Medication - Any Advice Welcome

[Misslovely]

Hi. My mother has been on Memantine for about three years. A family member has concerns about her talking about her deceased parents. I have explained that this is quite common with people with Alzhiemers. He is also concerned about her being anxious.

My Mother doesn’t always engage with carers and they log when she doesn’t take the meds and then one of the care managers will contact the GP if necessary.

I am a bit anxious about passing on the information from the family member to the GP. I don’t want my mother to be put on any medication that will make her feel sleepy and I don’t think she would take more than one tablet a day.

It’s a bit of a complicated situation in that I can’t get my mother to go to medical appointments so I can’t get her to see a psychiatrist and the GP does house calls. Also I feel uncomfortable passing on information from the family member who lives with my Mother but they can’t or won’t speak to the GP directly.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Grannie G]

Hello @Misslovely

Would you allow the family member to be present when the doctor visits so they can have an opportunity to air their concerns?

It might take the pressure off you, which you could well do without.

 

[Jaded'n'faded]

It sounds as though the family member who lives with your mother doesn't really have a clue about dementia. Could it be that they've been in denial about the reality of it till now?

Whether or not your mother takes the Memantine, her dementia will progress and the anxiety/talking about dead parents is typical of middle stage dementia. Sorry to say , but it gets worse from here on in. Yes, there will be anxiety, depression, maybe paranoia ('who has stolen my purse?') and/or delusions and hallucinations. There may be aggression. There will be incontinence and losing sense of night and day so care becomes 24/7.

Maybe it is time to get a needs assessment (from social services) for your mother and look at getting carers in to give your family member living with her a break? Your mother's care needs will increase considerably as time goes on. Have you applied for Attendance Allowance and got Power of Attorney in place?

 

[karaokePete]

Hello @Misslovely

In my opinion it may be wrong to worry about meds making your mother sleepy. Whilst it's correct to say that some meds can increase sleepiness; when it comes to progressing dementia the brain gets tired when trying to cope with the ever more confusing world. Further, with the increasing loss of cognitive ability activities that were once undertaken often fall to the wayside, producing depression and apathy. All of these factors often result in a person sleeping more - even without meds.

It really would be worthwhile talking to a medic as meds are there to make life easier for the person with dementia.

I do hope you find a solution for all concerned.

 

[Neveradullday!]

Talking about deceased parents/relatives - talking to people on the telly - not recognising the carer - seeing things that aren't there - the list goes on. It's dementia.

Skilful reactions to these symptoms from the carer help enormously. No need for excessive medication, in my opinion.
Depression isn't inevitable, either.

 

[Misslovely]

Thanks for your replies.

I have put carers in place and have deputyship. I applied for attendance allowance and was told my Mother wasn’t eligible for it. I did contest this and haven’t had time to apply again.

The family member won’t talk to the GP directly which I have asked them to do. It’s a complicated situation. I feel like I want the best care for my Mother but feel anxious about just repeating this information. I do most of the sorting out and work full time. I’m getting so fed up of it

 

[sdmhred]

These kind of extra stresses are really something you could do without 😢😢

Would the family member write a letter which you could just put through the GP’s door? And say u had passed it all on…

You could add your own observations regarding anxiety levels….

For anxiety the most is likely to be a low dose antidepressant- shouldn’t exacerbate any sleepiness xx

 

[Meero]

Hi Misslovely, most important is to keep an eye on her anxiety/depression. Dementia patients will develop these. It would be wise to put her on anti-depressant/ anti-anxiety to help a bit. They usually do not make them sleepy like SSRI. Dementia patients as they progress through their disease, they sleep lots of hours regardless during that day. That is part of the disease progressing.

Hi. My mother has been on Memantine for about three years. A family member has concerns about her talking about her deceased parents. I have explained that this is quite common with people with Alzhiemers. He is also concerned about her being anxious.

My Mother doesn’t always engage with carers and they log when she doesn’t take the meds and then one of the care managers will contact the GP if necessary.

I am a bit anxious about passing on the information from the family member to the GP. I don’t want my mother to be put on any medication that will make her feel sleepy and I don’t think she would take more than one tablet a day.

It’s a bit of a complicated situation in that I can’t get my mother to go to medical appointments so I can’t get her to see a psychiatrist and the GP does house calls. Also I feel uncomfortable passing on information from the family member who lives with my Mother but they can’t or won’t speak to the GP directly.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks