Re: Hello...new here and our story

[Guest guest]

Hi and welcome to our Group.  I, also am fairly new to this venue but

love

the friendliness, knowledge and compassion/empathy shown to all who visit and

talk here.

Hopefully you'll have some answers to all your questions, soon.  There are many

here on this Board who will try their best to help you work through the maze of

LewyLand in which we all dwell.

I wish you all the help and guidance you seek.....you'll find many answers here.

Take care

MJ

________________________________

To: LBDcaregivers

Sent: Fri, September 17, 2010 8:44:11 PM

Subject: Hello...new here and our story

 

Hello. My name is . DH and I have been helping take care of his grandmother

for several years. I believe she has Lewy Body Dementia.

She has lived in a duplex behind us for the last several years. She hasn't been

truly independent for probably 8 years. It's been a gradual decline. About 1 1/2

years ago we convinced my MIL to take her to a doctor that specialized in

Alzheimer's and dementia. She was started on the typical meds to slow down the

decline, but wasn't given a specific diagnosis.

MIL has been in complete denial and unfortunately is the one that has been in

charge of all doctor visits. We now realize that this has prevented us from

getting a lot of the necessary testing/appointments. My husband is now taking a

more active role since we discovered paperwork that he is her Medical Power of

Attorney.

Grandma has had " night terrors " for years. She has been hallucinating more

frequently over the last year. One month ago she called us and told us that she

hated us and never wanted to see us again. She thought we had locked her in a

jail cell in the backyard overnight. She was also convinced that there was a

secret room in her house. We took her to the Dr. who admitted her to the

hospital. She was found to be dehydrated and had a UTI. The Dr. advised that she

was not to return home to live by herself. We got her in to an ALF and she was

adjusting much better than we expecgted. She was very angry at first but ended

up telling us that it was a nice place and she was glad to be there. She went a

couple of weeks without any hallucinations and she seemed to actually be

thriving with the new activities. She was eating better also.

This week she was getting more confused each day, the hallucinations were

becoming more frequent and she barely ate anything. Tuesday she was really

confused and asked us to bring , her dead husband, to see her. Wednesday

night my husband called her and she was sure that there were people trying to

kill her. Thursday night we ended up taking her to the hospital again and she

was admitted. This time there is no UTI, just dehydration. We just got back from

visiting her and she is just laying in bed and won't open her eyes. She is

hallucinating all the time. She did respond to us when we left. (And told my 8

year old son that his earrings were beautiful ??) They have found nothing

physically wrong. The nurse commented that she was surprised that she was worse

tonight than last night.

There have been no adjustments to meds since her last hospitalization. She takes

Seroquel, Namenda and I believe Trazadone along with a few others that she's

been on for years. The Trazadone was new with the last hospitalization and the

Seroquel dosage was increased.

The hallucinations used to be friendly...mainly kids and animals. Now the

hallucinations are trying to harm her and the " kids " .

I don't understand these last two sudden episodes. Last time she was remarkably

better the morning after being admitted. This time she is remarkably worse.

I'm hoping to at least be given a diagnosis before she leaves the hospital this

time.

[Guest guest]

God God God bless you!!! Thank you for being concerned about your

grandmother. I hope your MIL has woke up now and realizes this is

serious and is not in denial no longer. I pray your MIL will come out

of the hospital and you can find her a long term nursing home if that

is your plan.

Where do you live and how old is your MIL?

I am the one and only my Mom has left, she lived with me 15 yrs.

prior to developing LBD, about a year ago. She just had a birthday

and turned 87.

