What is causing Mother's difficulty walking and hallucinations? Can anyone help?

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What is causing Mother's difficulty walking and hallucinations? Can anyone help?

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My mother is 61. She has started falling for no reason and has what I call a shuffel when she walks, or she will be walking and it will turn into an incontrollable run and then she will fall. She recently has told us she is hearing people talking that aren't there when she is lying in bed coming from another room. Drs here in Nova Scotia, Canada are few and far between and no one has done anything. We don't even know what's causing all this. Does it perhaps sound like Lewy Body dementia to anyone? I have no idea what to do.

Alzheimer's & Dementia Behavior Change

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You are in NS not Nunavut, it can't be that impossible to get proper medical care. The trick is to put on your Xena, Warrior Princess persona and force people to take you seriously, sometimes accepting the normal standard of care just doesn't cut it.

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I had those symptoms and it turned out to be a UTI! They cleared up completely when the UTI was treated. My husband had similar symptoms and his diagnosis was LBD. He lived with that for ten years. As Shell says, those symptoms could be associated with a number of different causes.

I think it is very important to get mom in to a doctor, even if you have to travel some distance.

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I'm 55, not very much younger than your mother. If I lost my sense of balance, and lost control of my gait, and I started having auditory hallucinations, I would seek urgent medical advice.

It may be difficult to get your mother to a doctor's office or an ER, but you're on the 'phone aren't you? Pick it up and get advice from a qualified medical practitioner. I gather that the correct number to call is 811; or you can check this out at https://811.novascotia.ca

PS - I hope you find Jeanne's advice reassuring; it also occurs to me that an ear infection needs to be ruled out. Your mother's symptoms are alarming, but the cause might be very easy to treat.

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Lewy Body Dementia, my wife also Suffers. I cared for her about 4 years after I noticed the problem. It finally came to the point that I could no longer care for her and sadly I had to put her in a home. I see her daily and the sickness seems to be moving at a surprisingly fast pace now. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Love and understanding is your best and only hope. God bless.

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It could be, however it could be other things. You should Google Lewy Bodies Dementia. Go under symptoms and see if your mom has more than 2 of the symptoms. Now if you feel she does, does not mean she has it. There are so many diseases that will start off with the same symptoms. When I read your post I thought of four possible causes off the top of my head. So Do Not Panic! Can you take her to an ER? I only suggesting this because in your post you stated that Dr's are far and few in between. If you can get in to a Dr explain your concerns. Tell him/her what you think it might be.
However, there is no one test for LBD. Dx LBD is difficult, it is highly based on the Dr experience. Sorry to have to tell you that. I hope you are able to find some answers.

Good Luck & God bless you.

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sudden changes can also mean an underlying medical condition. Sounds like you have really crappy doctors over there. you better make sure EVERYTHING is ruled out..but hallucinations it can be an infection like UTI or pneumonia doing it. You better make certain those doctors ruled out everything and look at the actual test results. Blood cultures, urine cultures, x-rays..and CT brain scan to rule out stroke. WBC count..kidney function..etc. if kidneys go bad that too can cause hallucinations.

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You might have your loved one checked for Parkinson's Disease. My late husband was diagnosed with late onset Alzheimer's with vascular disease at the age of 74. He passed away June 29 of this year, but the last year of his life he started losing his balance quite often, fell many times and had occasional hand tremors. However he only had a few hallucinations during this time. In May of this year, his doctors determined that he also had Parkinson's Disease, he had the shuffle type of walk, fell quite often due to losing his balance, walked stooped over and also would have a blank stare on his face as if he was watching something, yet not actually 'seeing' it. I had to finally put him in a nursing home, for the last two or so weeks before he passed away. My 83 yr. old sister also has Parkinson's disease but more advanced than my husband had. She also has that type of walk where she sometimes gets to walking too fast and seems to lean forward which is caused by the Parkinson's. I was told by my husband's doctors that a lot of times, a person with Alzheimer's will also end up with Parkinson's. Good luck in finding the correct help for your loved one. Prayers for you and be sure to take care of yourself also.

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It is amazing that so many of the conditions-diseases present with the same symptoms. My husband also has the shuffling gait and I keep reminding him to take long slow steps and take his hands out of his pockets for balance, but within a few steps, he starts the "running, bent over thing and in the last two months he has fallen 12 times. He has gotten a few bruises, but never anything serious, though we have taken 4 trips via 911 calls because he has gotten violent and it frightened me. He was kept under observation the last time, upon his PC doc's advice I was told to refuse to take him home until he was evaluated and meds researched. They had to give him haldol on three of the five nights and did balance his meds, diagnosed with frontal lobe and vascular dementia, but no real improvement in the past month. His PC found a geriatric psychiatrist who takes medicare at least for the eval andi had seen a presentation she gave to my support group. I was very impressed. The best thing is that she is local-only about 4 miles from us. I can only afford the eval, as her ongoing treatment costs $80/month just to be a patient, but I am hoping to get an updated diagnosis and better meds. I will talk to her about the use of CBD oils and a vitamin regimen that was suggested by another contributer as well. I know that it must be hard living in an area with few resources and trying to accomplish things on the phone, but I have had to do that some too. But there are good non-profits for your support, both in person and on the phone. I found them here through a Senior Resource call. I have sometimes, especially recently, felt that I am at that proverbial "end of my rope". My husband truly needs placement and there is no money at all for that, but I live in a state where there is help to get him qualified for medi-Cal. It is a long process, but the folks here at Human Resources were so understanding and helpful. They basically filled out the forms for me. If there is such a system where you live, call them and they will give you a list of documentation you will need to provide. I send care, hugs and understanding.

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Dear Sara,

I’m sorry you are having to deal with the possibility of Lewey Body dementia. It was one of my mother’s initial diagnoses, but we have since gotten a more accurate diagnosis by working with a geriatric psychiatrist who patiently catalogues all of her symptoms and medical history.

We also live live on an island, and I empathize with your situation of being isolated from resources.

I recommend that you try to find a geriatrician or neurologist who works through tele-health/tele-medicine.

You can start with your health insurance (national health service) by looking at the list of these specialists and asking if they can consult by phone or web-conferencing.

You can contact the nearest medical school - speak to someone in the departments of neurology, geriatrics or family medicine and ask if they know of tele-medicine resources.

You can contact the nearest or largest medical centers/hospitals and ask if they provide tele-health services.

Ideally, you will want her PCP to work closely with a specialist. But, you may need to do the research to find a specialist on your own.

Getting a good consulting physician will be helpful to you and her PCP. If it is Lewey Body dementia, you will want someone knowledgeable to advise on managing the symptoms as the disease progresses.

Very best of luck to you.

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Hi Saraplanetta123,

I'm so sorry to hear of the difficulty your mother is having.... Especially so young. My mom is 72 and was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia 2 years ago but I suspected it a few years before the diagnosis. The reason I felt compelled to write to you is just to give you advice that I am so glad I received early on. Wherever you go to have your mother evaluated..... Please don't allow them to give her Haldol. It's more than common for this drug and many other similar antipsychotics to be given and it is detrimental to someone with dementia.... Especially LBD! I have heard more stories of this happening, and a person's loved one passing away shortly thereafter, than I care to count. I pray your mother has something treatable and not dementia. Should you find otherwise and need someone to talk to I would be glad to help any way I can. Take care.

What is causing Mother's difficulty walking and hallucinations? Can anyone help?

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