What is Dementia
Dementia is the progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the brain beyond what might be expected from normal aging. Particularly affected areas may be ...
Join Now
|
Which medication is best for mum?
|
Watch this |
| View More Posts Ignore |
Hello everyone..my Dad and I really need some advice. My mother has frontal lobe dementia which she has had for about 8 years. It is now progressing quickly, her behaviour getting worse by the day. I live an hour away and Dad is basically the main carer, and finding it very hard to cope. I am an only child so we share the care as best we can. She is very stubborn and it is very difficult to get her to a doctor, and even harder to get her to take anything they prescribe. She has been prescribed Exelon before, but refused to take it. She has now been prescribed Zyprexa. I read that this med is primarily for bi-polar/scizophrenia and is dangerous for dementia patients due to the increased risk of stroke. Does anyone know if this is the case? Mum has high blood pressure and cholesterol and has had a mild heart attack ten years ago. She won't take medication, and whenever we tell her to take it a major argument erupts and she screams and cries like a five year old for days - so we had to give up. She keeps losing her jewellery and money and then accuses Dad of stealing them. We are having trouble understanding her and communicating with her as her conversation does not make much sense anymore due to incorrect word substitution. She gets very aggressive, abusive and physically pushes and shoves both me and Dad. She seems to have developed a hatred of my father, persecuting him until he has to hide in the garage. She has lost her appetite and is beginning to refuse to eat, losing a lot of weight. She still grooms herself well and recognises us, even if she sometimes mixes our names up. Some days she starts drinking wine at 10 in the morning until she is quite drunk. But there are some days when she seems as if she doesn't have the disease at all. We welcome any advice anyone may have and hope that someone can advise us of the best medication for Mum. We will have to hide it in her food as she won't take it voluntarily, so we really need to find the right one. Thanks so much.
Posted on 04/29/09, 01:04 am |
| 4 Replies | Add Your Advice |
| View More Posts Ignore |
How is prescribing these drugs? A regualr GP or a specialist? If it is a regular GP I would definitely discuss her with a neurologist or psychiatrist. I have been told that only a neuro can truly diagnose dementia. I don't think she should be on Zyprexa either for the reasons you mentioned. My husband can't take a lot of drugs because one- they have the opposite effect and two- his high blood pressure. It sounds like a med adjustment needs to be done. 
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
Hi Deborah
A few years back when she was more compliant, we took her to a neuorologist, a geriatrician and a psyciatrist. They all confirmed dementia (although no-one seemed certain as she could still answer many of the test questions and the brain scan showed normal brain atrophy for age) and prescribed various meds but mum threw them all in the bin and proclaimed that the doctors were all stupid. We are grateful now if we can get her to the local GP, which has to be for something like a cold or if she wants more Panadeine Forte. It is the GP who presribed the Zyprexa. He assures me it is safe but I think it is risky, but Dad and I figure that leaving things as they are is risky too, as the tantrums she throws can't be good for her. It is certainly a tough call though.
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
We had a really bad period during the Christmas season this year. In January I told her doctor about it and he prescribed a new med. (I can't remember the name of it right now.) I researched it and found the same information you did. It said it was for psychotic disorders and should not be used for dementia patients. I called the doctor and he dismissed that warning. He said the pharmaceutical company's lawyers don't allow recommending it, due to the risk of heart attacks or strokes. But, he said he was giving her the mildest dosage possible, and that when prescribed for psychotics the dosage is 10 times stonger. So, we went ahead and gave it to her and the results have been very positive in our case.
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
Thank you for your response. I have since called the GP and he advised the same thing - that it is a very small dosage and not to worry. We still haven't started mum on it as we are deliberating, but I think we will go ahead with it. Every medication has a risk attached, but we feel that the benefit will outweigh this.
Thanks again.
|
|
|
|
||
| Add Your Advice |