You are in a nightmare yourself seeing and dealing with your MIL in

this condition. I know I was while Mom was home with me and when

she would leave the house or call 911 saying someone was going to

kill her, and police would come to my house and go in every room of

my house looking for a " killer " , when there was none! I thought I was

going to have a nervous breakdown from the time my sister passed

away Nov. 17th 2009, she was my very best friend and sister, and my

Mom's very best friend and daughter. My Mom was in rehab after a

surgery but after 30 days, by a huge mistake, she had to come home

instead of live there permanently, so I had her home with me from

Dec. to April, with her on no med's for LBD but Aricept and Namenda

and they weren't working!!! I finally took her to a new neurologist

in March, but it was too late, the Seroquel had to be slowly started,

and it wasn't working fast enough, and she fell and broke her foot

she was hallucinating she was getting married, and then she wouldn't

wear the boot for her broke foot, I couldn't get her to do anything to

mind at home, she was a mess, hallucinating every single second,

getting married, getting killed, seeing kids, seeing animals, bad bad bad!

Then a month later, end of April, she fell again, and I could barely

get her up off the floor, and knew then she had to get to the psch

hospital and they had to help me get her to a nursing home that was

" PENDING " medicaid, as Mom didn't have $4,000 to $5,000 a month

to pay for long term nursing home care. It all worked out, it has been

a lot of work on my part at the beginning of all of this in April, she

was in a wander guard unit at first 2 months, but she never wandered

out of that N.H. like she did at my house. This was not a good N.H.

so I got her back to the N.H. she had been in for many years after her

surgeries for rehab she really liked and I did. She has been there almost

2 months now and she still hallucinates, she has a psychatrist that

sees her monthly, and a young psychologist that see's her weekly, a

nice lady Mom likes and I am assuming tells her wild stories to. I

am going to ask the nurse if I can make arrangements to talk to them.

She did fall in the new N.H. a month ago but no broken bones. She

told me she wasn't dizzy, but like something just come over her and

she went down. Weird feeling I'm sure! She is in a wheelchair, but

she dresses herself still, goes potty by herself. They put her back

in her walker yesterday, and I'm praying she won't fall down. They

want to keep her as strong as she can be for as long as possible, so

she can continue doing the little things like dress herself, go potty

on her own, I think that is a good idea, as long as she don't fall again.

I took her out to eat on her birthday the other day and as I was up at

the front ordering our food, I had sat Mom down in a seat way behind

me, I looked back and Mom had escaped and gone outside!!!! She

was " talking to her man friend " , and when I went outside to get her

she was trying to get him out of our car!!! She came right back in and

was mad at the " man " for not coming in to eat with us!!! This is all

in her LBD mind of course, so you see, with the Zoloft, Seroquel,

Aricept, med's, this has not worked a cure on her delicate LBD mind.

I don't think there is a cure at all for this disease, but for some

miracle, she has worked out great in the long term nursing home

facility, seems happy, goes to the dining room 3 x day to eat, meets

new friends every month that come in for rehab, and then they go

home and that's sad, but she seems to meet new ones that come in

that sit at her table. She plays bingo 2 x a week, she goes to rehab

daily, I see her daily for a little while. She stays in bed and sleeps or

" visits with her strangers " , her " strangers " , are all men and she has

not known any of the " men " from her past. One man, that she first

come up with was named " " , he popped into her LBD mind last

year, but he died, and yesterday and on some occasions, she will

stop talking to me, and go into her own mind, and will move her lips

and she is actually talking to someone, and she said she couldn't

find " " yesterday, that he must be dead, as he don't talk into

the " radio " , no more.

That's my story, sorry so long, please let us all know how your MIL is

going to be doing after she leaves the hospital. It helps to talk it out

here as everyone is here for our support. And they all have helped me

walk through my terror in these past months tremendously!

God bless to you!!!!

Hello. My name is . DH and I have been helping take care of his

grandmother for several years. I believe she has Lewy Body Dementia.

She has lived in a duplex behind us for the last several years. She hasn't

been truly independent for probably 8 years. It's been a gradual decline.

About 1 1/2 years ago we convinced my MIL to take her to a doctor that

specialized in Alzheimer's and dementia. She was started on the typical meds to

slow down the decline, but wasn't given a specific diagnosis.

