Mother is perfectly lucid and sharp all the time, except when she has a dream that, upon awakening, she absolutely believes actually happened. Over the last several years there have been about 10 wild stories that she vehemently insists actually happened. I am certain most of them, if not all, were dreams. She was in the hospital during the most recent episode, and they responded with a brain CT scan and movement monitors on her bed. That was it. She lives alone in another state. She becomes very angry when we try to discuss this with her. ("People just think I am losing my mind, but I know . . ." ) She refuses to move in with us. Assisted Living is not an option - there are no funds. I am exhausted and beyond burned out from going back and forth as long-distance caretaker for over 15 yrs. I worry that I am being negligent because I have not yet tried to force her to live with me so that I can watch over her. (She has other serious health issues, and now is barely eating. She is very weak and frail. She has repeatedly been taken by ambulance to ER for heart crises. Shock her back to life over and over, implant technology, ablate, etc. She is mid-80's!) Does anyone know what this particular kind of dementia means - with the dreams that are "real"? What kind is it? Where is it going? What should I expect? What should I do? Am I being negligent?
You say she is lucid, but you also say she believes these dreams, do you mean even after she has been told it was a dream, or only immediately after? If she is having delusions she should be evaluated by a geriatric psychiatrist, there may be meds to help with that. She may also be depressed and therefor not eating, which is leading to her frailty.