in the

middle of the night and tell her he is hungry and to get up and fix

him some breakfast. He won't go back to bed. He has been telling

her if she wasn't out running the streets she wouldn't be too tired

to get up and fix his breakfast (she doesn't go anywhere). But he

says that there is a man in the house whose name is Bob and that he

knows my mom and him have a thing going on. He also is convinced this

Bob is there to get his house. They don't even know anyone named

Bob. She can't convince him that this is not true. She doesn't

know how to handle this or what to say to him. Any

> suggestions. He also has been coming downstairs without any

clothes on and she has to tell him to get upstairs and get dressed or

someone might come in and see him naked.

>

> Kathy

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

Kathy -- one more thing! If your dad's behavior is out of the norm, you

should make sure that he doesn't have a urinary track infection (UTI) --

many of our LOs symptoms become more extreme when they have a UTI. You

can test him at home -- there are UTI test strips available at your

local pharmacy!

[Guest guest]

Thank you, I am going to tell my mom all the information you have given me.

Like you said hopefully someone out there has had the issue of saying there is

another person of opposite sex in house and why? She doesn't know what to do,

because going along with him doesn't seem like a good thing either.

wrote: Kathy

Welcome to the board. The place no one wants to be, but grateful for

it anyway... Those symptoms that you listed certainly sounds LBD'ish.

The extreme fluctuations in cognition for one (your dad's " showtime "

when company is visiting.)

In regards to staying up all night we recently posted information

about Melatonin:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/LBDcaregivers/message/57833

In the article it mentions that Malatonin can help with sleeplessness

and aggitation -- but not many here have tried it yet. Seroquil is

the weakest form of anti-psychotic that has helped many with LBD and

their aggitation. What meds is your dad on?

And the Bob issue -- delusions are very common for those with LBD.

It's also quite similar to another form of delusion called Capgras

syndrome (but instead of two wives, your dad is seeing two men for

your wife)-- read more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capgras_delusion

The delusions (also their hallucinations) are as real to them as

seeing you or I -- so telling them otherwise won't get you anywhere.

It's been best practice to go along with the delusion/hallucination

and then gently redirect the conversation. In your case, admitting

there's another person may only make the matter worse. I'm sure

others on this board have been in similar situations and can give you

some 'redirecting' suggestions...

In regards to the nakedness - my mom with LBD had trouble dressing at

one point in the ALF, so it may too be one of the symptoms (as in

confusion and being confused in what to do in regards to dressing)

and your dad may now just be in need of help in that area. But just

to 'cross it off the list of possible diagnoses', do this: With your

index finger, tap your dad on the forehead between the eyes to see if

he blinks or not when doing so. If he doesn't blink he may have FTD

(Frontotemporal Dementia) (This was something that my mom's

neurologist did and then ruled out FTD at the time.) I'm saying this

b/c many with FTD has the behavior symptom described as: " This is

often associated with a lack of inhibition , resulting in impulsive

or inappropriate behavior, such as swearing at inappropriate times,

outbursts of frustration, or lack of social tact. " Just making sure

that the nakedness is not from FTD vs. just being confused about

dressing in general.

Be sure to visit our Links section on the board (link below) -- tons

of useful information for you.

; loving daughter of Maureen of Boston, MA; dx'd with LBD in

2/2006; fell victim to rapid decline from Risperidone; Was successful

on Celexa, Exelon, ALA & B1; Mom became my Guardian Angel on Sept.

30th, 2006.

Visit the LBDCaregivers board on the web:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LBDcaregivers/

>

> My father has LBD and has had it for several years. When company

is at their house my dad can carry on a conversation, he knows who

you are, etc. Then when company isn't there he turns into a

different person. He does go through times when he is worse and

right now he seems to be going through it. He is staying up all

night and insist my mom stay up with him. He will wake her up in the

middle of the night and tell her he is hungry and to get up and fix

him some breakfast. He won't go back to bed. He has been telling

her if she wasn't out running the streets she wouldn't be too tired

to get up and fix his breakfast (she doesn't go anywhere). But he

says that there is a man in the house whose name is Bob and that he

knows my mom and him have a thing going on. He also is convinced this

Bob is there to get his house. They don't even know anyone named

Bob. She can't convince him that this is not true. She doesn't

know how to handle this or what to say to him. Any

> suggestions. He also has been coming downstairs without any

clothes on and she has to tell him to get upstairs and get dressed or

someone might come in and see him naked.

>

> Kathy

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

Kathy,

I went through a similar behavior with my husband as far as his thinking there

was another male involved with me. It's terrible to be accused of that when

you're just trying to care for your loved one. For us it went on for several

months and that was about 1 yr. ago. My husband is now on 5 mg. of Ambien for

sleep. I think your mom needs to be able to get her rest at night so she can

cope during the day.

