Question on hallucinating

[RICHPD]

Please correct me if I’m wrong but from what I’ve researched ALS does not have any effect on the mind. I ask because my Dad has been hallucinating for the past 4 or 5 days. He says he is seeing things floating around, pictures moving etc. He tells me that he is moved from his room during the night (he is in a nursing home) and brought back in the morning. I’m trying to convince him he is having nightmares. He has been on lithium for about 2 weeks but I cannot find anything stating hallucinations are a side effect of that. A specialist is being scheduled to evaluate him soon. . Does this seem like something totally separate from his ALS as it does to me or could there be some correlation.

 

[Al]

The resource I checked said hallucinations are a rare side effect of lithium carbonate. Also new research indicates that the incidence of dementia in ALS has been as high as 30% in some studies. I'm not sure if hallucinations are included in the dementia.

AL.

 

[tmasters]

Call a doctor. This sounds serious.

What is his lithium dose? He should start low. Something like 150mg 2x/day of Lithium Carbonate.

If he started Lithium recently and also started hallucinating recently, have him stop taking it until he sees a doctor.

-Tom

 

[BethU]

Hi, Richpd ... I'm sorry your dad is having these problems. Hopefully the specialist will be able to figure out what's going on.

"Normally," ALS does not affect cognition, but there is a related condition called FTD ... fronto-temporal dementia ... which affects about 20% of ALS patients. Depending on which side of the brain it affects, it can disrupt language skills, or alter mood/perception/behavior.

I've had some bouts of "euphoria" myself in which I have VERY strange (and wonderful!) changes in perception, but I am not an expert on any of this. In any case, FTD is a possibility, and I think a specialist will be able to determine what's going on and hopefully, how to help your dad.

Another thing to consider is that often people in hospitals or nursing homes experience confusion and a kind of psychosis at night, because their perception of time is disrupted by the lights and activites going on around them, and they experience a sense of unreality.

I would be interested in learning what the specialist tells you.

Take care.

 

[vmd]

Doesn't a buildup of carbon dioxide also cause vivid dreaming, which could be mistaken for reality? How is his breathing?

 

[RICHPD]

His lithium dose was started low, not sure how low but I was told it was very low. They did stop it this morning to see if that would help.

His breathing seems good now but he has developed swallowing issues along with his voice getting weak and today for the first time I noticed he was drooling. A speech therapist has been with him nearly every day for the past couple of weeks.


Thanks for your feedback.

 

[Sammantha]

I agree with VMD! I just went to my doc with breathing issues and my awake pulse ox is 90, which is slightly abnormal and my breathing function test is low... I am tired all the time and only get headaces every now and then. My doc warned me about my pulse ox getting low and the sypmtoms you say your father has is exactly what can happen if you have too much carbon dioxide built up in your system after a long period of time. I has no place to go and eventually affects the brain! Get his pulse ox checked and get him a pulmonary function test ASAP! Sam

 

[Sammantha]

Ps.. Here is a tidbit, researchers found out that a number of houses that had reported hauntings by more than one family that lived in them also had high levels of carbon dioxide from heat sources... This gave the perception of seeing shadows and pics moving as such!

 

[judylyne]

My husband said he saw a woman with 4 breast on the ceiling. It didn't seem to bother him though. He also had the dementia.