Mailbox Response

The question was submitted 04/07/2007

Subject: Delusions in Dementia

Can you please explain what form delusions take in dementia. My husband dreams an awfull lot at night, and it is all very real to him. I don't quite know what to do except to acknowledge his world at that time. One night he was getting very frustrated, because he couldn't feed his baby, he didn't have enough breast milk. All I could do was talk him through it and offer to take care of the baby and feed it for him. Is this delusional, or just a very wild dream. He is unable to be woken easily, and when he is he is still in his dream. I must say this does get quite exhausting as it disturbs my sleep as well. Is there anything to prevent this from happening? It happens most nights.

Answer from DementiaNet

Delusions are not uncommon in the course of dementia. They are very distressing for caregivers but often not such a problem for the person with dementia. In your husband’s case the delusion is creating a difficult problem that needs to be treated. You are correct in acknowledging to him that he believes the false belief to be true. There is no point arguing with him about this as he truly believes what is happening is real. So keeping calm is very important. Your doctor should consider using a small dose of a neuroleptic drug. These drugs are designed to treat schizophrenia but in small doses they may help delusions that occur in dementia. These drugs can be quite toxic if not monitored but in small doses for short periods can help considerably.

The answer was published on DementiaNet 06/07/2007