Lorazepam...Aricept.....trazodone
i have found this very informative, thank you I am sure my dad is on this drug and has been prescribed it recently. I shall be going to the "CH" tommorow and asking for a list of every drug that he is on and its a long one
I shall research every one and go back to them with my opinion
not hijacking in the slightest but I was reading the other day that ARICEPT long term does cause aggression, confusion, etc has anyone else heard this
dad has been on it for two years now and has a memory score 18/30
My husband was started on Aricept soon after diagnosis and I saw a tiny possible improvement.
After some years he became so demented and aggressive I stopped it, wrote to his consultant saying it wasn't licensed for mid to late stage stage AD and he agreed.
Amazing results! MH started speaking again. He became affectionate towards me, saying he loved me and knew how much I was doing for him. This was truly astonishing after so long. Only wish I'd done it sooner.
After a short while, months, the aggression returned. Speech remained improved though.
I tried lorazepam with little or no improvement.
But then in a respite CH lorazepam combined with trazodone had very serious results, so bad that I removed him from the care home, brought him home, and off all these type of drugs, and within a matter of days we were out walking for miles and back to normal.
Now in a nursing home permanently, trazodone is back on the script at a much increased dose despite my protests, and he has deteriorated beyond belief very rapidly.
They give lorazepam occasionally too without success.
The research I have done, looking at scientific papers online, has not convinced me of the efficacy of any drug to help very ill people with aggression, anxiety and dementia.
Medics are programmed to believe in drugs. They seem to feel they have to do something - anything- even risking making the illness worse.
The drugs are heavily promoted by the pharmaceutical companies. The medics don't want to say to you, Actually there's nothing I can do to help this person. So they prescribe.
As a previous poster pointed out, it is not they who have to deal with the consequences.
I am of the opinion that the illness is bad enough without messing things up with ad hoc drug regimes.
Has anyone here found anything that truly, unreservably, has caused a lasting unequivocal improvement?
Sorry if I have rather diluted the original post.