My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a couple of years ago. Last March she started occasionally whispering to herself, it was done so quietly I couldn't tell what was said. Gradually the whispering has become louder and more frequent. Sometimes she 'chants' something that sounds like wheer (sounds like beer but with wh) over and over. Other times she will say shut up and various curse words, or entire sentences like "I hate it, she knows I hate it." Nothing triggers the self talk. We can be having a nice time and she'll loudly whisper curse. A few days ago she was talking sweetly to her dog, suddenly stopped and said in a mean tone s*** a few time, then went back to sweetly talking to the dog. She does it from the time she gets out of bed til the time she goes back to bed, and it doesn't matter if she's alone or not. Literally, I know she's up because I'll hear her in her bedroom swearing. She was only doing it at home but is starting to do it in public also. The talk is always mean, negative talk. When we are having a good time, like lunch with friends for instance, she also frequently talks about violence. She'll tell friends she wished she had a gun, knife, baseball bat, so she can kill someone. I talked to her neuro dr about upping her anxiety meds but he said the behavior isn't caused by anxiety since she does it even when in a calm state. It's not audio hallucinations, she doesn't believe she's talking to someone not there. I've had friends with different types of dementia and according to their family none of them had this symptom. My grandfather had vascular dementia and he would burst into angry words if something upset him, but he didn't constantly whisper curses and insults all day. Does anyone have experience with what is going on?
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I'm not a Dr. but I would think that this is a form of anxiety. I think her Dr. was wrong in dismissing these symptoms. She's obviously not "calm" when she's cursing and talking about wanting a gun or a knife so she can kill someone. Can you get a referral to a geriatric neurologist? I think you mom needs to be seen by someone else who won't dismiss these symptoms and who is willing to treat them. Whispering to herself and angry outbursts and talking about murder can't be comfortable for your mom. She needs some peace but first she needs the right Dr.
"The cause of Tourettes isn’t known, but current research indicates it involves a part of the brain called the basal ganglia and a dysfunction of the neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in the brain)."
This is completely involuntary, and a person effected may not even know they're doing it. Have that information at your fingertips should you become embarrassed. And just chalk it up to Luck of the Draw Dementia.
As to the violent stories? Try to redirect her. Rolling your eyes to others helps. ;) ;)