Hello everybody. This is my 1st post since joining. My mum is 74 and has had Alzheimer's for the past 8 years, I have been looking after her for the last 2 years. She's getting worse each week. She now refuses every other day to get washed or dressed, and sleeping for just a few hours every other night. The Dr has prescribed Amitriptyline, has anyone used this medication? I'm worried in case it makes her drowsy the next morning as she is already suffering from jerks and falls.
Mum not sleeping
- Thread starter lucylockets
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Hello Lucy and a warm welcome to TP. Managing falls is a difficult part of caring for someone with dementia as their need to sleep has to be balanced with the risk of falls. I just go with the doctors orders most of the time as it is their responsibility and cowardly as this sounds if I don't follow their orders, and she falls I'd have to live with the guilt.
Hi Lucy, and welcome to TP.
I have looked after my wife, who has young onset dementia, for over a decade. I'll tell you straightaway that we had a terrible experience with Amitriptyline in 2011. Obviously, no-one can be sure how any one person will react to any medication.
My wife only had one low dose of the drug and overnight turned from a person troubled by her dementia symptoms to someone who was deeply paranoid and 'raving'. I stopped giving her the drug immediately. It took months to get over the effects. Two years later, she is generally calm, even happy, but those months were the worst of our lives so far.
I suggest you have a good look at the side-effects, which may not tell the whole story of course. Is your mum depressed? Amitriptyline is an anti-depressant.
When I informed the professor who prescribed it, someone I still have great faith in, he was very concerned and said that the effect would probably disappear in a few days. It didn't.
These decisions are very hard.
Take care.
I have looked after my wife, who has young onset dementia, for over a decade. I'll tell you straightaway that we had a terrible experience with Amitriptyline in 2011. Obviously, no-one can be sure how any one person will react to any medication.
My wife only had one low dose of the drug and overnight turned from a person troubled by her dementia symptoms to someone who was deeply paranoid and 'raving'. I stopped giving her the drug immediately. It took months to get over the effects. Two years later, she is generally calm, even happy, but those months were the worst of our lives so far.
I suggest you have a good look at the side-effects, which may not tell the whole story of course. Is your mum depressed? Amitriptyline is an anti-depressant.
When I informed the professor who prescribed it, someone I still have great faith in, he was very concerned and said that the effect would probably disappear in a few days. It didn't.
These decisions are very hard.
Take care.
Hello Lucy,
Welcome from me too,I'm sorry to hear of you and your mums situation.
I have and still am going through this with my mum too,(she has been in hospital for a couple of weeks but is coming home next week.
Noorza is right,the doctors weigh up the risk of medication and they can only hope something suits or works for your mum,they may try a few different ones if the amitriptyline doesn't help.
My mum is on mirtazapine at present,which,so I have been told,has made her sleep better and less agitated,and she is now making an effort to eat a few mouthfuls of food now. I take amitriptyline myself for fibromyalgia-joint stiffness,it does help me,but I don't have dementia-yet..
It takes a few weeks for the medication to build up in the system usually,so I don't know if this is the same with Alzheimer's patients..
You might have to wait a while to see if any side effects-good effects appear..But I wish your mum well and hope you get some respite from these difficult days..
Jane
Welcome from me too,I'm sorry to hear of you and your mums situation.
I have and still am going through this with my mum too,(she has been in hospital for a couple of weeks but is coming home next week.
Noorza is right,the doctors weigh up the risk of medication and they can only hope something suits or works for your mum,they may try a few different ones if the amitriptyline doesn't help.
My mum is on mirtazapine at present,which,so I have been told,has made her sleep better and less agitated,and she is now making an effort to eat a few mouthfuls of food now. I take amitriptyline myself for fibromyalgia-joint stiffness,it does help me,but I don't have dementia-yet..
It takes a few weeks for the medication to build up in the system usually,so I don't know if this is the same with Alzheimer's patients..
You might have to wait a while to see if any side effects-good effects appear..But I wish your mum well and hope you get some respite from these difficult days..
Jane
Thanks everyone.
I've heard some horror stories about this drug, so will not be starting mum on it.
Mum has had a few urine infections, where she won't use the toilet and think 1 of the side effects are urine retention. I'll go back to Dr's and see if he'll prescribe something else. I don't think mum is depressed, so don't understand why he gave us it.
Things just seem to be getting worse, our great relationship we had before has now gone, mum will hardly let me help her
I've heard some horror stories about this drug, so will not be starting mum on it.
Mum has had a few urine infections, where she won't use the toilet and think 1 of the side effects are urine retention. I'll go back to Dr's and see if he'll prescribe something else. I don't think mum is depressed, so don't understand why he gave us it.
Things just seem to be getting worse, our great relationship we had before has now gone, mum will hardly let me help her
Hi Lucy
Does your Mum take Aricept? - this can cause a problem with insomnia as we found out, if so maybe have a word with the GP about it.
I too have a problem with hygiene issues on occasions with my Mum - not cleaning teeth but says she has, not wanting to have a bath etc, we have an added problem as she has a Colostomy, she has "accidents" with this on a regular basis due often to her fiddling tendancys which can require a full change of clothes and body wash etc - this causes my Mum a great deal of stress when I have to clean her up but she cannot grasp if she left it alone it would'nt be a problem. I feel for you and your Mum when it comes to personal hygiene as having to bathe/clean you parents is not really how things should be for any of us as Mum is more embaressed than me.
Keep up the hard work and I find usually talking to Mum about something completly different (something positive) during these times she does'nt notice quite so much and we are done before she knows it!
Does your Mum take Aricept? - this can cause a problem with insomnia as we found out, if so maybe have a word with the GP about it.
I too have a problem with hygiene issues on occasions with my Mum - not cleaning teeth but says she has, not wanting to have a bath etc, we have an added problem as she has a Colostomy, she has "accidents" with this on a regular basis due often to her fiddling tendancys which can require a full change of clothes and body wash etc - this causes my Mum a great deal of stress when I have to clean her up but she cannot grasp if she left it alone it would'nt be a problem. I feel for you and your Mum when it comes to personal hygiene as having to bathe/clean you parents is not really how things should be for any of us as Mum is more embaressed than me.
Keep up the hard work and I find usually talking to Mum about something completly different (something positive) during these times she does'nt notice quite so much and we are done before she knows it!
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I used to take Amytriptiline for chronic daily headache, it is not just an anti-depressant, it is used for bedwetting in children for example. The dose has to be quite high (60/70mg?ish to be used as an anti-depressant) I was on 50mg per day and the only side effect I had was a dry mouth. Had a water bottle permanently in my hand. Did I sleep better then? Probably but then I wasn't in my caring role then.
