Any psychotropic or narcotic will increase risk of falls substantially due to even more decreased reflex response. Falls are a major cause of death to the elderly. Blood thinners with falls are a VERY deadly mix. Be mindful ASPIRIN is a common blood thinner. Coumadin and drugs similar to that inhibit clotting but it still means they can bleed to death

Mom came to live with me after a hospitalization that left her altered mentally. I hired sitters to be with her while I was at work. After having mouth surgery myself, I was prescribed pain killers which went missing 3 days after coming home. Mom's medicine bottles were placed out of her reach & her meds were given to her either by me or her sitter each day. Mom somehow found my pain killers (which I was certain were accidentally thrown away) and took some of them in the middle of the night. I heard her in the bathroom & went to see about her. Finding her unresponsive, I thought she had a stroke & called the EMTs who took her to ER. At the hospital, she tested positive for opiates! She would later tell me that she took them because she thought the pills were hers. Even though her doctor HAD prescribed the same med for her a few months earlier, my siblings seem to think the mistake was all my fault. Since then she has been to live with one of them then been back to the hospital then to a skilled nursing facility & now back to her home where she lives with a brother who hired a part time sitter so she is left alone during parts of the day. Mom doesn't have assets or $ to leave when she passes so none of us will profit from her death. I am the only one of us who has ever taken her to doctor appointments, been there for her surgeries & procedures, made sure she has medications & new clothes. Washed & dry cleaned her clothes. Cleaned her house. Brought her home to live with me, and purchased a Life Alert bracelet a year ago & still pays on it monthly in case she falls while no one is there. It hurts that I am being villainized by my brother's who have told me that I should be charged with elder abuse for one isolated event where she found & took my medication. I have also been informed that I am on mini-cam when I visit her & that I should "own up" to giving her the pills that caused the overdose. Incidentally, the doctors, nurses and the hospital case manager never questioned me or my Mom about the accidental overdose probably because I am the one who found my bottle of pills in her room & reported it to them as soon as I discovered them. I am posting this story for the benefit of those caring for a parent and especially if you have siblings that you would never believe capable of such behavior. I am now very, very concerned about whether my Mom is getting the proper care she needs but I am almost scared to visit her because of the threat of physical violence from my brother and I can't call her because she is nearly deaf and also because dementia is now one of her diagnosis.

I have been caring for my mom + dad for 3years, alone. We are getting a CNA nfext week to help me help my folks. Last week mom in ER Im home with dad, my sis's daughters told intensive care that mom was overmedicated by me. My sis wont talk about it. The neurologist shows up, everything done right. Sis and family do not help i. any homecare but criticize my work and psychologica lly forge care. Thanks. Bob

Enjoyed it

test again

It is good that you exercise naturally so that you can get some fresh air.

Karen's story sounds familiar. I had traumatic experiences with my own mother taking these drugs. I'm particularly wary about antipsychotics, which I think are way overprescribed. Over the long term, my mother was more psychotic while taking those drugs than she has been since she stopped, about 2 years ago. To say nothing of other health risks and the horrible side effects, such as urinary and fecal incontinence, paranoia, zombie syndrome, to mention a few and not all. What are these drugs really for? They say they're bad for elderly dementia patients; maybe they just haven't had time to do the same research on all elderly patients, even those without dementia. They may be just as dangerous for those patients as for dementia patients.

I will never forget driving my mother home from the psychiatric hospital. My sweet, mild-mannered mother, with, fortunately, a strong will to live and enjoy life when well, ordered me to bring her back to the hospital (because she had a delusion that they were going to bankrupt us), and threatened to open her car door on the freeway and jump out. I am planning to research these drugs and write about our experiences when my mother can no longer be hurt by my observations.

yes belive in you and decide what you wantand live healthy

I suspect that the stats the CDC collects are the tip of the iceberg. Those are the cases that wind up in an ER. How many more people (not just seniors) suffer ill effects and less than optimal health because they are not taking their medications as directed or they are taking conflicting drugs (ordered by different doctors) or they are taking drugs ordered by a doctor who thinks seniors are just shriveled up adults (and children are just small adults) and isn't up on how drugs can effect the elderly differently. (Hooray for geriatricians, but with the exploding elderly population there aren't enough to go around.)

I don't know the answer, but I see this as a huge problem. And the drugs in the top 4 are a surprise.

Don't always rely on the doctor to tell you everything you need to know about a particular drug. My mother's doctor prescribed Zyprexa for my mother - despite FDA warnings that within a 30-day window this drug is over 3 times as likely to cause serious health problems, even death by stroke if given to elderly dementia patients, not to mention repeated studies show that it's not even effective. If I had done my research thoroughly and earlier, my mother would still be here. I relied on a doctor who met with me and failed to mention the deadly side effects. When she died, he didn't even acknowledge her death. A few weeks later, he sent her a bill. Good old Dr. Kill-and-Bill.