MIL has been in complete denial and unfortunately is the one that has been

in charge of all doctor visits. We now realize that this has prevented us

from getting a lot of the necessary testing/appointments. My husband is now

taking a more active role since we discovered paperwork that he is her

Medical Power of Attorney.

Grandma has had " night terrors " for years. She has been hallucinating more

frequently over the last year. One month ago she called us and told us

that she hated us and never wanted to see us again. She thought we had locked

her in a jail cell in the backyard overnight. She was also convinced that

there was a secret room in her house. We took her to the Dr. who admitted

her to the hospital. She was found to be dehydrated and had a UTI. The Dr.

advised that she was not to return home to live by herself. We got her in to

an ALF and she was adjusting much better than we expecgted. She was very

angry at first but ended up telling us that it was a nice place and she was

glad to be there. She went a couple of weeks without any hallucinations and

she seemed to actually be thriving with the new activities. She was eating

better also.

This week she was getting more confused each day, the hallucinations were

becoming more frequent and she barely ate anything. Tuesday she was really

confused and asked us to bring , her dead husband, to see her.

Wednesday night my husband called her and she was sure that there were people

trying to kill her. Thursday night we ended up taking her to the hospital again

and she was admitted. This time there is no UTI, just dehydration. We just

got back from visiting her and she is just laying in bed and won't open her

eyes. She is hallucinating all the time. She did respond to us when we

left. (And told my 8 year old son that his earrings were beautiful ??) They

have found nothing physically wrong. The nurse commented that she was

surprised that she was worse tonight than last night.

There have been no adjustments to meds since her last hospitalization. She

takes Seroquel, Namenda and I believe Trazadone along with a few others

that she's been on for years. The Trazadone was new with the last

hospitalization and the Seroquel dosage was increased.

The hallucinations used to be friendly...mainly kids and animals. Now the

hallucinations are trying to harm her and the " kids " .

I don't understand these last two sudden episodes. Last time she was

remarkably better the morning after being admitted. This time she is remarkably

worse.

I'm hoping to at least be given a diagnosis before she leaves the hospital

this time.

[Guest guest]

Hi again , I was re-reading my reply back to you and I made

some mistakes here, sorry about that. I said, " I pray your MIL

will come of out of the hospital " . I'm sorry, I meant,

grandmother. And also meant, how old is your grandmother,

not your MIL.

My mind is not thinking sometimes!:*(

Prayers,

In a message dated 9/18/2010 8:06:18 A.M. Central Daylight Time,

planomom@... writes:

God God God bless you!!! Thank you for being concerned about your

grandmother. I hope your MIL has woke up now and realizes this is

serious and is not in denial no longer. I pray your MIL will come out

of the hospital and you can find her a long term nursing home if that

is your plan.

Where do you live and how old is your MIL?

I am the one and only my Mom has left, she lived with me 15 yrs.

prior to developing LBD, about a year ago. She just had a birthday

and turned 87.

You are in a nightmare yourself seeing and dealing with your MIL in

this condition. I know I was while Mom was home with me and when

she would leave the house or call 911 saying someone was going to

kill her, and police would come to my house and go in every room of

my house looking for a " killer " , when there was none! I thought I was

going to have a nervous breakdown from the time my sister passed

away Nov. 17th 2009, she was my very best friend and sister, and my

Mom's very best friend and daughter. My Mom was in rehab after a

surgery but after 30 days, by a huge mistake, she had to come home

instead of live there permanently, so I had her home with me from

Dec. to April, with her on no med's for LBD but Aricept and Namenda

and they weren't working!!! I finally took her to a new neurologist

in March, but it was too late, the Seroquel had to be slowly started,

and it wasn't working fast enough, and she fell and broke her foot

she was hallucinating she was getting married, and then she wouldn't

wear the boot for her broke foot, I couldn't get her to do anything to

mind at home, she was a mess, hallucinating every single second,

getting married, getting killed, seeing kids, seeing animals, bad bad bad!

