Acute anxiety with alzheimers

[shirley t]

Hello
Does anybody who cares for their loved one have very bad anxiety with stomach pain as my husband was diagnosed with mixed alzheimers demenia in June 2017 but he has really bad anxiety for 2yrs now he's had scans xrays colonoscopy all is ok they say the pain is caused by his anxiety.
He is 66yrs and he follows me round the house telling me his stomach pain is bad but I can see it's his anxiety he's also very depressed.
He's been hospitalised and they've tried him on so many medication for his anxiety and so far nothing's worked.
Just recently I had to put him a care home for some respite as I'm mentally exhausted with him we have no life .
He doesn't want to go out but he doesn't want me to go out either if we have visitors he's so anxious and just doesn't talk to them.
He keeps telling me to ring the doctor take him to hospital gets this goes on all day I think the doctor at the memory clinic is running out of options to help with his anxiety I'm at my wits end with him although I know it's not his fault he didn't ask to be ill any help would be appreciated Shirley t

 

[Tin]

You say all medication has been tried and failed, does that include anti depressants?

 

[LadyA]

Welcome, @shirley t .
Anxiety is a very common symptom with dementia. I suppose, if you think about it, it would make you very anxious, if you weren't sure about what was going on around you, you weren't sure who people were or how things worked! My husband suffered from pretty extreme anxiety as well as paranoia and hallucinations. Like you, he wanted to be with me all the time - I literally couldn't go to the loo on my own in the end! Fortunately, medication did help him. It didn't completely ease the anxiety, but it certainly damped it down. I also found that keeping him to a very set routine, with as little variation from day to day as possible, helped (although it drove me nuts!).

 

[yak55]

Hello, this is a very relevant discussion point for me at the moment and so pleased to be able to share experiences with you all.
My Mum has always been an anxious person and Alzheimer's has just made it worse.
She recently went into a CH for respite (she was living with us) as we were struggling. The week has turned into three as of this Monday and will be a permanent arrangement eventually. Although the guilt is great I know it's the best option and only option we have.
Since Mum has been there she has not slept in her bed and is frightened too. She is dosing in the day and sleeping in a recliner during the night with the night carers around.
Her medication has been changed and another added which they hope will help her anxiety, Mirtazapine low dose to start with.
Has anyone else any experience of this drug?
Thinking of you all and take care of yourselves x

 

[Tin]

Mirtazapine anti depressant certainly helped my mother with some of her worse obsessions and probably with the anxiety she had at the beginning. After 3 years of tweaking from 15mg to 30mg, recently dropped back down to 15mg she is no longer taking it.

 

[yak55]

Mirtazapine anti depressant certainly helped my mother with some of her worse obsessions and probably with the anxiety she had at the beginning. After 3 years of tweaking from 15mg to 30mg, recently dropped back down to 15mg she is no longer taking it.

 

[Amy in the US]

Yes, I have experience of this. My mother had crushing, overwhelming anxiety. It took a few tries, but a combination of managing medications, moving into a care home, having 24/7 support, and improving other issues (chronic pain, nutritional deficiencies, sleep disturbances, vision) helped and her anxiety is hugely reduced.

I hope you are able to find something helpful. Best wishes.

 

[Shedrech]

hello @shirley t
a warm welcome to TP
my dad used to say he felt dizzy, or his eyes were playing up, when he was anxious and/or doing something that he maybe felt uncomfortable with eg going out for a walk to get some exercise when he'd rather stay 'safely' in the house - I never did really work out if this was a symptom of a physical concern (didn't seem to be), a symptom of the dementia, or his way of giving a physical place to put his anxiety ie it's 'simpler' to say he felt dizzy than to say he was anxious
I wonder if, as you seem to suggest, this is what your husband is doing - that knot in the stomach when we are anxious is stomach pain to him
check with his GP, but might you have some wonder medicine or pill that you can give him at times which is for these stomach pains (so I'm thinking something like a tic-tac or a smoothie/milk shake put into a medicine type bottle) - something you can give him pretty often without it having a negative effect on his stomach, and not something you get over the counter for indigestion - the power of placebo can be pretty strong - and it will at least show your husband that you are acknowledging his pain and trying to help him
this isn't to suggest this instead of prescribed medication for depression and for anxiety, which can really help, but cannot be taken more often than the prescribed dosage

 

[Theresalwaystomorrow]

Hi Shirley t
Could this be Alzheimer’s fixation?
My mum constantly complains of pain in back passage but has had regular checks and all sorts, they just put it down to a fixation.
If we occupy her she tents to forget it or go to another area on her which she says is sore.

 

[GeG-Canada]

I've found that using chamomile tea with honey, as my OH daily drinks, has made a huge difference in his anxiety. At night time he has a 'Sleepytime Extra' chamomile tea. It has other ingredients that help him calm down and get a better sleep. i also tell him it will help with his stomach pains.....

 

[shirley t]

Hi yes my husband is on mirtazepine 15 mg on a evening with zopiclone also 5mg diazepam he take 15 mg of diazepam throughout the day he also takes dulxotine and memantine but he still so anxious iv tried taking him for walks or using other diversions but he still gets upset about this stomach pain they'v even had Brittany patches on his back for pain but as the doctor says no amount of painkillers are going to take this pain away as it' not really caused by anything physical so until his anxiety is under control the anxiety continues also the stomach pain i have a long list of medications theyve tried on him over the last 2yrs too long to write down here .They also think the anxiety is proving difficult to address because of the part of his brain which the alzheimers is effecting so sad to see him suffer every day and I'm unable to help him nd yes I agree he is fixated on his stomach pain which isnt helping .