Does anyone have experience with delusions

[Drama Llama]

In a loved one?  

[Hannah]

I'm so sorry that you even have to ask that question @Baseballandhockey.  

[maize]

Yes.

Atypical antipsychotics like aripiprazol can help.

[ktgrok]

4 hours ago, Baseballandhockey said:

In a loved one?  

In a friend, back when we were in highschool. She was later diagnosed bipolar and medication helped. She was treated in patient for a few weeks, at a facility out of state for adolescents, and then came back and still became salutatorian! She would have been valedictorian without the incident, but still! Went on to Stanford, that was too much stress, had a setback and came back to attend college locally. 

I remember being in a required standardized test - one that was super easy, a basic skills one we had to pass to graduate but not hard at all - and she started waving to people not there. Then giggling. Then talking to someone who wasn't there, and then when confronted by a proctor had this long discussion about how it was all a trick, and the test was just a trap designed by aliens or something....the freaking proctor let her walk out and then hours later she hadn't shown up and there was a big search on campus for her. 

Anyway, she was never delusional again, as far as I know. We keep up on facebook now and then. 

I had peripheral experience with a husband of a friend who had similar symptoms, also bipoloar, who went off his meds. 

[Katy]

No but I follow Jessica Kent on YouTube and she had someone with schizophrenia on her channel. Warning: I can’t remember if language or other content is a problem in these videos, but it often is in her videos. I usually watch her only when younger children are in bed. 
 

 

[Faith-manor]

My dad had delusions and hallucinations due to oxygen deprivation going undiagnosed by his primary care physician. He had a collapsed lung, and his primary kept saying he had asthma. It went on for weeks. He became violent because of the delusions, but once diagnosed, and treated, he never had them again.

I am sorry you have to ask. 💓

[Spryte]

I’m sorry you have to ask, too.

A college friend developed schizophrenia while we were close, and went through a lot. She was working in a group home, and I think that triggered her. Though her mom was also schizophrenic, so it may have been inevitable. It was rough.

I’ve since been through delusions with several others—mostly older people when very sick who improved (sepsis, hospital delirium, all kinds of stuff—I actually expect it when they are sick now), and then also my loved one with bipolar and a host of other diagnoses. With that last one, I was responsible for her well being, so had to get help. Meds and psych help, plus two in patient stays helped. 

How can we help? What can we share that will be helpful?

[City Mouse]

I have a relative with schizophrenia. Over the years, he has done inpatient treatment several times. He is currently doing ok with his medication. He works part time at a relatively low stress job and is on disability.

[ScoutTN]

Only once, when a combination of sudden change in depression meds and a UTI together made my mom go over the edge. Scary! Praying your loved one gets appropriate help soon! 

[Harriet Vane]

Yes, three with dementia sufferers, once with someone close to me with a brain tumor, and I am currently friends with someone with ongoing, untreated delusions and low IQ.

Believe what you know is going on. Don’t second guess yourself in this.

Be aware that often drs under-respond. Be super clear and firm with them about the problem.

[Farrar]

Dh's grandmother when she had early stage dementia. Medication ended the delusions, but, of course, could not end the onset of the dementia.

[ktgrok]

Probably not relevant, but delusions can also be a sign of autoimmune encephalitis, which is often misdiagnosed. It is an acute situation though, so likely not the case here. It responds to steroids. 

[livetoread]

Yes. A close relative who was a senior in college had a manic episode out of the blue last spring. He was delusional (and briefly psychotic at first) for several months because even though he was hospitalized and medicated at the beginning, he went off his meds and quickly became quite manic and delusional again. Eventually it tapered off, but it was several months of hell. He still finished college while delusional and has been normal for the last six months, though a bit depressed.

[cintinative]

my mom has auditory hallucinations which so far have been unresponsive to medication. Interestingly, the comment upthread about lack of oxygen is relevant. She has severe apnea that was diagnosed two months ago. We are STILL waiting for a CPAP/BPAP.  Her oxygen was at 81%. 

[Corraleno]

[Please don't quote]

 

Edited October 14, 2022 by Corraleno

[kbutton]

36 minutes ago, cintinative said:

my mom has auditory hallucinations which so far have been unresponsive to medication. Interestingly, the comment upthread about lack of oxygen is relevant. She has severe apnea that was diagnosed two months ago. We are STILL waiting for a CPAP/BPAP.  Her oxygen was at 81%. 