Then a month later, end of April, she fell again, and I could barely

get her up off the floor, and knew then she had to get to the psch

hospital and they had to help me get her to a nursing home that was

" PENDING " medicaid, as Mom didn't have $4,000 to $5,000 a month

to pay for long term nursing home care. It all worked out, it has been

a lot of work on my part at the beginning of all of this in April, she

was in a wander guard unit at first 2 months, but she never wandered

out of that N.H. like she did at my house. This was not a good N.H.

so I got her back to the N.H. she had been in for many years after her

surgeries for rehab she really liked and I did. She has been there almost

2 months now and she still hallucinates, she has a psychatrist that

sees her monthly, and a young psychologist that see's her weekly, a

nice lady Mom likes and I am assuming tells her wild stories to. I

am going to ask the nurse if I can make arrangements to talk to them.

She did fall in the new N.H. a month ago but no broken bones. She

told me she wasn't dizzy, but like something just come over her and

she went down. Weird feeling I'm sure! She is in a wheelchair, but

she dresses herself still, goes potty by herself. They put her back

in her walker yesterday, and I'm praying she won't fall down. They

want to keep her as strong as she can be for as long as possible, so

she can continue doing the little things like dress herself, go potty

on her own, I think that is a good idea, as long as she don't fall again.

I took her out to eat on her birthday the other day and as I was up at

the front ordering our food, I had sat Mom down in a seat way behind

me, I looked back and Mom had escaped and gone outside!!!! She

was " talking to her man friend " , and when I went outside to get her

she was trying to get him out of our car!!! She came right back in and

was mad at the " man " for not coming in to eat with us!!! This is all

in her LBD mind of course, so you see, with the Zoloft, Seroquel,

Aricept, med's, this has not worked a cure on her delicate LBD mind.

I don't think there is a cure at all for this disease, but for some

miracle, she has worked out great in the long term nursing home

facility, seems happy, goes to the dining room 3 x day to eat, meets

new friends every month that come in for rehab, and then they go

home and that's sad, but she seems to meet new ones that come in

that sit at her table. She plays bingo 2 x a week, she goes to rehab

daily, I see her daily for a little while. She stays in bed and sleeps or

" visits with her strangers " , her " strangers " , are all men and she has

not known any of the " men " from her past. One man, that she first

come up with was named " " , he popped into her LBD mind last

year, but he died, and yesterday and on some occasions, she will

stop talking to me, and go into her own mind, and will move her lips

and she is actually talking to someone, and she said she couldn't

find " " yesterday, that he must be dead, as he don't talk into

the " radio " , no more.

That's my story, sorry so long, please let us all know how your MIL is

going to be doing after she leaves the hospital. It helps to talk it out

here as everyone is here for our support. And they all have helped me

walk through my terror in these past months tremendously!

God bless to you!!!!

Hello. My name is . DH and I have been helping take care of his

grandmother for several years. I believe she has Lewy Body Dementia.

She has lived in a duplex behind us for the last several years. She hasn't

been truly independent for probably 8 years. It's been a gradual decline.

About 1 1/2 years ago we convinced my MIL to take her to a doctor that

specialized in Alzheimer's and dementia. She was started on the typical

meds to

slow down the decline, but wasn't given a specific diagnosis.

MIL has been in complete denial and unfortunately is the one that has been

in charge of all doctor visits. We now realize that this has prevented us

from getting a lot of the necessary testing/appointments. My husband is

now

taking a more active role since we discovered paperwork that he is her

Medical Power of Attorney.

