I found this article quite informative - the direct link is on the home page - www.thealzheimerspouse.com - under Breaking News.
If you would prefer to copy and paste - http://www2.hernandotoday.com/lifestyles/health-4-you/2012/apr/05/hbnewso3-differences-between-hallucinations-and-de-ar-388555/
Thank you, Joan, for this article. It really helped me to differentiate what my dh is experiencing. So far he is having just delusions and that can be bad enough at times.
Yes, I didn't know the difference, and the article was straight forward and easy to understand. I hope more people read it. It doesn't apply to my husband's situation right now, but you never know.
A delusion is thinking that everything is going ok with your spouse. A hallucination is watching a delusion occur with your spouse. Delusion is thinking they are continent....hallucination is cleaning it up.
I guess I have been referring to my DH's delusions as hallucinations. I really don't care what they are called they can drive the caregiver (me) crazy when they go on and on and on and on. My DH is now in an ALF and if I thought they could come up with something that would stop the "delusions" and paranoia I would bring him home in a heartbeat.
DH has confusion - not delusions. Last year when he was in the hospital, he had hallucinations. He saw he clock sliding off the wall and onto the floor on one occasion. He said the table next to him was on its side. It was right after they started transfusing a new medication into him. I called the nurse and eventually they stopped the new meds. And right away the hallucinations stopped. But then she turned to me and said she had seem him hallucinate before when he was there - when he thought he was home and in his own bed, or in his wheelchair. I got mad at this -- I said that was confusion. He woke up in a strange room and he was confused, thought he was at home, heard strange voices and saw people in the hall. That was not a hallucination!
It made me angry and frustrated that she did not grasp - and was unwilling to listen to - my explanations of the different states of mind.
Seeing things in your room distorting before your eyes must be a frightening experience!
Neither applied to my DH either, until a few days ago. Now he is seeing "that other dog that comes and then leaves"; doesn't recognize our dog mostly at night. He was up at 5 a.m. this morning, and I asked what he was doing - said he had to "stop that thing". Asked what - he pointed to the clock. Told him it was the clock and we needed that to be on. He said we couldn't because it just kept "adding up"???
So...I guess he has some hallucinations and some delusions. Doesn't really matter much I guess - it's a pain whatever it is!
Funny (not of the Ha Ha kind!) My Dh sees people who aren't here & he is paranoid. He is also seeing the “man in the mirror”. When he asks who it is & I tell him that it is him, he seems satisfied with that (at least for now). Today he was in the living room & he called me in there & asked me who the lady was. I asked him where & he pointed to a picture on the wall. I told him that there wasn't a lady in the room. He seemed to accept that too. He is also a bit paranoid. When we go into a store he will pick out a lady & point to her & say, “She hates me.” (& it's always a woman). I tell him that we don't even know her & sometimes he will agree, but other times he insists that she hates him. I try not to make a big deal about it because I don't want him to.
Paranoia [ˌpærəˈnɔɪ.ə] (adjective: paranoid [ˈpærə.nɔɪd]) is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself. (e.g. "Everyone is out to get me.") Making false accusations and the general distrust of others also frequently accompany paranoia. For example, an incident most people would view as an accident, a paranoid person might make an accusation that it was intentional
My dh was getting very bad with delusions and parania so dr. prescribed 10 mg. of Paxil at bedtime. He took first one last night. I understand it takes two weeks before effects kick in. I will let you know in two weeks how things are going.
I still don't understand the difference in hallucinations and delusions, or even confusion. When my DH comes in the living room at night and says where did everybody go when there hasn't been anybody here? When I serve dinner and he says did those other people eat? And I say what other people he'll point back to the back of the house and say those people back there. He is also paranoid wanting to lock the bedroom door at night when we are the only ones here. Several times he has locked me out when he goes to bed first. He will get up and unlock it when I knock on the door so I don't think it is deliberate. Confusion I think I get - last night he was fiddling with the alarm clock when what he wanted to do was turn down the AC because it was a little warm in the house.
JudyTBT, I lump hallucinations and delusions together. Supposedly hallucinations are seeing things that aren't there but my DH goes on about "them" or "that guy". Maybe he sees them or not, I don't know but I do know it gets on my nerves because he can't explain what he is talking about so I can't even guess and go along with it. I used to be able to guess and give some kind of answer now I just say "I don't know" or I haven't seen them or the guy. Yesterday he was talking about meat and from the little I could figure out it was a community thing and the meat was to be shared by every one here in the area. I told him we all buy meat at the store and they get what they want I get what we want. It must have satisfied him because I haven't heard anymore about it!
Every post I read, I am amazed at how much we are all going through the same thing. Last night in bed Dh said "where are those kids that were there sitting in the chair a minute ago"....he's always seeing people in the house. I reply just as you do Jean21...it's driving me nuts! This morning he got angry because he said someone had gone through his "stuff", he was about to put his fist through the glass sliding door, then went outside, said he was looking for a rope to end it all...OMG!
My wife has a symptom I did not know how to classify for a long time. Whenever we are on the road and she sees a person on a motorcycle she says that she knows them. She 'knows' more biker types (Harleys and choppers) than stock transportation style bikes.
She does not 'know' any other drivers or people in any other types of vehicles, only motorcycles.
When she sees a motocycle she will tell me that she knows that guy and he 'lives on our street' or upon question ing by me that no, he 'lives around the corner'. She some times tells me how long he has had that paticular motorcycle and sometimes that he has another one at home. HOWEVER she NEVER has a name for any of these people(!)
She was not hallucinating the bikers were all actually there. So, it seem to be a delusion - she believes that she knows and recognizes these people. Not harmful and certainly better than the stealing delusions. :-)
I brought this to the top because the delusions are all about problems and he is "worried" about all of these imaginary people with imaginary problems. It is unrelenting - has been going on for the last eight hours and bed time isn't for another six. Increased the risperidone to 3x a day and maybe things have gotten worse but they were getting worse which is why it was increased. I am ready to go screaming over the hill. All of this "redirect" strategy works for about 5 minutes at most. I gave him a Dr. Pepper with the contingency that he not ask any questions for an hour. Ha. Who am I fooling? Fortunately we see the neurologist this week. Please let me get through to the Dr. how bad this is. No matter how much I love him, this is warping my caregiving and making me totally crazy. I would appreciate hearing other experiences with this. I searched "delusions" and read all of those.
My dh worrys about trees that are leaning. We live in the Ozarks so there are plenty of leaning trees that are going to fall. Also the trees that the electric co. has trimmed, they are going to fall. And oh all those leaves, what will we do with all those leavess when they fall. Now yesterday he added the cliffs, those rocks are going to fall right down on this road. I am so tired of hearing about them, I think he is paranoid??? He also ask constantly what's your name? A lot of times I just say Puddin tane. Sometimes he will say is your name Barb (his first wife) no your Bonnie. I just go with the flow. Bonnie