It is my understanding that narcolepsy can also involve hallucinations while falling asleep or waking up (restricted to those times) if that helps anyone. 

[Drama Llama]

This isn't a brand new problem, and it's better than it was.  Meds are working, but it's taking a while to taper off. 

I'm just struggling to respond to comments, and wondered if there were others with specific experience I could PM.  

Please don't quote.  

[Harriet Vane]

1 hour ago, Corraleno said:

 

Corraleno, this is the type of thing my friend experiences. She does not have big obvious hallucinations (or if she does, I have not personally seen her behave as though she has). Rather, she has a distorted, fantastical view of reality, and there is really no way to convince her of what is actually real. 

[Ottakee]

1 hour ago, Baseballandhockey said:

This isn't a brand new problem, and it's better than it was.  Meds are working, but it's taking a while to taper off. 

I'm just struggling to respond to comments, and wondered if there were others with specific experience I could PM.  

Please don't quote.  

Is it that the symptoms are taking a while to taper off or that you are tapering meds?  Quite often meds are needed life long depending on the reason behind it.

[Spryte]

With my loved one, I responded neutrally to comments. If she seemed receptive, especially if she seemed afraid, we talked about reality being different from what she was experiencing, that it was chemical, I was sorry she was going through it, but we all love her and want to keep her safe, to hang in there and this would pass. Because of who she is, and her personality, this often helped her get through the delusional times.

I also did a lot of re-orienting, and reminding her where we are, who we are, etc. A lot. I learned this technique from nurses, and used it frequently. It did not always stick, but helped get through to her in the moment.

I just remembered that we are dealing with a lot of delusional behavior in MIL right now, too. Alzheimer’s related, so slightly different. We used to re-orient, but often now we gently agree if appropriate. So when she insisted that we come get our kids last week, we agreed to come get them (they were home with us, but in her mind they were with her and ready to go home). If MIL is delusional and things seem worrisome, like she might hurt herself trying to leave or something, she has medication for anxiety.

[Drama Llama]

18 minutes ago, Ottakee said:

Is it that the symptoms are taking a while to taper off or that you are tapering meds?  Quite often meds are needed life long depending on the reason behind it.

We aren’t tapering meds, just hoping to see the symptoms taper off, but they seem to be re-emerging under holiday/anniversary stress.

[Harriet Vane]

48 minutes ago, Baseballandhockey said:

We aren’t tapering meds, just hoping to see the symptoms taper off, but they seem to be re-emerging under holiday/anniversary stress.

I’m so sorry.

This can be notoriously difficult to treat. Definitely tell the medical team what is going on.

[EKS]

I definitely saw them in a friend who was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.  They happened whenever he went off his meds, which was too often.  At the end of his life, they were almost constant even with medication.

Also, I've seen them a number of times in several different elderly people in the hospital (for other issues).  Apparently it is extremely common.

[Amy Gen]

When one of my adult kids was in a severe depressive state, he couldn’t get out of bed to keep his psychiatry appointments and got fired by the practice. He went off of his meds cold turkey and seemed to be okay for awhile. Then one day, I noticed he was agitated and he started telling me things that I knew were not true. 
 

First he said that his psychiatrist had diagnosed him with schizophrenia. I calmly told him that I would check his  medications, and see if he was ever prescribed anything for schizophrenia. Then his story changed and he said she was going to diagnose him, but he begged her not to. 
 

He also kept apologizing for the horrible things he had done, like fighting with his sister’s friend when he came over, and ruining the day. Except we were all here, and he was really nothing but fun and gracious. He had such a hard time believing that the fight never happened, but he said that he knew I never lied to him, so he had to believe me. This made him panic more because he couldn’t trust his own memories.
 

He brain was telling him that all of the worst things he could imagine were true. He would ask me, “Are you trying to tell me that I don’t say horrifically racist and homophobic things?” And I would try to convince him that the opposite was actually true. One morning, he was full of

guilt because he thought his dad had broken down his door and yelled at him for wasting money by leaving his fan on all night. His dad never says one word about how much money we spend. He is just the opposite. I had to show him that there were no marks on the door.
 

