Alzheimer's patient thinking they are dead?

[insurancedrama]

Has anyone come across an Alzheimer's patient thinking they are dead? FIL is rapidly declining and was diagnosed with Alzheimers last Autumn. He is now saying he thinks he is dead and that no one believes that he's dead. Has anyone else come across this? He went into a home at the start of last year - mobile, but falling more regularly, able to face time etc. He now has very few lucid moments, can't operate a phone and is wheelchair bound. This illness is very cruel.

Usual advice for Alzheimers is to "enter their world", don't try to challenge their beliefs - it won't do any good as they'll not believe you (the alternative would be to accept their brain is going), and it will just cause distress. I presume this also applies if the person thinks they are dead.

I'm wondering whether, once reality has been lost to that extent, the disease is in many cases crueller to the loved ones than to the person. It must be very difficult for you.

It is awful to see and right now visits are behind glass with an intercom phone. It was sudden. He had an undiagnosed water infection - we told home when he sounded delusional on phone, they then did a dip test, he got given antibiotics which weren't strong enough and by time was given antibiotics that worked was immobile (put in wheelchair for his safety) and never went back to normal mentally. I always thought it was a more gradual decline, not pinpointing a specific day.

I haven’t personally come across this in a person with Alzheimer’s, but the delusion that you’re dead is called Cotard’s delusion.

Popped on to advise about what @Cattenberg has posted. Cotards syndrome is a very real thing. Sorry you sre going through this OP

I found coutards the other day on google, but think that's when you think you're dead all the time? I guess it doesn't really matter - probably just our way of coming to terms with the illness. It's so fast and we feel so helpless. Guilt plays a huge factor too - if we hadn't had put him in a home, we'd have been on top of that infection and not left him immobile. Then again he could have had a fall and been laid on the floor for hours or caught covid or hurt my partner who was struggling with balancing the care, helping him up in the middle of the night, work, a young family. Partner was looking forward to seeing dad regularly as a son, rather than as a carer. Covid hit, visits were stopped, a couple of months after his dad's mind and mobility stopped. It's hard as deep down we know if he wasn't in a care home, his mind wouldn't be so hard hit now.

He mightn’t have been so hard hit mentally if not in a home, but falls are a real danger - they have a habit of bashing their head on a sharp corner on the way down. Don’t play the “if only ...” game, you can’t tell what would have happened and you’ll only beat yourself up. Remember you always did what seemed right at the time

Have you asked him why he thinks he's dead? It obviously makes sense to him, but what is he making sense of? Only being visited through a glass screen maybe?

And as above you absolutely can't "what if", no one is magic or can see into the future, nor visualise every eventuality and make backup decisions for each one. You did have a reason for your decision at the time, and it was made with the best intentions.