Mom has Lewy Body Dementia. She was diagnosed about two months ago. It started with two personal traumas almost a year ago. Her boyfriend of 17 years died in November. She had been hearing voices just before and didn't like them. Three weeks after his death, she broke her hip. The first voices went away while she was in the hospital for a partial hip replacement. When she came home, new voices gradually appeared. She liked them. Things with them have steadily gotten worse; killings, rapes, guns, etc. have now entered her coversations with these new people. She has hearing and visual hallucinations that are starting to disturb the neighbors, mostly during the night. I am now afraid for our safety. I won't allow her outside until 9am. This morning she lit a cigarette for the first time in house. I have recently been prescribed Xanax for stress, which I am definitely feeling this morning with these new events. I am scared.
A care facility will have staff 24/7, Mum will be safe and you will too.
When my brother was diagnosed with "Probable Early Lewy's Dementia" I asked how they diagnosed it as Lewy's. I was told "by the symptoms". He was very early Lewy's and he died in a year of something else, so I have no way of knowing how it might have progressed. When I looked up symptoms it seemed he was classic; but none of his symptoms matched your Mom. To ME hers sound more like mental illness, but I bet I am missing a whole lot of symptoms that are there.
I usually end up writing a "book" rather than a post. If you would like to discuss or exchange symptoms, do private message me.
Are you Mom's POA? Have you discussed her rapidly worsening symptoms with a doctor? And was it a neuropsychologist that gave this diagnosis? Does she live with you? I think the time to consider placement in general is when the impact on your life is too much; it sounds like you are there.
I do have her powers of attorney for medical and financial. And her will has been completed.
We have lived together for almost two years in a mobile home. She was fine then but two traumas seemed to have changed that. She recently had blood clots in her leg the same leg as the broken hip.
If Mom gets violent, call the police. This could be hitting you to trashing the house. Do not allow her to be sent home until she has a psychic eval. And even then, you don't have to take her back. At that point, you may want to allow the state to take over.
Mom has called the police twice. I woke up one morning to check on her and heard a voice, mail. She was talking to the police about people in the basement with guns and such. No basement as we live in a mobile home. I got on the phone and told the police she was being evaluated.
About a week and half ago I woke up to find my mom and four police officers in our living room. Same complaint. I took one aside and told him about the LBD and he had already figured out something was wrong.
This morning I was awakened by a neighbor at 5 telling me I needed to get mom in the house asap. She talks to the voices in her head and says some pretty nasty things out load which the neighbors can hear. I got her inside but then stopped her when she wanted to go back out a few minutes later. I had to force her back inside. She loves sitting outside in the swing. It is much cooler now (we live in Mesa, AZ) and she loves it out there. No more during the sleeping hours. We can't afford to get kicked out if people start believing what she says.
It really feels good to talk to someone other than my three sisters.
Mom is suffering and your home is no longer safe, for her or for you. Hearing all that violence in her mind has to be torture! A facility can get a medication regime that will help her, and will be able to handle it when she is panicking. They have the meds, space, and training to handle it all. You can't do this on your own and it's taking its toll on you, as it would on anyone! If your health fails, what will become of Mom then? Needing Xanax to just live in your house with her already shows you're on the brink. This can't go on.
Did she ever have voices like this before, back in her younger days? The description of these voices are more in line with schizophrenia.
Has she recently been checked for a UTI? Yes, a UTI, whenever there are sudden changes, should be checked quickly.
The next time you are worried for your own safety, I suggest you call 911 & have your mother transported to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. You can't be living in fear in your own home; the stress of that will send YOU to the hospital in no time! If you can get her properly evaluated and medicated, THEN you can place her in a Memory Care ALF that has experience with LB dementia.
Best of luck!
I'm worried that what her voices are telling her about the neighbors will get out to the neighbors. Last night she was waiting for the lady across the street to kill herself. I know the lady and that wasn't happening.
Nothing real to bother the police with. She has been completely evaluated by a psychiatrist, our family physician, who gave the referral to the neurologist, knows and agrees with the LBD. She is on meds.