Charles Bonnet Syndrome - Hallucinations Don't Always Mean You're Crazy

A while ago I had done a lot of research on a condition that has been plaguing my grandmother for about 8 years. Macular Degeneration has become the leading cause of central vision loss in the United States and has seemed to target those that are over fifty years old. My grandmother is in her eighties and has found that the severity after 8 years of the Macular Degeneration has halted, however the hallucinations associated with the disease has not. In fact, they have gotten extremely worse.

Years ago, it started out with a faint woman's face or a stuffed tiger floating in the darkness. Now, it has gotten more complex. Every night, my grandmother lies awake in bed and when the hallucinations come, it causes her to scream out in fright. She'll see a black dog at her bedroom door growling at her, or see a doll from my childhood fall from where it's sitting onto the floor, then the next minute it is back where it sat all these years like it never moved. The latest hallucination was that of a tall man wearing all black and a black hat walking down the hallway from her room then disappearing. My grandfather joked with her saying that it was Johnny Cash, the man in black himself, came to visit. But with all joking aside we all know just how serious this condition is getting.

The name of this condition is called Charles Bonnet Syndrome. Charles Bonnet Syndrome was discovered in 1760, however to this day it is still widely unknown by doctors. It seems like this is true because many of those suffering from the hallucinations know that they are having them, however do not want to admit to their doctors or loved ones because they may see it as the start of some mental disease.

Charles Bonnet Syndrome seems to affect those with very serious loss of sight at a time when the sight is worsening. Many claims from an array of medical documentations and web sites give a time frame of eighteen months where the hallucinations often stop. Often, is the key word considering my grandmothers hallucinations have been occurring frequently for the last 8 years and becoming more detailed and complex.

Charles Bonnet Syndrome occurs when the brain starts creating its own pictures. On a daily basis, our eyes and brain are so used to creating the sight pattern of what is around us, that when Macular Degeneration kicks in, there is a large portion of our sight that has turned to a black mass of blindness. Because of this, new sights or old sights stored in our minds are released randomly. Many of these experiences occur when not much is going on and you're in an environment that is familiar to you. In my grandmother's case, it is in her dark bedroom where it is nice and quiet, and she is familiar with her surroundings.

According to www.bmj.com , it is stated that in many patients, they have found themselves able to modify the hallucinations on their own and or make the images disappear. Such as; if they occur when you are in a dark room, once you turn on the light the images disappear, or if they occur when you are standing up, sitting down will make them go away as well. In my grandmother's case, she has found that just looking away from the image causes it to go away. Due to the extent of the visions, that being how detailed, colorful, and realistic they can be, it is suggested the hallucinations generate from the same portion of the brain that creates our dreams.

In determining and diagnosing Charles Bonnet Syndrome, CT scans will be done as well as a list of detailed questions to categorize the severity of Charles Bonnet Syndrome. Below is the exact list of questions asked to my grandmother, as well as the answers pertaining to her condition.

When did your visual experiences begin? 7 years ago

When was your last vision? Last night.

How often do they occur? Every night for the past 2 months

How long typically do they last? Only a few seconds.

Are they pleasant, unpleasant or neutral? Neutral, however I have had a few unpleasant ones. One especially where I saw some odd woman that just gave off a really bad feeling, every night before I go to bed I pray I do not see her again, and I haven't so far, thankfully.

Do you see them in front of you, or out of the corner of youreye? They seemto always happen by the deacon bench by the entryway of my bedroom.

Do you see them in your blind area? no

Are they in more detail than the real objects around you? Not as detailed. It seems like I only see the figures and never the faces. The faces are always blank.

Can you see through them? no

Do you see them with your eyes closed? no

Do the visions go away if you move your eyes or blink? yes

Do the visions move when you move your eyes or move your head? no

Are they in color and, if so, is the color normal, vivid ordull? Yes they are in color, but very dull colors.

Are the visions like whole scenes, or individual objects/figures? Individual figures.

Do visions usually change from one thing into another? No, they stay constant.

A complete figure/group of figures? (if so, were they small,in costume or uniform, wearing a hat? Complete figures normally, can be in costumes, working on machinery, in uniforms, and have worn a hat.

A face without a body? (if so, was it realistic or caricature,ugly, prominent eyes or teeth?) The body's I see never have a face. They seem so real, however its just scary to see something with no face.

Words, letters, musical notes or numbers? no

Vehicles? no

Visions brought on by motion (being driven, on a train, etc.)? Once I dreamt that I was on a train and when I woke up I saw the hallucination of that same train, but it was only for a few seconds then it disappeared.

Visions associated with sound or talking? no

Visions associated with dizziness, strange smells or other unusual sensations? no

Occurrence only in bed or on waking from sleep? Waking up from sleeping.

History of stroke, major psychiatric illness, epilepsy? Only depression, but that has been treated ongoing for over 20 years and managed.

Frightening visions of small animals, spiders, snakes, maggots,etc.? No, when I first started to see things I saw a small toy tiger in my room.

With gathering the knowledge off Charles Bonnet Syndrome as well as listening to my grandmother's specific experiences, it seemed like there was a very large association to her dream world leaking into reality as the hallucinations she has been seeing, so I devised a plan with my grandma to see if there could be a solution.

Many say that you can control your dreams, if that is the case, since these hallucinations derive from that same part of the brain, I had advised my grandmother to try to control them. The first night I had told her to just think about the people in your life that you care about the most, she had wanted to go along the lines of thinking about me due to the fact that she knew that I was not going to be there during the night at any point in time and that it was something that was a for sure scenario.

The test was a partial success. There was no hallucination of me; however there was a hallucination of my grandfather, which was still better than before because my grandfather was sound asleep, snoring the house down in the next room. My grandmother stated that she was not afraid, and that she knew it wasn't real because she knew of my grandfather in the other room.

The last test that I told my grandma to try was because your mind is a powerful tool, a lot of times your mind can control things that you do not realize. So since my grandma stated that she did have a bad hallucination one time of a woman that frightened her and she prayed every night not to see her again, and so far she hasn't, this would be a perfect chance to see just how powerful thought really is. So I told my grandma before she went to bed to pray or concentrate like she did before to wish away the woman every night, and do the same thing, but this time wish for no hallucinations. It's been three nights so far with no hallucinations.

Now of course this isn't a for sure way of treating Charles Bonnet Syndrome, treating this syndrome has been really up in the air, and many attempts such as antidepressants and other therapies have been unsuccessful, however some studies being done in Germany using serotonin inhibitors have found to be successful in some cases. www.mdsupport.org suggests that increasing social stimulation, grief counseling, as well as anticonvulsants are proper treatments for Charles Bonnet Syndrome.

All and all, when dealing with Charles Bonnet Syndrome, we have to remember that it's not a psychotic condition and your friend or loved one is not going crazy. This syndrome has to be dealt empathy and patience, along with a sense of humor on some occasions. Remember to always talk to your doctor, and remember that the mind is a wondrous thing, do not underestimate it.