Disclaimer

I am not a doctor. I am providing information based on experiences that my mom has with natural remedies. The purpose of this blog is to help folks to educate themselves. Use this information with your own discernment.

21 March 2010

Sunny Days, Hallucinations and The Dream Master

Sunny 70 degree days... we had one yesterday.  It was awesome. 

We all worked out in the yard together, even both moms.  My mom couldn't wait to sweep.  She waited patiently for me to finish raking my flower bed next to our new patio so she could sweep.  My mother in law, she came out too and picked up pine cones.  Lots and lots of pine cones.

I was into my gardening task; I didn't think of the camera until I was already outside with muddy feet.  Maybe next time, maybe this is going to have to be one of those times that I use my imagination and remember the day.

My mom's days have been very clear since she has taken 100 mg capsules of R-Lopoic Acid.  She had been taking 5 mg, the amount in Cognifactor.  Cognifactor is a great supplement.  RLA has helped my mom to feel "human."  My mom feels that she's improving when she takes the RLA.  I see the improvement, I have been able to converse with her, have real conversations like I did before she lost her mind.

But, my mom's improved cognition isn't just because of the supplements, it's also closely related to her diet.  I pay attention to her behaviors after she eats, it helps me to know what she can and can't eat.  Fat is added to the list, primarily dairy fat since we don't eat any other kind of fat. 

Both our Naturopath Doctor and Dr. LaPuma recommended my mom cut out dairy.  Dr. La Puma suggested that it could be causing my mom's night disturbances.  We cut it out for 2 weeks and saw an improvement.  When I gave her a little ice cream after having 2 weeks off dairy, my mom was up sleep walking and didn't know where she was... she wanted to go home; even though she was already home.

My mom loves ice cream so I began to buy her lactose free ice cream and milk.  She loves the taste and she doesn't appear to have night disturbances when she eats it. 

Yesterday, I made pan fried fish.  I cut up some haddock into 3 inch pieces, added a little salt and pepper and coated the fish in soy flour.  I put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in my cast iron pan, heated it until the oil shimmered and then I cooked the fish for about 3 minutes on each side until the batter was golden.

I made steamed asparagus and steamed fresh peas.  My mistake came when I made tartar sauce using Trader Joe relish and some mayonnaise.  My mom loved it with her fish.  She ate all the tartar sauce. 

Shortly after ingesting it, she began to hallucinate more than she has been.  She was whisphering for me to come over to her so she could tell me about the people taking pictures of her with the zoom lens... "I must be beautiful if they are taking my pictures... hehehe"  she said to me.  Fortunately, the hallucinations are friendly.

At bed time, my mom was in full blown hallucination mode.  Whishpering, "Susie, come here... the people, the people are in the room.  They stole my necklace that Donna gave me."

I thought I'd try the Dream Master...

"That's it!  I'm calling the Dream Master.  I am paying extra good deeds and you are having hallucinations worse than ever.  This stinks!"  I exclaimed as I picked up the phone in my mom's room that's not plugged into the wall.  I dialed the customary 11 numbers.

My mom in a panic said as she was throwing the covers off her, "No don't.  I'm leaving.  Don't call.  It was a misunderstanding."

I hung up the phone and she stayed in bed.

I then looked out into the air on the otherside of the room, where she said the people were... "Look all you people, get the hell out of here.  I am so sick of you bothering my mother.  Now SCOOT.  There's the door.  Get out ... get out... GET OUT!"

That seemed to work.  My mom settled down and went to sleep.

She woke around 3am to use the bathroom, she did a little walk around the house and went back to sleep; as of this writing of this post, she is still sleeping.

3 comments:

  1. Oh boy!
    Your life is not boring!
    You never know what's going to happen tomorrow...
    It's good you kicked those people out of her room, good girl! :)

    Take care!
    I go back to pack...

    BLOGitse

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  2. So many things to do to keep her with you! You rock!

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  3. Blogitse... no, our lives are never boring around here. I get to use my imagination and help my mom make stories out of her hallucinations ... the stories allow her mind to release the hallucination so that she's not bothered. My goal is to help my mom stay calm because in the peace, she finds her happiness. When my mom is happy, everyone is happy!


    Thanks Mellodee... somedays I feel like I'm practicing Improv, my favorite exercise for honing acting skills.

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