Grandma has had " night terrors " for years. She has been hallucinating more

frequently over the last year. One month ago she called us and told us

that she hated us and never wanted to see us again. She thought we had

locked

her in a jail cell in the backyard overnight. She was also convinced that

there was a secret room in her house. We took her to the Dr. who admitted

her to the hospital. She was found to be dehydrated and had a UTI. The Dr.

advised that she was not to return home to live by herself. We got her in

to

an ALF and she was adjusting much better than we expecgted. She was very

angry at first but ended up telling us that it was a nice place and she

was

glad to be there. She went a couple of weeks without any hallucinations

and

she seemed to actually be thriving with the new activities. She was eating

better also.

This week she was getting more confused each day, the hallucinations were

becoming more frequent and she barely ate anything. Tuesday she was really

confused and asked us to bring , her dead husband, to see her.

Wednesday night my husband called her and she was sure that there were

people

trying to kill her. Thursday night we ended up taking her to the hospital

again

and she was admitted. This time there is no UTI, just dehydration. We just

got back from visiting her and she is just laying in bed and won't open

her

eyes. She is hallucinating all the time. She did respond to us when we

left. (And told my 8 year old son that his earrings were beautiful ??)

They

have found nothing physically wrong. The nurse commented that she was

surprised that she was worse tonight than last night.

There have been no adjustments to meds since her last hospitalization. She

takes Seroquel, Namenda and I believe Trazadone along with a few others

that she's been on for years. The Trazadone was new with the last

hospitalization and the Seroquel dosage was increased.

The hallucinations used to be friendly...mainly kids and animals. Now the

hallucinations are trying to harm her and the " kids " .

I don't understand these last two sudden episodes. Last time she was

remarkably better the morning after being admitted. This time she is

remarkably

worse.

I'm hoping to at least be given a diagnosis before she leaves the hospital

this time.

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

[Guest guest]

I admire you and your DH jumping in to care for his grandmother, hate what

she is going through. Good that a uti was ruled out with this recent down turn.

Dehydration is a common cause as well. However, we do have to remember LBD is

degenerative with continuous decline. I'm just wondering if a gradual increase

in the Seroquel rather than introduction of Trazadone would be more successful

in helping her sleep with a more peaceful mind. Just a thought. I well

remember how very tiring the second guessing can be.

Gibsons BC

Mother died Aug. 12, 2006 at age 92 after a 13 year decline from PDD.

>

> Hello. My name is . DH and I have been helping take care of his

grandmother for several years. I believe she has Lewy Body Dementia.

>

> She has lived in a duplex behind us for the last several years. She hasn't

been truly independent for probably 8 years. It's been a gradual decline.

About 1 1/2 years ago we convinced my MIL to take her to a doctor that

specialized in Alzheimer's and dementia. She was started on the typical meds to

slow down the decline, but wasn't given a specific diagnosis.

>

> MIL has been in complete denial and unfortunately is the one that has been in

charge of all doctor visits. We now realize that this has prevented us from

getting a lot of the necessary testing/appointments. My husband is now taking a

more active role since we discovered paperwork that he is her Medical Power of

Attorney.

>

> Grandma has had " night terrors " for years. She has been hallucinating more

frequently over the last year. One month ago she called us and told us that she

hated us and never wanted to see us again. She thought we had locked her in a

jail cell in the backyard overnight. She was also convinced that there was a

secret room in her house. We took her to the Dr. who admitted her to the

hospital. She was found to be dehydrated and had a UTI. The Dr. advised that

she was not to return home to live by herself. We got her in to an ALF and she

was adjusting much better than we expecgted. She was very angry at first but

ended up telling us that it was a nice place and she was glad to be there. She

went a couple of weeks without any hallucinations and she seemed to actually be

thriving with the new activities. She was eating better also.

>

> This week she was getting more confused each day, the hallucinations were

becoming more frequent and she barely ate anything. Tuesday she was really

confused and asked us to bring , her dead husband, to see her. Wednesday

night my husband called her and she was sure that there were people trying to

kill her. Thursday night we ended up taking her to the hospital again and she

was admitted. This time there is no UTI, just dehydration. We just got back

from visiting her and she is just laying in bed and won't open her eyes. She is

hallucinating all the time. She did respond to us when we left. (And told my 8

year old son that his earrings were beautiful ??) They have found nothing

physically wrong. The nurse commented that she was surprised that she was worse

tonight than last night.

