My Mum is seeing things and hearing voices!

Agree with UTI, although DM had also not been eating as well due to not feeling well. That can also cause hallucinations and rapid deterioration in the elderly. DM was in hospital for weeks just to return to normal health so get help now - doctor's should base their opinion on evidence, not be know-it-alls!

My dad was on morphine for a while and was seeing dragons and stuff so he came off it. See if she is on any new medication which might upset her

glassortwo if your mother has been living independently until now this must be a very sudden deterioration. Medical staff are all extremely busy - you need to push for a definite yes or no to the sepsis/septicaemia question, and your mother shouldn't be on her own.

patient.info/health/sepsis-septicaemia-leaflet

Visual hallucinations plus a fall, could be many things, sorry to ask but any use of alcohol, our tolerance often goes down with age?

glassortwo can you not drop a sample into the surgery for testing? That's what I do if I suspect I have a UTI as it saves taking up surgery time. Hope that she's sorted soon. A worrying time for you.

Yes my husband had a bad urine infection a few years ago (he is mid 50s) and had to go in for IV antibiotics. He was very confused and had slurred speech - I was wondering if it was a stroke but it wasn't it was a bad UTI. I kept asking the nurses about his speech, but because he's disabled they seemed to ignore it, I think they just assumed he was always like that.

It may be an idea to buy some test strips. I know Amazon/eBay etc sell them and they are not expensive. It’s best to get on top of these infections early, if you get a positive result you will be in a better position to get an emergency appointment or maybe even a priscription without the need for a visit to the Dr.

Do check for UTI

How many and what fluids is your mother drinking in the course of the day? Most elderly people do not drink enough water or anything else, as getting to and from the toilet has become a difficult task.

Dehydration causes disorientation, dizziness and can make you think things are happening that are not.

So if none of the sensible suggestions made by the others are found to be the case, try monitoring your mum's intake of fluids for a day or two and see if there is an improvement.

My father when he was alone after my mother's death, frequently told me of long conversations with people that had never taken place, or taken place years ago and it was usually due to lack of anything to drink in the course of the day except coffee, which of course has diuretic properties making things even worse!

Sepsis is very serious and it's easy to miss. I cannot overemphasize the importance of getting a top-level test, not an ebay home testing kit. If the OP's mother is not better by now she should be in hospital.

Think I'd make an appointment with her GP to talk over your concerns. (Sorry if this has already been suggested). When mum had a wee infection she rang my cousin asking her to get the dozen or so people out of her house. She'd cooked for them all, put on a Nativity concert, but they wouldn't leave. She was 98 & had carers.?

It seems that your mum has had the all clear now from the medics but is having issues that concern you.
Can she stay with you for a while so you can monitor what’s going on with her as it really sound like some Dementia creeping in. Or could you stay at hers for a few days?
If it’s an infection which it so could also be too, she would also need quick action, once you have this established.

I agree about the possible cause being a UTI or other infection. Does your Mum have any sight problems? If so, the hallucinations could be caused by Charles Bonnet syndrome. When I worked in the community I had one lady who insisted there were rambling roses growing up the sitting room walls due to this syndrome.

Grandetante: Good point that older people often don’t have enough fluids. It can be inadvertent or deliberate if they find it

Oops!
If they find it difficult to access their loo they may intentionally restrict their fluids.

Yes, TIA....or head injury?

This happened a few times to my Mum when she was in her eighties. She saw hundreds of dogs in the street, and bluebottles under the stairs. My brother was in the company of a Geriatric Nurse when I rang him to tell him. I was informed it was a UTI and after antiobiotics she was fine. It was a relief as I thought it was Dementia.

With my FIL it was oxygen he was short of. The doctors scoffed, but to be fair to my MIL, she insisted. And an oxygen tank fixed it immediately. Is start with UTI and AIR.

I recently had 4 days in Hospital following a fall at home, I had grazed my leg, also I had had Cystitis which seemed to have cleared up but left me rushing to the loo. My neighbour had dressed my leg but it was looking more infected so she called GP out. Admission to Hospital where I had numerous tests to discover the source of the infection. Intravenous drip of antibiotics. Urine infection diagnosed so home with ABs & 2 visits to Practice Nurse to re-dress my leg. I am only 62 but I am convinced if this had been left any longer it would have been serious.

UTIs are main reason for elderly suffering halucinations.

On a slightly different topic, Tramadol - I'm "away with the fairies", not sure if that's an improvement or not

UTI , my Mum used to hallucinate when she got them and also when she had anti nausea injections for the UTIs . Should she be on her own if she is seeing these sorts of things , she must be terrified .

That sometimes happens with Parkinson’s

We haven't heard from glassortwo all day - I hope she and her mum are OK.

From my experience of working with the elderly ,Your Mum needs blood and urine screening but agree with the GP this does not sound like an infection. She would, depending on results probably need a referral to elderly mental health or an elderly care physician.

Thanks everyone, been for a ct scan today and more tests in the morning, hopefully get some results soon.

Hi glass, I'm so glad that your mum is having tests done - the not knowing what a problem is would drive me to distraction. I'm sure you'll all be much happier when you know the cause of your mum's current difficulties, but in the meantime (((hugs))) and .