Eleanor

behavior

My father has LBD and has had it for several years. When company is at their

house my dad can carry on a conversation, he knows who you are, etc. Then when

company isn't there he turns into a different person. He does go through times

when he is worse and right now he seems to be going through it. He is staying up

all night and insist my mom stay up with him. He will wake her up in the middle

of the night and tell her he is hungry and to get up and fix him some breakfast.

He won't go back to bed. He has been telling her if she wasn't out running the

streets she wouldn't be too tired to get up and fix his breakfast (she doesn't

go anywhere). But he says that there is a man in the house whose name is Bob and

that he knows my mom and him have a thing going on. He also is convinced this

Bob is there to get his house. They don't even know anyone named Bob. She can't

convince him that this is not true. She doesn't know how to handle this or what

to say to him. Any

suggestions. He also has been coming downstairs without any clothes on and she

has to tell him to get upstairs and get dressed or someone might come in and see

him naked.

Kathy

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

---my dad (82) went way beyond weird behavior, his hallucinations

were so real and so scary to him he would act out

to " protect " himself. and we received many emergency calls from

Nursing homes to " take care of him " since they were afraid to go

near him.. SEROQUEL seemed to be most effective in combating this..

He was in construction all his life and QUITE STRONG and QUITE

HEALTHY otherwise. So he received: 50 mg in am, another dose before

lunch, and 5pm with a standing " as needed " The key is to find a

level that keeps them calm but not overly medicated and to get it in

their systems BEFORE agitation sets in..It takes a while for the

body to adjust and he was VERY sleepy at first-- but that went

away.. also its hard to analyze the effect of a med on a Lewy person

since their behavior can vary to extremes from day to day.. Some

days he would sprint around the place and other days he was slumped

over in a chair with little response.

The only other meds he was on was Remeron at nite.. Critical point

with LEWY and meds is to only change one med at a time and in a

gradual way... One place decided they " knew " what to do and changed

all the meds he was on originally (Trazadone, aricept, zyprexa) and

introduced a slew of new ones at once.. Needless to say that

resulted in an " episode " where he went beserk, struck a worker and

destroyed his room...

The problem is the hallucinations are very real and thei ability to

act in a socially acceptable manner is zapped. If the

hallucinations are harmless (sometimes he saw animals and once told

me to " JUMP " so I did... go along with it. And shes became Hes. But

sometimes they can cause them to harm people so Keep anything that

might harm someone out of their reach, Keep noise and visitors to a

minimum ( 1-2 at a time versus a big gathering)

Every day is different and sometimes they plateau for a while...

Keep posting

[Guest guest]

, thank you for this fine letter to Kathy. I didn't know just what

to say, and you said it all so well, with back up WEB sites to boot.

Thank you for many of us.

Imogene

In a message dated 1/4/2007 5:47:30 AM Central Standard Time,

octoryrose@... writes:

Kathy

Welcome to the board. The place no one wants to be, but grateful for

it anyway... Those symptoms that you listed certainly sounds LBD'ish.

The extreme fluctuations in cognition for one (your dad's " showtime "

when company is visiting.)

In regards to staying up all night we recently posted information

about Melatonin:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/LBDcaregivers/message/57833

In the article it mentions that Malatonin can help with sleeplessness

and aggitation -- but not many here have tried it yet. Seroquil is

the weakest form of anti-psychotic that has helped many with LBD and

their aggitation. What meds is your dad on?

And the Bob issue -- delusions are very common for those with LBD.

It's also quite similar to another form of delusion called Capgras

syndrome (but instead of two wives, your dad is seeing two men for

your wife)-- read more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capgras_delusion

The delusions (also their hallucinations) are as real to them as

seeing you or I -- so telling them otherwise won't get you anywhere.

It's been best practice to go along with the delusion/hallucination

and then gently redirect the conversation. In your case, admitting

there's another person may only make the matter worse. I'm sure

others on this board have been in similar situations and can give you

some 'redirecting' suggestions...

In regards to the nakedness - my mom with LBD had trouble dressing at

one point in the ALF, so it may too be one of the symptoms (as in

confusion and being confused in what to do in regards to dressing)

and your dad may now just be in need of help in that area. But just

to 'cross it off the list of possible diagnoses', do this: With your

index finger, tap your dad on the forehead between the eyes to see if

he blinks or not when doing so. If he doesn't blink he may have FTD

(Frontotemporal Dementia) (This was something that my mom's

neurologist did and then ruled out FTD at the time.) I'm saying this

b/c many with FTD has the behavior symptom described as: " This is

often associated with a lack of inhibition , resulting in impulsive

or inappropriate behavior, such as swearing at inappropriate times,

outbursts of frustration, or lack of social tact. " Just making sure

that the nakedness is not from FTD vs. just being confused about

dressing in general.