He was obviously very worried about “losing his mind.” So I showed him that schizophrenic delusions have different characteristics like imagining aliens in the trash can, but delusions from extreme anxiety are more like what he was experiencing. His brain was telling him that his worst fears were true.
 

We were able to call a hotline connected to our insurance. They talked to him, and said that his symptoms were absolutely connected to going off of his meds. They were able to get him an appointment with a primary care doctor who just refilled what his previous psychiatrist prescribed. Then we found him a psychiatrist who has been able to adjust medication and be flexible with appointments, such as just talking to him on the phone when he doesn’t feel up to a real appointment. 
 

That was all two years ago and he is stable and has a serious girlfriend and is rediscovering his old hobbies  He was so fun and engaged with his siblings over the holidays. Honestly, I never dreamed he would ever be in such a good place again. 
 

I hope that your loved one recovers as well and that it turns out to be something easy to treat. 

 

[Ceilingfan]

If he has insight and is seeing a therapist and on meds, that's good. It is very difficult for people with delusions to get help. My ex had paranoid delusions of persecution, grandeur, hypochondria - you name it, he had it. It was profoundly difficult and in the end led to abuse. The kids still believe some of his persistent delusions, which is hard to fix.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this.  We have had to deal with delusions with K (but we couldn't use the "D" word.)  It was more the distortion of reality rather than hallucinations.  Paliperidone helped a lot, but only when she was compliant.  At that time, we were walking on eggshells because the delusions centered on me being an abusive parent and a horrible, bigoted person.  So I don't have much as far as advice regarding how to deal with them because we existed by trying not to poke the bear.  This last year, she seems to be a whole lot better as far as her grasp of reality.  We still see the world very differently, but I don't think her views are based on a distortion of reality (some may disagree) but on a fundamental difference in how people and society should work.  

Praying for your family.  

[Ceilingfan]

...

The only advice I have is to not argue with them - it reinforces them - and to pick an exit point ahead of time, because accommodating them can be a gradual thing where you don't realize you're the boiled frog until way down the line.

Edited December 31, 2021 by Ceilingfan

[Ceilingfan]

Also, an important thing to remember since you already know it's a mental health issue is not to take advice about dealing with similar concerns that are not delusions. For example, if your husband isn't delusional and thinks you're cheating, some degree of proving your innocence is a common internet/family recommendation and can make sense (I suppose). Or when talking to your QAnon or Trumper relative, or a flat rather, maybe some practical discussion of facts or challenging beliefs may help, I dunno.

With a person experiencing delusions, this will not help, unless maybe done very carefully by a trusted and trained therapist. 

You can sometimes help reduce the stress and fear caused by the delusions, if they aren't about you. You can help with things like staying on meds and getting regular sleep to keep mh progress moving forward. But you should not directly address the content of the delusions. It backfires.

[Drama Llama]

12 minutes ago, Ceilingfan said:

Also, an important thing to remember since you already know it's a mental health issue is not to take advice about dealing with similar concerns that are not delusions. For example, if your husband isn't delusional and thinks you're cheating, some degree of proving your innocence is a common internet/family recommendation and can make sense (I suppose). Or when talking to your QAnon or Trumper relative, or a flat rather, maybe some practical discussion of facts or challenging beliefs may help, I dunno.

With a person experiencing delusions, this will not help, unless maybe done very carefully by a trusted and trained therapist. 

You can sometimes help reduce the stress and fear caused by the delusions, if they aren't about you. You can help with things like staying on meds and getting regular sleep to keep mh progress moving forward. But you should not directly address the content of the delusions. It backfires.

I guess what I'm asking is how to respond when the delusions are about me, or another person present.  

[Harriet Vane]

2 minutes ago, Baseballandhockey said:

I guess what I'm asking is how to respond when the delusions are about me, or another person present.  

This is a very, very hard question to answer, but I'll try some common sense guidelines. My experience is purely anecdotal and I cannot claim to be an expert.

First, tell the medical team no matter what. All continued delusions must be on record and on the treatment radar. You will need those records both for continued medical intervention and also they may be needed when there are safety concerns.

With my Alzheimer's relatives, we usually played along if the delusions were harmless ("It's Christmas!" = harmless) or if we were weary, we found ways to get a break either by changing who deals with the dementia patient or by distracting the dementia patient to a TV show.

