My Grandfather was diagnosed with LBD, I live with my grandparents. All started about 3 years ago, he would wake up during the night almost every hour accusing my grandmother of doing stuff to him, so she started sleeping alone. Now, she has a device to make his bed shake and give him shocks to his feet, I guess he really feels this things due to his illness but he is very persistent with this story, he is very agitated, yells and his eyes are wide open when he has his episodes, he wants her to stop with this but no matter what I do, he is 100% convinced. Since he doesn't have anything against me, I try to be a mediator but it's slowly getting to me and my grandmother loses her calm by being accused of that and other things, such as doing drugs.
This is getting to be a daily issue, it wasn't so frequent in the beginning. Is this constant aggressive behaviour common in LBD patients? Are they usually this persistent with this confabulations? Any advice on how to deal with him?
Thank You
My husband, Coy, had LBD, with symptoms apparent for about 10 years. The LBD was confirmed by autopsy. The tiny bodies of misfolded protein were very diffuse -- spread throughout the brain. He was treated by a researcher/neurologist at Mayo Clinic.
Once when he was hospitalized the nurse assigned to him gasped when she read that he had LBD. "That's the one where they get violent, right?" I told her that some people with LBD did have behavioral problems, including belligerence and violence, but that Coy did not. She came and saw me when he was discharged. She said, "I'm so glad I got to work with him for several days. Coy is a real sweetheart, and now I know that not all LBD patients are violent!"
Those "bodies" don't spread out in a predictable pattern, so there are no identifiable stages as there are in ALZ. But they do tend to cause behavioral issues very early on. While both ALZ and LBD often involve hallucinations, in ALZ they tend to be late in the disease; in LBD they may be the first noticeable symptom. The part of the brain that recognizes faces tends to be spared in LBD -- Coy knew everyone right to his dying day.
A diagnostic characteristic of LBD is great fluctuations. There are good days and not-so-good days; near-normal hours and horrid hours.
There is less death of brain cells in LBD than in ALZ and some other types of dementia, and therefore drugs may have more to work with. It may be worthwhile working harder on find useful medications for persons with LBD, if the doctor is highly familiar with the disease. There are no medications for ANY type of dementia that slow the progress. But non-dementia drugs such as for anxiety may have a better chance of working with the greater number of living cells in LBD.
LBD may develop very quickly. One of my support group's loved ones died within 2 years of diagnosis. My husband lived about 10 years. I think the average is 6 to 8 (which is less than ALZ, I believe.)
Are the accusations of Grandmother limited to the nighttime episodes, or do they occur during the day, too? Paranoia is common in dementia, and can be very challenging to deal with. This should also be discussed with the doctor.
If at all possible, don't argue with the paranoia, and help GM stay calm. "Oh Gramps, it must scare you and worry you to think that Gram is using drugs! You must have seen her take her vitamins and blood pressure medicine. She doesn't take any drugs that you need to be concerned about. She takes care of herself."
"I am so sorry, Gramps, that you are having problems with your feet at night. That must be very disturbing. It isn't anything Gram is doing -- it goes with the diagnosis Dr. Smith gave you. I think it helps to keep your feet warm, so let's try some socks for you. And we'll talk to the doctor about this symptom."
Don't argue that he isn't getting shocks or he didn't see GM take drugs. Let him know you believe him and are sympathetic. Give him some other explanation for what is happening.
Very definitely talk to the dementia doctor about these symptoms.