I am having another major dilemna.
Mum is going out on her own to the local shop more frequently and has started to go around 4.30/5pm when it is dark, she buys alot of rubbish and one one occasion forgot to pay. Her Care Manager feels that she is very agitated and again has suggested Seroquel. On the previous occasion that it was suggested I refused because I looked into the drug and read horror stories about it and felt that the risk of giving the drug was higher than what it was supposed to help. This time I reluctantly agreed to try one 25mg tablet a day, just to try and take some of mums agitation away during the day, (she is fine when I am there).
The problem is I have again looked on the internet about this drug and there is more up to date information on it and its even scarier than ever!! The drug company itself quotes on their own website that this drug is not approved for the treatment of elderly people with Dementia and that they are at an increased risk of death. So why I ask are doctors prescribing this drug for elderly patients with dementia????
I dont know what to do, it was me who had the last say on this decision to start the drugs and now I am changing my mind which is going to make alot of people angry, i.e family, doctors and Social Services. I dont feel I am in a position to play with my mums life here, my partner says trust the doctors, but doctors get it wrong sometimes, we aren't talking some small side effect here, we are talking death here. I read one of the fact sheets on this website and they dont agree with giving these type of drugs so again I ask, who is making the decision to use these drugs to treat Alzheimers patients? If I dont go with the drugs there isn't an alternative, mum stays agitated and then they talk about care homes and I dont want that for her either.
Can anyone advise or does anyone have experiences of this drug and any ideas how I stand up to the 'professionals' on this one?
Thanks in advance for any help or advice given.
Regards
Tressa.
Mum is going out on her own to the local shop more frequently and has started to go around 4.30/5pm when it is dark, she buys alot of rubbish and one one occasion forgot to pay. Her Care Manager feels that she is very agitated and again has suggested Seroquel. On the previous occasion that it was suggested I refused because I looked into the drug and read horror stories about it and felt that the risk of giving the drug was higher than what it was supposed to help. This time I reluctantly agreed to try one 25mg tablet a day, just to try and take some of mums agitation away during the day, (she is fine when I am there).
The problem is I have again looked on the internet about this drug and there is more up to date information on it and its even scarier than ever!! The drug company itself quotes on their own website that this drug is not approved for the treatment of elderly people with Dementia and that they are at an increased risk of death. So why I ask are doctors prescribing this drug for elderly patients with dementia????
I dont know what to do, it was me who had the last say on this decision to start the drugs and now I am changing my mind which is going to make alot of people angry, i.e family, doctors and Social Services. I dont feel I am in a position to play with my mums life here, my partner says trust the doctors, but doctors get it wrong sometimes, we aren't talking some small side effect here, we are talking death here. I read one of the fact sheets on this website and they dont agree with giving these type of drugs so again I ask, who is making the decision to use these drugs to treat Alzheimers patients? If I dont go with the drugs there isn't an alternative, mum stays agitated and then they talk about care homes and I dont want that for her either.
Can anyone advise or does anyone have experiences of this drug and any ideas how I stand up to the 'professionals' on this one?
Thanks in advance for any help or advice given.
Regards
Tressa.