Mister C asked about hallucinations in people with Parkinson's disease. By the rules of this website, I can't respond directly to the post by Mister C because I have not yet written enough posts.

I know several people with Parkinson's disease who have experienced visual hallucinations. This was quite difficult for them and their families. I do not know much about this topic.

Hallucinations seem to occur less often when people sleep regularly. Perhaps your wife might have fewer hallucinations if she exercised enough every day so she would be tired enough that she would sleep better at night.

I hope your doctors can help your wife decrease the hallucinations.

David

Below is an abstract of a medical article that I thought was outstanding

Fenelon, G., F. Mahieux, et al. (2000). "Hallucinations in Parkinson's disease: prevalence, phenomenology and risk factors." Brain : a journal of neurology 123 ( Pt 4): 733-745.
Hallucinations, mainly of a visual nature, are considered to affect about one-quarter of patients with Parkinson's disease. They are commonly viewed as a side-effect of antiparkinsonian treatment, but other factors may be involved. The aim of this study was to determine the phenomenology, prevalence and risk factors of hallucinations in Parkinson's disease. Two-hundred and sixteen consecutive patients fulfilling clinical criteria for Parkinson's disease were studied. Demographic and clinical variables were recorded, including motor and cognitive status, depressive symptoms and sleep-wake disturbances. Patients with and without hallucinations were compared using non-parametric tests, and logistic regression was applied to significant data. Hallucinations had been present during the previous 3 months in 39.8% of the patients, and fell into three categories: minor forms, consisting of a sensation of a presence (person), a sideways passage (commonly of an animal) or illusions were present in 25.5% of the patients (an isolated occurrence in 14.3%), formed visual hallucinations were present in 22.2% (isolated in 9.3%) and auditory hallucinations were present in 9.7% (isolated in 2.3%). Patients with minor hallucinations had a higher depression score than non-hallucinators but did not differ in other respects. Logistic regression analysis identified three factors independently predictive of formed visual hallucinations: severe cognitive disorders, daytime somnolence and a long duration of Parkinson's disease. These findings indicate that, when minor hallucinations are included, the total prevalence is much higher than previously reported. A simple side-effect of dopaminergic treatment is not sufficient to explain the occurrence of all visual hallucinations. The main risk factor in treated patients is cognitive impairment, although sleep-wake cycle disturbances, and possibly other factors related to the duration of the disease, act as cofactors.

The full article is available free on line but the rules of this website don't allow me to post the link yet.