Be sure to visit our Links section on the board (link below) -- tons

of useful information for you.

; loving daughter of Maureen of Boston, MA; dx'd with LBD in

2/2006; fell victim to rapid decline from Risperidone; Was successful

on Celexa, Exelon, ALA & B1; Mom became my Guardian Angel on Sept.

30th, 2006.

Visit the LBDCaregivers board on the web:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LBDcaregivers/

>

> My father has LBD and has had it for several years. When company

is at their house my dad can carry on a conversation, he knows who

you are, etc. Then when company isn't there he turns into a

different person. He does go through times when he is worse and

right now he seems to be going through it. He is staying up all

night and insist my mom stay up with him. He will wake her up in the

middle of the night and tell her he is hungry and to get up and fix

him some breakfast. He won't go back to bed. He has been telling

her if she wasn't out running the streets she wouldn't be too tired

to get up and fix his breakfast (she doesn't go anywhere). But he

says that there is a man in the house whose name is Bob and that he

knows my mom and him have a thing going on. He also is convinced this

Bob is there to get his house. They don't even know anyone named

Bob. She can't convince him that this is not true. She doesn't

know how to handle this or what to say to him. Any

> suggestions. He also has been coming downstairs without any

clothes on and she has to tell him to get upstairs and get dressed or

someone might come in and see him naked.

>

> Kathy

>

> __________________________________________________

> Do You Yahoo!?

> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around

> http://mail.yahoo.com

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

>

Welcome to LBDcaregivers.

[Guest guest]

Kathy,

My dad recently had many of the same behaviors as yours--thinking my mom was

out of the house when she was sleeping in the bed next to him--and he took a

chair out in the driveway in the middle of the night to wait for her to come

home. He eventually went back to bed, but woke up early and called his sisters

to see if they had seen my mom. He was sure she was having an affair with

someone. When my mom called to fill me in on what had happened, I called his

neurologist who suggested a trip to the general doc to check for a UTI. It

turns out that he did have one, so we don't know if that episode was due to the

UTI or something unrelated. He threatened to pee on the rug and hit my mom with

a baseball bat after he hit all of the other people who were in the house. He

hasn't had too many of those severe hallucinations--mostly it's that they have

to leave where they are and go " home, " and the many other people who are in the

house. Most of these people aren't

threatening, but every once in a while he gets aggressive toward them. I don't

have any answers, but just wanted to share similar experiences.

Dianne P

daughter of Bill, 83

Iward27663@... wrote:

, thank you for this fine letter to Kathy. I didn't know just what

to say, and you said it all so well, with back up WEB sites to boot.

Thank you for many of us.

Imogene

In a message dated 1/4/2007 5:47:30 AM Central Standard Time,

octoryrose@... writes:

Kathy

Welcome to the board. The place no one wants to be, but grateful for

it anyway... Those symptoms that you listed certainly sounds LBD'ish.

The extreme fluctuations in cognition for one (your dad's " showtime "

when company is visiting.)

In regards to staying up all night we recently posted information

about Melatonin:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/LBDcaregivers/message/57833

In the article it mentions that Malatonin can help with sleeplessness

and aggitation -- but not many here have tried it yet. Seroquil is

the weakest form of anti-psychotic that has helped many with LBD and

their aggitation. What meds is your dad on?

And the Bob issue -- delusions are very common for those with LBD.

It's also quite similar to another form of delusion called Capgras

syndrome (but instead of two wives, your dad is seeing two men for

your wife)-- read more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capgras_delusion

The delusions (also their hallucinations) are as real to them as

seeing you or I -- so telling them otherwise won't get you anywhere.

It's been best practice to go along with the delusion/hallucination

and then gently redirect the conversation. In your case, admitting

there's another person may only make the matter worse. I'm sure

others on this board have been in similar situations and can give you

some 'redirecting' suggestions...

In regards to the nakedness - my mom with LBD had trouble dressing at

one point in the ALF, so it may too be one of the symptoms (as in

confusion and being confused in what to do in regards to dressing)

and your dad may now just be in need of help in that area. But just

to 'cross it off the list of possible diagnoses', do this: With your

index finger, tap your dad on the forehead between the eyes to see if

he blinks or not when doing so. If he doesn't blink he may have FTD

(Frontotemporal Dementia) (This was something that my mom's

neurologist did and then ruled out FTD at the time.) I'm saying this

b/c many with FTD has the behavior symptom described as: " This is

often associated with a lack of inhibition , resulting in impulsive

or inappropriate behavior, such as swearing at inappropriate times,

outbursts of frustration, or lack of social tact. " Just making sure

that the nakedness is not from FTD vs. just being confused about

dressing in general.