>

> There have been no adjustments to meds since her last hospitalization. She

takes Seroquel, Namenda and I believe Trazadone along with a few others that

she's been on for years. The Trazadone was new with the last hospitalization

and the Seroquel dosage was increased.

>

> The hallucinations used to be friendly...mainly kids and animals. Now the

hallucinations are trying to harm her and the " kids " .

>

> I don't understand these last two sudden episodes. Last time she was

remarkably better the morning after being admitted. This time she is remarkably

worse.

>

> I'm hoping to at least be given a diagnosis before she leaves the hospital

this time.

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you everyone for your help and support.

Grandma is 75. She is no longer afraid. She was in a " good " mood today. I'm

not sure how much she was hallucinating and how much she was remembering from

her past. She was able to get to the bathroom with the help of two nurses

today. She can't tell us that she needs to go. I have just learned that when

she gets fidgety it means she has to go. I figure it's best to try to keep her

using the toilet as much as possible.

No one is in denial any longer. The doctor called DH tonight and told him that

grandma is not going to get better. She may have good days, but she will not be

able to go back to the ALF. She needs full nursing care. Also, the family

needs to discuss what to do when grandma refuses to eat and take meds. That hit

him hard. We knew this was coming, but to hear it from the doc makes it more

real. He again didn't mention LBD, just dementia in general.

This has always been grandma's worst nightmare. Her father had Alzheimer's and

she has always said that she would do whatever she could to avoid that. She

didn't want to be a " vegetable " in a nursing home. The kids already know her

feelings on a feeding tube, but they are discussing the possibility of taking

her off some of the meds.

One good thing has come from all of this...all 4 of her kids are being civil

with each other. There has always been tension among them. (That is why my

husband is her DPA and none of them.) They are all sharing the load and doing

what they can to be with her as much as their schedules allow. It has helped to

take a huge load off of us and my SIL who was taking care of grandma a ton.

I don't think we can attribute either of the recent events to meds. The first

bout happened without any recent changes to meds. The second event happened

after 5 or 6 weeks of med changes.

The worst part of this is that we just don't know what tomorrow is going to look

like.

>

> Hello. My name is . DH and I have been helping take care of his

grandmother for several years. I believe she has Lewy Body Dementia.

>

> She has lived in a duplex behind us for the last several years. She hasn't

been truly independent for probably 8 years. It's been a gradual decline.

About 1 1/2 years ago we convinced my MIL to take her to a doctor that

specialized in Alzheimer's and dementia. She was started on the typical meds to

slow down the decline, but wasn't given a specific diagnosis.

>

> MIL has been in complete denial and unfortunately is the one that has been in

charge of all doctor visits. We now realize that this has prevented us from

getting a lot of the necessary testing/appointments. My husband is now taking a

more active role since we discovered paperwork that he is her Medical Power of

Attorney.

>

> Grandma has had " night terrors " for years. She has been hallucinating more

frequently over the last year. One month ago she called us and told us that she

hated us and never wanted to see us again. She thought we had locked her in a

jail cell in the backyard overnight. She was also convinced that there was a

secret room in her house. We took her to the Dr. who admitted her to the

hospital. She was found to be dehydrated and had a UTI. The Dr. advised that

she was not to return home to live by herself. We got her in to an ALF and she

was adjusting much better than we expecgted. She was very angry at first but

ended up telling us that it was a nice place and she was glad to be there. She

went a couple of weeks without any hallucinations and she seemed to actually be

thriving with the new activities. She was eating better also.

