Violence and not taking drugs

unabletocope

Registered User
Mar 7, 2007
8
0
Hello everyone

I am still battling with my mother's AD, unfortunately we seem to be heading for all out war! She was precribed Reminyl and seroquel, but in March took it upon herself that there was nothing wrong with her! and refused all medication! Great. She was seen by the consultant twice at her home, after I lodged a complaint against the PCT. Unfortunately she refused to budge on the drug taking front and started to threaten me physically and has not had any pills since. The NHS would not section her and basically said until she threatens her own life, which she has done before, they will not act, not heard from her CPN for a while. So care is left to me lock stock and barrel! Unfortunately for me she is not only confining her violence to the subject of drugs, she now goes to hit me on the subject of anything we disagree on. Last Friday I needed a P60 for the tax office and because she insisted it had not been delivered she went to hit me when I found it, then she hid the shopping list I had made to get her food etc etc.
I think a lot of this behaviour is due to the fact that she is not on medication. She absolutely adores sweets, not uncommon I understand for AD sufferers. Can I break open the reminyl capsules and inbed them in a sweet, or grind down the seroquel tablets? The NHS were not keen on me slipping her drugs this way but they are not coping with her!!! I have to say I remain to be convinced about the value of seroquel , but the reminyl worked very well on her. All thoughts appreciated.
 

Nebiroth

Registered User
Aug 20, 2006
3,510
0
It is inadvisable to grind up tablets and put them into things, this is because many medicines are designed to "time release", that is to deliver a given dose over a given time. This is achieved by using protective coatings, which means the tablets dissolve at different rates once swallowed. Even capsules can do this, as the drug inside them may have a lot of little granules, they are all in diffrent coatings which means some take longer to dissolve than others.

If you grind a tablet up, you destroy the coatings, meaning that the whole dose may be absorbed all in one go. This means you can suddenly get a very high dose all at once, rather than a steady small dose over hours. That can at best mean you don;t get the proper benefits, and at worst can be dangerous.

If you are thinking of this you should consult a doctor first because it may not be safe to do it. It is possible that the drug is available in other forms, such as a syrup.

The Seroquel (a brand name for Quitipine) is likely to be for the agression. It can take quite a while for the benefits to manifest, and also to find an effective dose. The usual method is to "start low, go slow"
 

Grannie G

Volunteer Moderator
Apr 3, 2006
81,440
0
Kent
Hi unabletocope,

You really do have your hands full. Your mother sounds very difficult to manage.

I wouldn`t advise tampering with the drugs, by breaking them up or grinding them down. I have no medical knowledge, but do know that giving drugs in any way that is different to the way they are prescribed, can alter the way they act in the body.

All I can suggest is you stay away from your mother whilst she is so abusive, and let SS and her CPN know what you are doing and why.

Please let us know how things develop.
 

unabletocope

Registered User
Mar 7, 2007
8
0
Thanks for the replies

I thought they had given her quetiapine for the hallucinations, although I have to say although it did not seem to stop them, there was no aggression coming from her. Now it is most definitly out of control! She lives alone and believes people come to her house in the evening. As far as I am aware no-one goes there except for me. If I did not care for her anything could happen she has spent the night in the garage when the temperature was -2, she trawls hospitals for the neighbours son, on the premise that his father beat him up, in reality he was away at university, she went wandering in the dense fog we had just before Christmas, she hoards rubbish because she believes the dustmen are on strike etc etc
 

CraigC

Registered User
Mar 21, 2003
6,633
0
London
Hi,

Please get some help. These situations are impossible to deal with yourself. Speak to your mothers GP or your GP and get some advice. There is a lot of help out there and it is important to ask for it.

If you are worried now, you can call the alzheimers helpline:

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/About_our_work/Contact_us/helpline.htm

they can give you some options and information of the support that is available. This does not sound like the kind of situation you should deal with alone.

Kind Regards
Craig
 

elaineo2

Registered User
Jul 6, 2007
945
0
leigh lancashire
disguising mediaction

Hi there unabletocope,i understand why you think of disguising your mums mediaction.I have this problem all the time in the care home i work in.however hard it is she does have the right to refuse to take it.doesn't help her or you though.the option of the medication being changed to liquid form is a good idea if it is possible.if your mum does continue to have hallucinations and threatens self harm it sounds like she could be elligible for sectioning.is there a social worker involved?elainex
 

unabletocope

Registered User
Mar 7, 2007
8
0
Thanks for the replies

No unfortunately social services were not interested in her case as she seems to be caring for herself. Although since they withdrew her hygiene is a bit hit and miss she went for about 3 months without washing her hair but has now washed it. I managed to do it on one occasion but have backed off because of violence. Her house is quite clean, she seems to have a bath and eat. Everytime I ring it she is annoyed at being disturbed, she is having both visual and auditory hallunciations and I am accused of whatever has gone on in her head. She is suspious of everything particularly the neighbours. She has rung me at 3am to tell me that they are stealing money from her bank account. I am sadly her only child, and my father is dead.
 

Gill W

Registered User
Jan 31, 2007
190
0
Co. Durham
hi unabletocope

Sounds to me like you're having a real hard time, trying to do your best and being accused of anything but. It's hard to deal with isn't it when they reject your help and accuse all the time.

My only suggestion to you would be to try what my sister and I tried with social services. They were dragging their feet with care for my Gran, a lot of things they could do were being left to us to deal with.

It took a call from my sister and I to tell them that if they didn't get their finger out then we would be removing mam from the picture of caring, and they would be 100% responsible for Gran. We know we had the right to do this, and we assured them we would do it if they didn't get things sorted to a higher level. Mam is totally exhausted, mentally and physically, and it sounds as though you could end up the same way if you don't get some more help on board here.

The medication giving is a hard one, one we've not come across yet with Gran, but if needs be, could you let them know that you refuse to help unless they can find a way of encouraging your mum to take her meds? Just because you choose to help her doesn't mean you HAVE to help her, and well they know it.

Dig your toes in, let them know you're finding it hard.

Good luck

Gill
xx