Be sure to visit our Links section on the board (link below) -- tons

of useful information for you.

; loving daughter of Maureen of Boston, MA; dx'd with LBD in

2/2006; fell victim to rapid decline from Risperidone; Was successful

on Celexa, Exelon, ALA & B1; Mom became my Guardian Angel on Sept.

30th, 2006.

Visit the LBDCaregivers board on the web:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LBDcaregivers/

>

> My father has LBD and has had it for several years. When company

is at their house my dad can carry on a conversation, he knows who

you are, etc. Then when company isn't there he turns into a

different person. He does go through times when he is worse and

right now he seems to be going through it. He is staying up all

night and insist my mom stay up with him. He will wake her up in the

middle of the night and tell her he is hungry and to get up and fix

him some breakfast. He won't go back to bed. He has been telling

her if she wasn't out running the streets she wouldn't be too tired

to get up and fix his breakfast (she doesn't go anywhere). But he

says that there is a man in the house whose name is Bob and that he

knows my mom and him have a thing going on. He also is convinced this

Bob is there to get his house. They don't even know anyone named

Bob. She can't convince him that this is not true. She doesn't

know how to handle this or what to say to him. Any

> suggestions. He also has been coming downstairs without any

clothes on and she has to tell him to get upstairs and get dressed or

someone might come in and see him naked.

>

> Kathy

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

Dianna P., Your dad is bad off enough to become dangerous. Steps need to be

taken by you younger ones to put locks on the doors that he cannot open at

night. He may wonder off looking for your Mom, if he thinks she is off

somewhere. It was just fortunate that he just put a chair on the drive to wait

for

her.

The thing that concerns me most is the danger to your Mom. Hallucinations

are very real, and can become very dangerous, even when the patient is frail.

Get all objects that can be used as a weapon out of the house completely! From

another List Geri Hall, Ph.D. Told us that one man killed his wife, and

other wives have had cell phones and called for help from a closet, a basement

or

locked bathroom. I carry a cell phone on me at all times. Yet, 99% of the

time my darling is just that, a darling.

It is really a shame that we as caregivers need to be weary of our loved

ones. Yet, don't ever forget it is not the loved one, but the hallucinations

that one has to be weary of, and take measures to protect oneself.

Also, talk to his Doctor about the hallucinations, and his actions. His

medications may need to be changed to help calm the hallucinations. Most

hallucinations are not bad, but the few that are can be dangerous to the

caregiver.

Look at 's List on our Home page for medications that are usually

harmful or good for LBD patients. Medications must be started or stopped very

slowly.

Some caregivers have taken all reflective glass off the walls, as well as

mirrors. TV shows need to be only of the sweet and gentle kind. No violence, no

two timing or suggestive movies. Some times things in those movies can

trigger bad behavior for several days at a time. Mirrors can trigger

halucinations.

These thoughts are not to frighten, but to help in knowledge of what LBD can

do, and the precautions to take.

My very best to you and your,

Imogene

Caregiver for my True Texas Gentleman husband of 36 years. He has LBD with

Parkinsonism.

In a message dated 1/5/2007 11:32:49 PM Central Standard Time,

cadysgran@... writes:

Kathy,

My dad recently had many of the same behaviors as yours--thinking my mom was

out of the house when she was sleeping in the bed next to him--and he took a

chair out in the driveway in the middle of the night to wait for her to come

home. He eventually went back to bed, but woke up early and called his

sisters to see if they had seen my mom. He was sure she was having an affair

with someone. When my mom called to fill me in on what had happened, I called

his neurologist who suggested a trip to the general doc to check for a UTI.

It turns out that he did have one, so we don't know if that episode was due to

the UTI or something unrelated. He threatened to pee on the rug and hit my

mom with a baseball bat after he hit all of the other people who were in the

house. He hasn't had too many of those severe hallucinations--mostly it's

that they have to leave where they are and go " home, " and the many other people

who are in the house. Most of these people aren't

threatening, but every once in a while he gets aggressive toward them. I

don't have any answers, but just wanted to share similar experiences.

Dianne P

daughter of Bill, 83

Iward27663@... wrote:

, thank you for this fine letter to Kathy. I didn't know just what

to say, and you said it all so well, with back up WEB sites to boot.

Thank you for many of us.

Imogene