If the delusions present a danger to you or another vulnerable person, then your focus must be on safety of the vulnerable first, care for the delusional person second.

We tried strenuously to answer the delusional person's concerns with care and with logic, but 85% of the time the delusions won out. It played out differently with the different people in my life.

Sometimes over the years I could get an Alzheimer's patient distracted or comforted. The person I knew with a brain tumor trusted and loved me a great deal, and I was often able to persuade that person to trust me with her delusions and fears--usually with that person or with the Alzheimer's folks, being distracted away from the delusion was only temporary, often not lasting more than minutes or a couple hours. In other words, I could remind the brain tumor patient, "You know I will always tell you the truth, right?" She would answer enthusiastically yes. Then I would tell her the truth in a super-simple way: "Your husband is not cheating on you, I promise. He's at work today." or "You are here in the hospital to heal; it's not a jail." Etc. This person would often thank me with relief for telling the truth, but those delusions always--always--returned within minutes or simply later the same day on good days. She had permanent brain damage and dementia, so that is a factor.

The person that I know who is delusional and untreated is 100% unable to be persuaded that what they believe to be true is not true. (This person was originally diagnosed with something, but then did not follow through with further evaluations or treatment. It is my belief that the original diagnosis was insufficient for what the person struggles with, but as long as this person maintains job and home they cannot be compelled in any way to continue with evaluations or treatment.) I respond to this person either by playing along or changing the subject or flattering this person as a distraction. Sometimes I even bribe this person directly with cash or food to help the mood. This is someone I see a couple times a month--though I have known this person for years now, I do not have to live with this person. Those that live with this person have openly spoken about the difficulties.

[DawnM]

FS's mother most likely has Paranoid schizophrenia.    Her own birth mother has it.   She won't go get a full diagnosis though and has a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder with delusional ideation which was a diagnosis from about 18-20 years ago.   I think it has not only gotten much worse, but would have a different diagnosis now.

[MooCow]

Praying for you all

Edited December 30, 2021 by MooCow

[Drama Llama]

stress seems to be the trigger for thoughts resurfacing.

Edited December 30, 2021 by Baseballandhockey

[MooCow]

I am sorry to hear that 😟

  hugs 

Edited December 31, 2021 by MooCow

[Melissa in Australia]

 deleted

Edited December 31, 2021 by Melissa in Australia

[Ceilingfan]

I did all the wrong things, so I can't really offer advice other than draw your line now, so that when it's reached you can leave instead of redrawing it over and over (and suffering more than now-you would ever allow).

...

Edited December 31, 2021 by Ceilingfan

[Ceilingfan]

For dealing with your own emotional reaction, I found cigarettes and dissociation the most effective way of staying sane(ish). You're in therapy, right? Do Not Quit Therapy. It's cheaper in the end than cigarettes, and better for you than dissociating, which is effective in the moment but takes a very long time to unwind.

[Melissa Louise]

Tell the treating team, don't engage with content of the delusions, safety  (yours + kids, incl emotional safety) first.

If escalating, I'd be concerned that treatment needs tweaking. Meds might need increasing, changing or another med added. He might need CBT. 

Don't be the frog boiling in the pot. Delusional jealousy is not a recovery symptom. 

 

[KidsHappen]

I am bipolar and have had some mild delusions, hallucinations, and very strong false memories. This was back when I first was diagnosed and while we were trying to find the right cocktail of medications. Fortunately I am very self aware and know my difficulties so if my family tells me something or I have objective proof of something then I will believe it. This  sometimes leads to situations where I am objectively aware that something is not so even though I am subjectively experiencing or feeling it. I am also starting to deal with some cognitive decline due to both  age and health conditions. When I got severe neuropathy from almost complete depletion of vitamin B12 I had some very serious cognitive issues in which I was both not thinking clearly, not aware that I was not thinking clearly and on top of that I had difficulty communicating what was going on. Correcting my B12 levels, rehab and months of recovery finally helped with that. From my POV if your loved one is still having these problems my guess is that their medications are not quite right yet and/or consider the possibility of a medical problem and maybe see if you can get them in to a doctor for a workup. I am so sorry you are having to deal with this.