Anti anxiety medication

[Suffolk]

My mother has vascular dementia. She has taken various medications to try to slow the progression of the disease. So far the medications have not had a big positive impact.

She is making my Dad’s life hell. He is the primary carer. Given the prognosis for vascular dementia, can I ask the doctor to take her off the dementia tablets and put her on a sedative such as an anti anxiety drug?

 

[lollyc]

Assuming her GP will discuss her with you, I don't see why not.
You may need to push how difficult it is for your dad, as, in my experience, GP's can be reluctant to prescribe - generally because of the possible increased falls risk.
My Mum was on Mirtazipine, Quetiapine, and also Lorazepam on an as-and-when-required basis. Doses were gradually increased when things deteriorated. These are not the miracle cure, but they did help. Mum was particularly anxious and tearful, and also had episodes of manic non-stop talking.
I firmly believe that her quality of life - such as it was - would have been far worse without these drugs.

 

[Sarasa]

Hi @Suffolk, I think it is worth going back to the GP to ask for a medication review. If your mum is on medication such as donepezil that is normally given for people with Alzheimer's it might actually be making things worse. Obviously you need to discuss this with a medical professional, but as @lollyc says anti-anxiety drugs can help a little. Does your mum attend a day centre or have carers coming in, as this might also give your dad a bit of a break.

 

[Suffolk]

Assuming her GP will discuss her with you, I don't see why not.
You may need to push how difficult it is for your dad, as, in my experience, GP's can be reluctant to prescribe - generally because of the possible increased falls risk.
My Mum was on, Quetiapine, and also Lorazepam on an as-and-when-required basis. Doses were gradually increased when things deteriorated. These are not the miracle cure, but they did help. Mum was particularly anxious and tearful, and also had episodes of manic non-stop talking.
I firmly believe that her quality of life - such as it was - would have been far worse without these drugs.

Thanks, the drugs your mum was prescribed, we’re these anti anxiety drugs?

 

[Suffolk]

Thanks, the drugs your mum was prescribed, we’re these anti anxiety drugs?

Hi @Suffolk, I think it is worth going back to the GP to ask for a medication review. If your mum is on medication such as donepezil that is normally given for people with Alzheimer's it might actually be making things worse. Obviously you need to discuss this with a medical professional, but as @lollyc says anti-anxiety drugs can help a little. Does your mum attend a day centre or have carers coming in, as this might also give your dad a bit of a break.

Thanks. We tried day care centers but it can be a real battle to get her to go in the car

 

[lollyc]

I think they are all anti-depressants. Mum also took them to help her sleep, as that was another problem. They didn't "zombify" her - she still attended groups etc. - just reduced the constant worrying about absolutely everything. It was trial and error. Some medications had no effect, others made it difficult to get her going in the morning, and a struggle to get to activities on time.
I think the important thing is to not just accept there is nothing to be done. Non-dementia medications can help, and make life a bit easier for all concerned.

My Mum hated the day centre - jigsaws and bingo! - but did enjoy other activities. It took a lot of internet trawling and false starts, but eventually she went to a singing group run by the local church (she didn't like the big charity ones - "wheels on the bus"), an over 65's lunch club, that could cope with some aspects of dementia, a gardening based charity and a couple of dementia clubs.

 

[Rachael66]

I think they are all anti-depressants. Mum also took them to help her sleep, as that was another problem. They didn't "zombify" her - she still attended groups etc. - just reduced the constant worrying about absolutely everything. It was trial and error. Some medications had no effect, others made it difficult to get her going in the morning, and a struggle to get to activities on time.
I think the important thing is to not just accept there is nothing to be done. Non-dementia medications can help, and make life a bit easier for all concerned.

My Mum hated the day centre - jigsaws and bingo! - but did enjoy other activities. It took a lot of internet trawling and false starts, but eventually she went to a singing group run by the local church (she didn't like the big charity ones - "wheels on the bus"), an over 65's lunch club, that could cope with some aspects of dementia, a gardening based charity and a couple of dementia clubs.

Im currently battling back and forth with dementia consultant’s secretary or prescribing nurse as they just keep saying they will speak to the consultant and get back to me next week…my mum has terrible anxiety but it feels like they’re giving up on her! She was diagnosed 3 years ago and was on donepezil until a few months back when they’ve switched to mementine and Buspirone for her anxiety but this dose has just been annoyingly decreased by the GP without notification and the consultant tried her on Ruspiridone but that’s made her even more restless and wander more! The prescribing nurse told me to stop giving up but that it could have just taken a few more months to start working as there’s probably nothing else! She’s started to really struggle with her words but she’s only 71 and im just wondering if the donepezil was working or what other anxiety meds would stop her from worrying about everything! She is just so stressed all the time

 

[Newfy]

My mother is almost constantly in a state of anxiety. Checking doors to make sure they are locked, (even though she wanders), turning the heat on / off, on / off, looking out the windows commenting on the weather every hour or so, saying she's not hungry while eating, fixating over her tablet time (twice a day) but every few hours commenting on how long is left until her tablets, constantly watching the clock & making note of the time it is now (even though i don't think she understands the time), reminding me on a saturday what time mass is, what time we need to leave at, how long it takes to get there, how long the mass is, what time we should be home at, do we need shopping, she wants a cooked chicken (hands the girl at the till 100 euro for a 20 euro bill) . . . its full time. She is quite content in that it doesn't seem to upset her its just the dementia fixation, repetition, anxiety which of course affects those caring for her so much more. I did find that the quetiapine worked well and did improve her state. She was on half at night, now a full one at night and I'm considering a review of that with her GP. She is also on Xanax twice a day and a sleeping tablet at night. The GP is always reluctant to increase any of those in case my mother falls & she does lose her balance if she gets up during the night. It takes a while to get the mix right, a review with her consultant geriatrician helped.

 

[jackdog35]

Totally relate to all these posts, my dad’s life is pretty hellish now. My mum’s on olanzapine which is an anti psychotic but doesn’t seem to do much and I’m not sure why it was chosen as it doesn’t seem very common. She’s tried diazepam and mirtazapine but neither work.

 

[canary]

Hi @jackdog35
Does your mum have FTD? Olanzapine is often used for FTD because other antipsychotics often dont work or are contra-indicated for FTD

 

[jackdog35]

Hi @jackdog35
Does your mum have FTD? Olanzapine is often used for FTD because other antipsychotics often dont work or are contra-indicated for FTD

No the psychiatrist thinks i vascular. Came on very quickly after an operation last year. Very emotional, panicky, confused and aggressive at times