Dementia Support Group
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 memory, attention, language and problem solving, although particularly in the later stages of the condition, affected persons may be disoriented in time, place and person (not knowing who they...
the Nursing home in June stopped the exelon patch that my dad wore because he broke out in a rash . They never replaced it with another medicine. They said that Dad was okay and a nice and caring man and that they dont want patients on any more medicine if they dont need to be.
Now in October My dad is in the hospital trying to get his medince regulated. The upsetting thing is that Dad one day will sing one song for hours on end. The next day Dad will pick a paticular object and just stare at it. Then last night Dad actually carrried on a conversation.
Dad was supposed to go home today however they did not send him home. The nurse said that he was a little grouchy this morning and so she let him sleep in. Then later she said he would not be going home today . When i visited Dad the nurse told me that dad fought them when they wanted to take a medicine reading (draw blood) They did however draw blood for a medicine level check. When we arrived tonight i wonder if Dad knew that we were there. :( I AM UNHAPPY ABOUT THEM GIVING DAD SO MUCH MEDICINE AND BLAMING IT ON MOOD SWINGS AND TELLING ME TO TRUST THE DOCTOR AND LET HIM DO HIS WORK. My Dad has been in the hospital 6 or 7 days and I need to see a improvement. I dont like them givng him so much medicine. I have been thinking tonight about seeing another Doctor only i dont know who. ... any advis for me or my family.
oh my family is taking it like nothing is happening. Dont they understand?
I guess different people cope differently.
always............facing
Now in October My dad is in the hospital trying to get his medince regulated. The upsetting thing is that Dad one day will sing one song for hours on end. The next day Dad will pick a paticular object and just stare at it. Then last night Dad actually carrried on a conversation.
Dad was supposed to go home today however they did not send him home. The nurse said that he was a little grouchy this morning and so she let him sleep in. Then later she said he would not be going home today . When i visited Dad the nurse told me that dad fought them when they wanted to take a medicine reading (draw blood) They did however draw blood for a medicine level check. When we arrived tonight i wonder if Dad knew that we were there. :( I AM UNHAPPY ABOUT THEM GIVING DAD SO MUCH MEDICINE AND BLAMING IT ON MOOD SWINGS AND TELLING ME TO TRUST THE DOCTOR AND LET HIM DO HIS WORK. My Dad has been in the hospital 6 or 7 days and I need to see a improvement. I dont like them givng him so much medicine. I have been thinking tonight about seeing another Doctor only i dont know who. ... any advis for me or my family.
oh my family is taking it like nothing is happening. Dont they understand?
I guess different people cope differently.
always............facing
deleted_user
Hi Facing, Exelon also comes in pill form. My Mom had her choice of which she wanted, depending on which was more cost effective. I have changed Mom's doctors a few times and now have a great group who are willing to work with me and each other on getting Mom's meds right. She has a primary, a Parkinson's Disease specialist/neurologist (he was the one who put her on Exelon following the dementia diagnosis). She also has a neuro-psychologist and a psychiatrist. I don't understand how the NH can just stop a medication if he was diagnosed with dementia. I agree the less medicines they need to be on, the better. But, if he has a dementia diagnosis, the meds are supposed to slow the progression of the disease. The last thing he needs is to be taken off of it. When my Daddy was in the hospital I made them give me a list of every medicine they had Daddy on (I had POA). You will, unfortunately, have to be pushy with them. They tried to discharge my Daddy one night and thankfully a nurse at one of his doctor's offices had told me that if he had any fever at all they could not release him. I had them take his temp before I would sign the discharge papers and he did have a temp and they had to keep him. The nurse was not happy to say the least. Within the next few days he went into septic shock. It's a constant battle. I am an only child so I had no other family handling this (Mom and Dad both left all of it up to me). Your family may just be overwhelmed. It's just so hard to deal with. I've also heard that, even with many siblings, there is always ONE who pretty much deals with all of it. I would definitely search for a doctor who specializes in dementia and get him in to see your Dad. How did he do on the patch aside from the rash? How long was he on it? If he did show some improvement, maybe you can get them to give him the pill form. The patch also has to be placed in a different area every single day. Cannot be in the same place for 14 days. Don't know if that might have caused the rash. I had a person from the Alzheimer's Community come out to evaluate Mom and give me advice and resources. You might want to get in contact with you local AC and see if they can refer you to someone. Please keep in touch. So sorry you are dealing with so much, Kim
deleted_user
Your dad isn't going to be the one to say, "no, this treatment isn't right for me", it's up to you, trust yourself. I think trying a few different approaches (different doctors), will help you decide what works best for YOUR father. Good luck!!
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