Has anyone suffering from delusions and hallusinations been prescribed Memantine while having Rivastigmine patches. My husband has for the past 9 months been seeing people coming through the walls/doors and he sees me as an imposter who he doesn’t like, gets angry and verbally abusive. He has been using rivastigmine 9.5mg patches for about five months and has now been prescribed Memantine 5mg for a month. Some days there is an improvement in his hallucinations. He ran out of memantine on Thursday and due to an oversight will not be getting his prescription till, hopefully, Monday (tomorrow). He will then need to take 5mg memantine for 3 days then go on to 10mg memantine. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 3 years ago but suspect his symptoms started about 15 years ago. He has difficulty walking, uses a wheeled walking frame. He feels constantly extremely fatigued and generally feels so bad he doesn’t want to live.
Hi @FRANH, we’re really sorry you’re both going through something so distressing. Hallucinations and changes in how someone sees the people around them can be incredibly hard for partners, as well as the person with Parkinson’s.
It’s good that you’re keeping track of what’s been happening day to day because that can be helpful for your husband’s Parkinson’s team.
You’re carrying a lot right now and none of this is easy. You’re not alone, and sharing what you’re dealing with is an important step in getting the support you both deserve.
A few resources that may be helpful:
- our helpline is always here for you or your husband to talk anything through. You can reach us on freephone 0808 800 0303, and no question is too big or too small
- you mention your husband’s mental health. The Samaritans always here to talk about anything mental health-related. You can reach them 24/7 on 116 123
We’re sending you both our warmest wishes.
The Parkinson’s UK Moderation Team 
My husband started having hallucinations two years ago, about 18 months after his Parkinson’s diagnosis. He thought there were two of me (scary thought!) but also saw, heard and smelled things that weren’t there. He was (unnecessarily) concerned about security - he would go round the house checking locks, was sometimes convinced that there were strangers in our car and believed that builders were trying to tunnel into our house from next door. He also had other cognitive issues - memory loss and an inability to follow processes. After 6 months of this, we finally saw a specialist who diagnosed probable Lewy Body dementia. He was prescribed Rivastigmine tablets and his hallucinations and security concerns gradually stopped. About a year later, after a holiday abroad on which he got very stressed, the hallucinations and other problems resurfaced, at which point he was (eventually) prescribed Memantine. He rarely has hallucinations now, and can usually talk himself out of them if he does have them. Physically, he’s in reasonable shape (with the help of a personal trainer). But he is very reluctant to go anywhere, and so we are not able to travel any more, or go out very much. TBH, I am finding it very hard to look after him almost full-time (he goes out with a carer once a week, for about 5 hours) without the prospect of a break…