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My 78 year old father has been placed in ALF since October. Currently we cant even see him due to COV 19 ban which is killing us. We are very active in his care and have done it at home for almost 9 years. Since placement he has lost 20 lbs and become almost completely immobile. The hospital took him off Namenda and Excelon as they said it wasn't doing anything anymore. He is on Xanax Lexapro and Trazadone. He used to be on Seroquel but ALF took him off that. He has for the past 2 months done a series of repetitve clapping over and over and or slapping himself in the head or arm or leg and always seems agitated. This goes on all day. They have been giving him Depakote now. Only saw the effects for a week prior to the ban..it didn't seem to do much? Thoughts on this? Phone calls to the facility confirm he is still doing this. I truly believe taking him off Namenda and Excelon spread up the process and made some things worse. I also dont know if anyone can reccomend an anti psychotic that doesn't interact with Trazadone? Any help or experience appreciated when I can get back to see my Dad . They also may have changed his meds now that they will have to care for him 24 7 since we can't be there.

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Who at the facility has authority to change ur LOs meds? Is it a Dr. associated with the AL? If so, he probably is a GP. This person is on a lot of meds. After a point cognitive meds don't work on someone who is pretty much into their Dementia. When did LO start with the slapping? When a med was taken away or a new one introduced? I realize that meds can be used for other things other than what is listed on the internet, but Depakote is primarily for Seizures and BiPolar. Has your LO had these problems before his Dememtia?

Please don't rely on the AL to monitor and adjust LOs meds. All they do is tell a Dr. what they are seeing and he prescribes. You may want to take the list of meds to your pharmacist and ask if any interact with each other.
Sorry to say, Drs sometimes just keep prescribing to try and solve a problem. Its the pharmacist that catches what shouldn't be taken together.

I am assuming LO has a neurologist. You need to call him/her and explain what is going on. I would say what LO is doing is an anxiety. My Moms was humming which got worse as the days went by.

Be aware too that in the elderly medications don't leave the body as quickly as in a younger person. They can build up.
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Anchors1981 Mar 2020
Thank you for replying, he was on the xanax and lexapro for 10 years at home.,worked wonders. Also on seroquel at night as he wasnt sleeping. Also on Namenda and Excelon patch. Hospital admission back in October took him off of all ! that. When he transferred from hospital to ALF it was a nightmare getting him back on Xanax and Lex. They stopped the Seroquel cold turkey as its is condisered "black box" and bow he takes melatonin and Trazadone.,we did alert his Neuro who supervised/was alerted but said the GP and Geriatric Psych are now his doctors through the facility. Started Depakote on 3 06 but i haven't been able to see the full effect or if it is helping due to COV 19 ban,
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My mother was on Zyprexa before she entered the nursing home and remained on it the entire time she was there, with no negative side effects.

Later, when she became non-verbal, she had a few terrifying episodes of anxiety, and at those times the smallest doses of Xanax were administered. Even the smallest doses caused her to sleep for as much as 30 hours at a time, which I hated, but I came to understand that it was somewhat better than the horrid agitation that she sometimes suffered.

I’m not a fan of “cocktails”, and her medical team at the time wasn't either. Almost 6 years on Zyprexa was discouraged by the manufacturer, but it worked for her.
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Anchors1981 Mar 2020
Thank you when the COV 19 ban is lifted we can see how he is doing. Not a fan of the cocktails either but he needs it for quality of life and has underlying issues on top of the dementia
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Anchors, are you able to talk to his Doctor?
Although these are extreme behaviors caused by his Alzheimer's, there should be something that can be done to lessen symptoms.
Just because the hospital took him off his meds doesn't mean it was the right thing to do.
His primary care physician should be on this!
And sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease!
God bless!!
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Anchors1981 Mar 2020
Thank you for replying. Because he is in the care of the ALF he has a doctor there...unfortunately it's been hit or miss. It took a while to convince them to give him back his Xanax and Lexapro after admission. We had to push for that. The doctor always says its "part of the disease" then when the staff say the self injury of slapping they put him on Depakote, I wish I could see how well that is working and be his advocate but due to COV 19 we are banned. I can only hope and pray he is ok and that perhaps they have seen for themselves it's distressing to him. We can only call the place daily and then send pictures. 😭 thank you for the help tho. If we are allowed back in soon perhaps I will exercise that option
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