>

> This week she was getting more confused each day, the hallucinations were

becoming more frequent and she barely ate anything. Tuesday she was really

confused and asked us to bring , her dead husband, to see her. Wednesday

night my husband called her and she was sure that there were people trying to

kill her. Thursday night we ended up taking her to the hospital again and she

was admitted. This time there is no UTI, just dehydration. We just got back

from visiting her and she is just laying in bed and won't open her eyes. She is

hallucinating all the time. She did respond to us when we left. (And told my 8

year old son that his earrings were beautiful ??) They have found nothing

physically wrong. The nurse commented that she was surprised that she was worse

tonight than last night.

>

> There have been no adjustments to meds since her last hospitalization. She

takes Seroquel, Namenda and I believe Trazadone along with a few others that

she's been on for years. The Trazadone was new with the last hospitalization

and the Seroquel dosage was increased.

>

> The hallucinations used to be friendly...mainly kids and animals. Now the

hallucinations are trying to harm her and the " kids " .

>

> I don't understand these last two sudden episodes. Last time she was

remarkably better the morning after being admitted. This time she is remarkably

worse.

>

> I'm hoping to at least be given a diagnosis before she leaves the hospital

this time.

>

[Guest guest]

Make sure she doesn't have a UTI - urinary tract infection can lead to dramatic

changes. Low salt in the blood can also do this.

Read here:

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

in folder marked:

Changes (dramatic)

Things that could be the reason to a dramatic change in your LO.

>

> Hello. My name is . DH and I have been helping take care of his

grandmother for several years. I believe she has Lewy Body Dementia.

>

> She has lived in a duplex behind us for the last several years. She hasn't

been truly independent for probably 8 years. It's been a gradual decline.

About 1 1/2 years ago we convinced my MIL to take her to a doctor that

specialized in Alzheimer's and dementia. She was started on the typical meds to

slow down the decline, but wasn't given a specific diagnosis.

>

> MIL has been in complete denial and unfortunately is the one that has been in

charge of all doctor visits. We now realize that this has prevented us from

getting a lot of the necessary testing/appointments. My husband is now taking a

more active role since we discovered paperwork that he is her Medical Power of

Attorney.

>

> Grandma has had " night terrors " for years. She has been hallucinating more

frequently over the last year. One month ago she called us and told us that she

hated us and never wanted to see us again. She thought we had locked her in a

jail cell in the backyard overnight. She was also convinced that there was a

secret room in her house. We took her to the Dr. who admitted her to the

hospital. She was found to be dehydrated and had a UTI. The Dr. advised that

she was not to return home to live by herself. We got her in to an ALF and she

was adjusting much better than we expecgted. She was very angry at first but

ended up telling us that it was a nice place and she was glad to be there. She

went a couple of weeks without any hallucinations and she seemed to actually be

thriving with the new activities. She was eating better also.

>

> This week she was getting more confused each day, the hallucinations were

becoming more frequent and she barely ate anything. Tuesday she was really

confused and asked us to bring , her dead husband, to see her. Wednesday

night my husband called her and she was sure that there were people trying to

kill her. Thursday night we ended up taking her to the hospital again and she

was admitted. This time there is no UTI, just dehydration. We just got back

from visiting her and she is just laying in bed and won't open her eyes. She is

hallucinating all the time. She did respond to us when we left. (And told my 8

year old son that his earrings were beautiful ??) They have found nothing

physically wrong. The nurse commented that she was surprised that she was worse

tonight than last night.

>

> There have been no adjustments to meds since her last hospitalization. She

takes Seroquel, Namenda and I believe Trazadone along with a few others that

she's been on for years. The Trazadone was new with the last hospitalization

and the Seroquel dosage was increased.

>

> The hallucinations used to be friendly...mainly kids and animals. Now the

hallucinations are trying to harm her and the " kids " .

>

> I don't understand these last two sudden episodes. Last time she was

remarkably better the morning after being admitted. This time she is remarkably

worse.

>

> I'm hoping to at least be given a diagnosis before she leaves the hospital

this time.

>