Hi everyone - a question for you.
My Mum has been in an assessment centre for 3 weeks. she was sent there as her Care home was finding her agitation and occasional aggression difficult to cope with. When I visited her 2 weeks ago, she recognised me as her daughter. She was very confused about where she was and wanted to come home with me. I couldn't see her last weekend but when I visited her today she didn't really know who I was and didn't greet me as a familiar person. In fact she was very very sluggish. I mentioned the change to the staff who said that she had been very difficult the day before and they had increased her dose of carbamazepine.
From discussion with the staff, I understand that they have to medicate her to a state that care homes can cope with her, but it seems a high price to pay that she no longer recognises the family. My question is this - is there a point at which medication controls behaviour sufficiently but doesn't muddle the mind more than necessary ? Any views ? It seems like I lost my Mum really quickly because of the drugs.
My Mum has been in an assessment centre for 3 weeks. she was sent there as her Care home was finding her agitation and occasional aggression difficult to cope with. When I visited her 2 weeks ago, she recognised me as her daughter. She was very confused about where she was and wanted to come home with me. I couldn't see her last weekend but when I visited her today she didn't really know who I was and didn't greet me as a familiar person. In fact she was very very sluggish. I mentioned the change to the staff who said that she had been very difficult the day before and they had increased her dose of carbamazepine.
From discussion with the staff, I understand that they have to medicate her to a state that care homes can cope with her, but it seems a high price to pay that she no longer recognises the family. My question is this - is there a point at which medication controls behaviour sufficiently but doesn't muddle the mind more than necessary ? Any views ? It seems like I lost my Mum really quickly because of the drugs.