Medication

[john1939]

Hello, Recently my wife has become increasingly aggressive, making threats and striking out at people whom she thinks have annoyed her.
Her doctor advised that an extra Quietipine 30 mg pill be add to her daily dose.
Yesterday I gave her an extra 30mg pill at lunchtime, and this morning she was quiet and untroubled. She dressed for her visit to her day centre without problems.
Seemingly tailoring the medication can help in managing some aggressive behaviour.
I would stress that any modification to medication must always be under the supervision and agreement of the doctor.
This is not advice, just my personal experience.

 

[karaokePete]

I'm glad that's helped your wife and hope that that in turn helps you.

 

[Bree]

MOH was put on Sertraline, a low dose at first, but he was still angry for nothing, the dose was increased, and now he is lot calmer. He still has outbursts but not nearly as often as before. That said, I did have to tell the memory doctor that we had been married for 40 years, and that if he carried on the way he was, it wouldn't make 41, before he was treated for his anger.

 

[70smand]

I agree that sometimes medication can help and I’m glad the increased dose of quetiapine worked for you, but sadly it’s sometmes hit and miss and what works for one can not always work for another, especially with antipsychotics and their side effects.
Can I ask what dose of sertraline worked for your oh Bree, my dad recently came off it after years as we felt it wasn’t doing anything and was switched to trazadone which seems to make him really drowsy?

 

[Bree]

70smand

MOH takes one 100 mg tablet after breakfast, he doesn't feel drowsy, and doesn't seem to have any side effects from the drug.

 

[70smand]

70smand

MOH takes one 100 mg tablet after breakfast, he doesn't feel drowsy, and doesn't seem to have any side effects from the drug.

Thank you for replying. I hope it continues to work well for your OH.

 

[Amy1]

As POA do I have any rights to be part of a discussion about my mother being prescribed medication for 'anxiety'? The carer asked if she has a diagnosis for dementia - I said 'don't you know?' and she then said yes you told me on entry. I am concerned that this seems a strange conversation. Her care home have consulted with GP and suggested medication would help her 'mood'. She recently broke her arm after a fall and is now reluctant to leave her room - the carer told me that she thought this was due to her anxiety. I tried to have a conversation about Mum's normal character traits, but this was brushed over. My mother has for many years, possibly all her life, made rules for herself which she steadfastly adheres to and this is not new behaviour. I am already feeling that I am not being heard and that my knowledge of my mother is not valued and this is another example.

 

[Grannie G]

Hello @Amy1 Welcome.

With a POA you will be able to discuss your mother`s medication with her GP.

When my husband went into residential care his GP was changed to one local to the area of the care home. I made an appointment to see this new GP to introduce myself and let them know I would still like to be involved in my husband`s care.

There is a publication from the Alzheimer`s Society `This is me`.

This is me

'This is me' is a simple leaflet for anyone receiving professional care who is living with dementia or experiencing delirium or other communication difficulties.

www.alzheimers.org.uk

It can be ordered by post free of charge or downloaded and printed.

My husband`s care home had a copy and when he was hospitalised I gave the ward another copy.

There is room to enter all relevant information.

@john1939. I was lucky enough to have a doctor for my husband who would be available to discuss tweaking his medication to help manage his symptoms.

The Dementia is changing constantly and it stands to reason some of the medication should be changed to suit.

 

[DennyD]

Even with POA I get informed after the event that my husband (in care) has been put on anti psychotic meds. This has happened on 3 occasions now and I don't like it. He displays aggression toward staff upon intervention with dressing, washing, etc but not on other occasions. Perhaps it's because I've a biased opinion toward anti-psych meds, but the fact that I get informed after meds have been altered makes me suspicious. I of course see the need that staff need protection from harm. But it does raise a feeling of drugs being administered as 'the go to option' in order to keep the routines going. There appears to be little room for exploring other options. I guess this goes toward the pressures brought about by systems in place to keep care going and minimise risk as opposed to exploring person centred care to the benefit of the dementia patient.