What is Alzheimers Disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disease, is the most common cause of dementia and characterized clinically by progressive cognitive deterioration together with declin...
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handling paranoia
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my mom - in late stage 5/early 6 I believe - has been paranoid for about three years. She used to think the neighbor (who happened to be a police man) was breaking into her house at night and taking or moving things. These were things she was hiding herself and not remembering having done so,and as a result she blamed him. Now she lives in a retirement community and is fine living on her own when it comes to caring for herself, eating, cleaning her apt, etc but she does have long memoriy lapses each day - remembers about half of what occurs each day. She is obsessed with the beleif that her son is stealing, putting gas in the air conditioning unit to drug her and occasionally tries to poison her with food. Of course, no reasoning helps her. He was her primary care giver and she does not want to see him anymore. We can't get her to focus on anything else. Several times a week goes to the lobby of the retirement building frantic, crying and and hysterically telling others about her son's stealing, etc. She was on Aricept but that gave her stomach problems and then went on Nemenda for about a month. that actually helped her memory loss a bit and she tolerated it well but a week ago the doctor took her off (she doesn't like to be on any meds) so he said it was her decision, despite my concerns. Even when she was on the Nemenda, the paranoia was severe. Is this level of paranoia normal (ok, I mean normal for an AD patient)? Her doctor agreed to a phych referral. Is there a med I can suggest? Is anything working to reduce paranoia in any of your loved ones? She is so paranoid that she is miserable for about six hours a day. I'm hoping there is something to help the paranoia. thanks
Posted on 08/13/09, 10:08 am |
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i know what you are going through. i went through the same type of stuff with my mom before she passed. they aske me if it was ok to give my mom some type of meds( i forget the name) and it took her away ( mostly i mean she would sleep more, she would not eat sometimes, and her cognition was not there) oh now i remember the meds was called seriquil (not spelled right.)) and yes that is normal for an AD patient. you may want to think about getting a POA for your mom before its to late. that way you can make the decisions for her. if you wait to long you will have to go to a lawyer to get guardianship over your mom and estate. this is what i had to do with my mom because i waited to long. i'm not sure if i wrote a journal entry about it ? but any way yes that behavior is quite normal and different people have different paranormia ( affects them differently ) i hope this help
gob bless 
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I'm so sorry for your situation. It is very hard.
I think Namenda is good stuff and any side effect should subside after a few weeks. However, I don't think it would do anything for the paranoia. My husb is late stage 6 and has never experienced the paranoia or visions- but he had terrible Sundowner's. Our late afternoon and evenings were horrendous for both of us. Exhausting. His Pshyc put him on low dose Ativan 3x a day for anxiety. It has helped SO much. He is calmer and things are a little less stressful for me. I can't tell if he sleeps more - as he has slept a LOT for several years. The Pshyc you take your mom to will suggest what is best for her. Good Luck !
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The paranoia is quite normal as this stage. My MIL thinks her one neighbor is trying to rape her and her other neighbor steals all of the tangerines off her tree. That's only two of her many delusions.
Aricept or Namenda are not used for paranoia but used to slow down the progression of the AD. That's what we were told. She needs something like Seroquel, Celexa, or Risperdal. I think they are used to help with delusions and such. Maybe go to alz.org and look around on that website. There's alot of useful information there.
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My husband takes Zyprexa and it definitely helps- also helps him sleep too. Some articles say zyprexa isn't good for ALZ because it causes hallucinations in some, not my husband, but I say if a drug works than use it. And not just for selfish reasons for myself because he is easier to handle- think about how it must be to be paranoiud and afraid all the time- taking that away would have to also bring the patient releif too.
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I am so sorry you and your mother are going through this. It must be very frightening to both of you. I dont know what else to say. I am glad you post and are able to express your feelings. I hope that gives you some relief, knowing others have relatives who have simular behavior. Take it one day at a time. Marcia
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Seroquel helped greatly for the paranoia with my Father. Namenda did help for awhile and anti-depressant, anti-anxiety meds help a bit. There are many newer types of anti-psychotics that if used in a low dose, watched carefully, etc, can be helpful and calming. Others (older verisons, haldol etc, can have horrific side effects for some). These will make her drowsy most likely and starting at night worked best for us.
Each person reacts differently to many of these drugs and you may have to try several different ones to find the right balance. Some people don't react to these well at all, but I found it finally was needed just to reduce the high anxiety and stress of paranoia. I can't imagine how hard it is to live in this constant fear. This "fight or flight" mode is such a difficult part of this on everyone. I do recommend seeing a geriatric psychiatrist that has experience with memory diseases and dementia, they are a key part to care for these challenges and can track side effects and other med interactions. Good luck and keep us posted, it's always good to hear what works for others.
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