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Sgcinsd Asked February 2021

Why is my mother saying that she's seeing things?

My mom is 96. She's healthy, active and other than normal short-term memory lapses she's amazingly alert and lucid.. But three times in the last year she's mentioned seeing someone walking in the living room...always at night but at different times. If she closes her eyes and looks away, it disappears. She says she isn't frightened by it. I have never been in the room with her when this happens. It happened again tonight (early evening). I'm having her call her doctor tomorrow but wonder if anyone else has had this experience. She isn't taking any opiates, just the standard blood pressure, cholesterol stuff. I did some research online that says it could be dementia- or Parkinson's-related.

Sgcinsd Feb 2021
Thanks. I told her this morning it might be that she's dozed off (she's usually in her recliner watching TV when this happens) and is having a particularly lucid dream. I know she has said a few times that she heard me talking to the cat at night (I wasn't) so that could be part of an auditory dream. I hope that's it. I did ask her to mention the incidents to her doctor. She just recently had a bunch of blood work done for another reason and all her levels were great and there were no signs of infection, but I'll mention the UTI to her. I appreciate all the input.

funkygrandma59 Feb 2021
If she's not frightened by what she's seeing, perhaps at her age it's just some of her already passed loved ones, stopping by checking on her. I wouldn't be overly concerned about it, unless it starts to frighten her.

My husband talked to deceased loved ones for about 2 weeks prior to his passing, so I know that they do come to visit,(even though I didn't see them) especially when someone is near death. To me it was comforting, knowing there were others with him as he transitioned from this life to the next.

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Countrymouse Feb 2021
It's much more likely to be related to light, shadows and perhaps changes in her vision, isn't it? Don't you think?

I'm glad it isn't bothering your mother, anyway. Did she say what she was doing when she saw this "person"? - I'm wondering if she'd just woken from a doze, or if the person appears in the same place, or resembles the same person, questions like that. I think it's probably jumping the gun to start worrying about dementia and Parkinson's Disease :)

97yroldmom Feb 2021
Hallucinations can be caused from many things. Even a UTI. If she isn’t frightened or acting as if she now has dementia, I wouldn’t worry.
If you use the search on this forum and look up hallucinations, you will find many posts. Some people have auditory hallucinations. Some find hallucinations comforting. Outside of a UTI test, I wouldn’t subject her to tests so long as she isn’t concerned.

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