Mum was recently prescribed Trazodone. Care home staff report that she is sleeping better at night. Prior to this she would be wandering the corridors at night. I have found her to be quite sleepy during the day too. She seems to be very sedated. Her behaviour has improved but that could be because of the sedation. Not sure if this is a good thing.
Physical ability versus cognitive decline
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For my dad with mixed dementia...VD and Alzheimer's it has been the other way round. Cognitive decline advanced and not matched with physical decline until probably the last 6 months but at 86 no surprise. I feel the physical decline is now catching up quite quickly. I don't have experience of that drug but am in the process of a review of zopiclone with the GP which has been used without much benefit for dad to sleep more at night, he is a night wanderer. He has been at risk of falls for some time and it was becoming evident zopiclone has increased that risk. A night fall with facial injury every week for 7 weeks....zopiclone stopped for 4 weeks...not one night fall. So I would say take any added risk into consideration, it is always a balance of the lesser problem.
Hi,
My mum was prescribed Trazodone when she first went into a Care Home 13 months ago.This was because she was horrendously anxious and agitated. For the first couple of weeks it was like she was completely disoriented and sleepy, but this soon passed and she seemed much calmer and happier and her behaviour was less challenging. All in all, I think it was a positive move, however in the last month she seems to be reverting to how she was before so guess the assessor was right that it is 'wearing off'. The assessor and the Care Home seem reluctant to increase the dose as could make her dizzy, so not quite sure how to move forward now as she now stays up all night and hardly gets any sleep and is becoming increasingly hostile towards the carers
Yes, it's difficult to get the right balance with medication. It seems the Trazodone worked well for the first year, but now the effects seems to be wearing off, so really not sure what to do for the best; My mum has once again started raising her stick and hitting the staff and other residents in the Care Home as she gets angry very quickly probably due to her frustrations. She is a night wanderer too and also hardly sits down in the day as she is constantly looking for people or trying to get out of the Home. However, changing her medication may lead to dizziness and potential falls but leaving things as they are, she is danger of causing harm to others
My Mum 76 has been in care since July 16. Physically ( apart from Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia) she is still well. Very mobile apart from a stiff knee now and again. Cognitively scored 47/100 on ACE 111 and she has almost zero short term memory but then you can be amazed at what she does remember.
However she will no longer sleep through the day, not even a snooze in an armchair, goes to bed about 7/8pm and will be up by 3/4am. I'm not sure how well she sleeps in those hours but the carers do night checks and they have a mattress & door alarm to let them know if they are out of bed. Her Care Home are very resistant to any drug, sleeping or otherwise mainly due to fall risks and would rather manage wandering, agitation, best they can. Sometimes though and because of her Leukemia you can see she desperately needs a good sleep
However she will no longer sleep through the day, not even a snooze in an armchair, goes to bed about 7/8pm and will be up by 3/4am. I'm not sure how well she sleeps in those hours but the carers do night checks and they have a mattress & door alarm to let them know if they are out of bed. Her Care Home are very resistant to any drug, sleeping or otherwise mainly due to fall risks and would rather manage wandering, agitation, best they can. Sometimes though and because of her Leukemia you can see she desperately needs a good sleep
