Family member won't let us help

dori2o

pelirocco wrote: »

I hope she has been checked for a urinary tract infection first , this can cause all sorts of mental confusion in the elderly

This is the problem. She hasn't been checked for anything as she won't let us take her to the Doctor's and won't allow them in the house to visit her.

She is absolutely adamant that there is nothing wrong with her. That everything that has happened is real and that we just want her committed or dead so we can get hands in her money.

This is why we are very concerned as we can't even get her to see a doctor.

Ames

dori2o wrote: »

This is the problem. She hasn't been checked for anything as she won't let us take her to the Doctor's and won't allow them in the house to visit her.

She is absolutely adamant that there is nothing wrong with her. That everything that has happened is real and that we just want her committed or dead so we can get hands in her money.

This is why we are very concerned as we can't even get her to see a doctor.

So what doctor suggested Schizophrenia? Had s/he actually seen her and talked to her to make that diagnosis?

I can think of three other conditions which could cause the symptoms you describe.

badmemory

My first suggestion would be a UTI. They can be really bad over a certain age & that is with hardly any temperature increase. Can you try getting her to have her blood pressure checked because of all the extra stress this is causing her.


Auditory hallucinations, caused by raised temp?


Just for background, I had a friend who landed up hospitalised with a UTI. Hardly any temp increase - in hospital for 2 weeks on antibiotic drip, then moved to a private hospital to recover enough to go home to live alone. Has absolutely no recollection of being in hospital & of most of his stay in rehab.


Many of us as we get older see our baseline temp decrease (no longer 98.4). If my temp is 98.4 then I have at least 1.5deg temp. Doctors do not seem to take this into account even when you tell them.


Have you tried the - Nan you are looking flushed have you had your flu jab this year - please let me take your temp, I've got some flu meds in the car if you need them. I do hate manipulation but sometimes.... Much better than the ambulance parked outside though isn't it. Once over a certain age that hospital stay over a couple of days is "dementia here I come time" & nobody wants that to happen.


Just wondering - have you checked her fuel usage? After all if the property is empty she could actually be right. They will only turn up in dead of night when only those of us who find sleep a problem are awake. Can a relative find an excuse to stay over for a few days. Row with parents, wanting to show husband that - whatever. Don't park the car outside & see if anything is going on next door. Pity it isn't snowing! There is nothing like a totally thawed roof when all around are snow bound. I know of at least one that I would be raiding but the police helios seem to completely miss it, but then they seem to make a point of only going over when its raining not snowing.


And just to round this off - has anybody actually been up in her loft. Some older houses you could actually get from one end of the street to the other just by going through the lofts. Frankly I'm gobsmacked that a GP is looking at sc*** (spelling fail) rather than the bog standard UTI, unless they have already tested.


So another scenario - Nan can we look in your loft as we are really worried that someone has access. Yes look out for external access but also for something which is regularly caught by a draught making noises.


Just for the record I have suffered auditory hallucinations when I have a temp & not much of one either, a fairly new phenomenon, mine are usually bell type noises, usually old style telephones

PasturesNew

My mum had dementia - she imagined all sorts... and the man that was renting the space in the floor above (bungalow) ... and they were all looking at her (had to block off some windows).

All sorts of nonsense. It was mostly a urinary infection caused simply by not drinking enough liquids. You really have to pump grannies full of liquids on a very regular basis or they go do-lally like that....

I bet it is urinary + dementia....

Carrot007

badmemory wrote: »

Pity it isn't snowing! There is nothing like a totally thawed roof when all around are snow bound. I know of at least one that I would be raiding but the police helios seem to completely miss it, but then they seem to make a point of only going over when its raining not snowing.

You do realise it is not the 90's anymore yes?


Grow lighting much like anything else has been replaced with LED lighting. And while yes if you were growing a roof full that would be a lot of lights, they are much more energy efficient and do not produce a lot of heat.


A roof would be a silly place to do it anyway. I'm sure people don't do that.


A totally thawed roof is more an indication of someone who likes to be warm and has not loft insulation or boarding and all the heat escapes that way.


Anyhow I got distracted there! OP, sounds a nasty situation. It is not going to be easy. Syaing with her for a while to see if anything sets if off and see first-hand what actually happens would help a lot. As would medical tests if you ever think there is a way. Hope you get somewhere.

clairec79

dori2o wrote: »

We were hoping she would let us install the wireless cameras outside, just so that we can show her that there is nothing happening when she's telling her version of events.

Could you suggest the cameras as a way that the police can get evidence on the 'druggies' - ie suggest they are there to back her up, rather than a way to prove she is wrong


The UTI is a valid idea - would she be willing to provide a urine sample, even if she wouldn't be checked by the GP?

trailingspouse

I think you have to accept that as she isn't in her right mind then appealing to logic and common sense isn't going to work.

You need to be manipulative, you need to lie, you need to be underhand, you need to be sneaky - but you need to get her to the doctor.

I wonder if she would go for a 'routine check up' if the request came from the doctor? I believe you can express your concerns to the doctor (they can't tell you anything, because of patient confidentiality, but they can listen to you), and they may be able to send a routine letter asking her to pop in for a health check. It's common practice to have a check up in order to continue to receive some medications on repeat prescription. There are all sorts of reasons why the doctor could need to see her...

You mention Power of Attorney, but I fear that particular ship may have sailed - the person granting PoA needs to be of sound mind at the time it's set up.

POPPYOSCAR

pelirocco wrote: »

I hope she has been checked for a urinary tract infection first , this can cause all sorts of mental confusion in the elderly

Yes I agree with this.

My BIL's mother was a bit like this for a time.

She had one of those pull cords for assistance and kept telling them that someone was in her flat.

When I went to her she would make a cup of tea and tell me to ask my father and her husband who were out in the hall if they wanted one. They had both passed away.


It turned out to be a UTI.

Red-Squirrel_2

dori2o wrote: »

It was a Dr who suggested Schizophrenia based on the Hallucinations, Voices, Delusions, etc. Where the patient is unable to recognise reality from the fiction of their own thoughts and hallucinations.

I've recently discovered myself that despitemany people believe (including me until recently) schizophrenia doesn't manifest as violent outbursts unless the individual is under the influence of drink/drugs.

Her memory is fine. She can remember exactly what she has done or said now and years ago, she recognises faces and people, she has no difficulty remembering lists, doing maths, etc. Her mobility is fine as is her daily routines erc

He memory is far better than mine, and certainly better than my Mum's who does have early onset dementia.

She remembers the hallucinations and voices, the conversations with the man in the loft word for word.

Lewy body dementia can cause hallucinations, and the memory loss often comes later than with other types of dementia.

Its incredibly rare to develop schizophrenia in old age.

humptydumptybits

PasturesNew wrote: »

Can you set up a secret camera and capture/record her unusual behaviours? Your say so means nothing to these people who run the system.... the system has no place for "say so".... if you can sneak in a hidden cam or two and save footage you can show that she's a shilling short on occasions and that gives "the system" something to work on as they're not relying on your "say so"

In my experience they won't look at. My aunt has dementia but somehow always managed to appear perfectly normal for doctor so a friend recorded it on her iphone but the doctor and social worker said it was unethical to look at it as she hadn't agreed to it.