Many of the people in this forum are nurses, care managers, and professional caregivers with decades of experience.
I've had hundreds of care clients with Sundowner's over a 25 year career in the field of homecare. So have many others here. People like me know what works and what doesn't.
A doctor or APRN or geriatric psychiatrist don't have any actual and practical experience dealing with these conditions.
Many times a person is better off asking the doctor for a specific medication rather than having him try something out on the elderly person who is sundowing every night.
Definitely seek a doctor’s recommendation and prescription. Not everyone responds the same to the array of anxiety meds. So, you’ll have to try each one out until you find an effective one for her. It was very stressful every day close to sundown time. I dreaded the moment my mom would instantly change to a monster. Sometimes it lasted for an hour but sometimes it would go on for hours. Lorazapam was my go-to drug, but her body began to get used to the medication so I had to gradually increase the dose. When it was no longer effective, the hospice nurse said I needed to detox my mom for 3 days. This would allow the medication to get out of her system. Then, I could start giving her a low dose all over again. It worked! But 3 days seemed like 30 days! Get a doctor’s recommendation and save yourself heartache and stress.
Liquid Ativan (lorazepam) or liquid Valium (diazepam) as needed. Both are anti-anxiety drugs drugs from the class of drug class benzodizepines. In the liquid form they work almost instantly to calm them down.
These drugs are Caregivers' Little Helpers. Ask the doctor for some in liquid form. They work fast too.
Yes there are prescription meds. If there is a personality change especially with anxiety, anger or hypersexuality, then you need to seek geriatric psych
Every person with Alzheimer's is different, what works for one may not work for others. What helped the best for her was to ignore her. If I didn't her crying spells or pacing would go on forever. If there was a camera on me I would of looked like such a jerk, she was all upset. And I just thumbed through a magazine and didn't even look up. It lasted 5 minutes, other wise it would of been forever. Best of luck.
Ativan worked quite well for my mother during her agitation periods of Sundowning with dementia. She was furiously looking for her deceased siblings and parents, insisting they were in the Memory Care building but she couldn't find them. Thank God for the Ativan. Speak to moms doctor about a medication for her.
If mom is home alone while you're working full time every day, that's not safe for her. Please look into using her funds to pay for caregivers to come in or to place her in Memory Care Assisted Living.
This is a question that requires an MD working with you. The truth is that each individual is as unique as his own fingerprint when it comes to medication. What works for "Aunt Anne" might drive your own Mom up the wall, literally. Some folks with dementia have what is called "paradoxical reaction" meaning that a med meant to calm them just sent them into a frenzy. So do speak with the doctor about this. It is often a matter of experimentation to see what works. Work closely together and keep a diary. Some meds take a bit of time to work. You don't want oversedation and falls. I wish you luck. The really bad news is that when you find "an answer" it doesn't always continue to work.
Many of the people in this forum are nurses, care managers, and professional caregivers with decades of experience.
I've had hundreds of care clients with Sundowner's over a 25 year career in the field of homecare. So have many others here. People like me know what works and what doesn't.
A doctor or APRN or geriatric psychiatrist don't have any actual and practical experience dealing with these conditions.
Many times a person is better off asking the doctor for a specific medication rather than having him try something out on the elderly person who is sundowing every night.
These drugs are Caregivers' Little Helpers. Ask the doctor for some in liquid form. They work fast too.
Seroquel is often prescribed for this issue as well.
If there was a camera on me I would of looked like such a jerk, she was all upset. And I just thumbed through a magazine and didn't even look up. It lasted 5 minutes, other wise it would of been forever.
Best of luck.
If mom is home alone while you're working full time every day, that's not safe for her. Please look into using her funds to pay for caregivers to come in or to place her in Memory Care Assisted Living.
Good luck to you.
The truth is that each individual is as unique as his own fingerprint when it comes to medication. What works for "Aunt Anne" might drive your own Mom up the wall, literally. Some folks with dementia have what is called "paradoxical reaction" meaning that a med meant to calm them just sent them into a frenzy.
So do speak with the doctor about this. It is often a matter of experimentation to see what works. Work closely together and keep a diary. Some meds take a bit of time to work. You don't want oversedation and falls.
I wish you luck. The really bad news is that when you find "an answer" it doesn't always continue to work.