My father (88) has dementia. He doesn't deny it. The problem is he has been getting more and more paranoid. What can I do?

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My father (88) has dementia. He doesn't deny it. The problem is he has been getting more and more paranoid. What can I do?

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My father knows he has lapses because of dementia. The problem I have is that he thinks the neighbor is out to get him. He swears the neighbor is messing with things on our property when there is no such evidence. I try to tell him the person living next door is new and not the person he thinks he is. He still insists the guy is out to get him.Before this it was some nebulous, (Them) trying to kill him. The doctor has given me a medication that might help to use as needed. The trouble is I never know when an episode will happen and have been warned against using it too much because it can, in some cases, cause death. Now I'm afraid to give it to him at all. : (

Alzheimer's & Dementia Dementia Behaviors Medications Mental Health Paranoia

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KDinMD60: Pose your concerns to his neurologist.

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Reply to Llamalover47

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My grandfather swore that people were stealing things from him and when I would try to talk him down he would throw a fit and flip out on me. Then days later he would find whatever he misplaced and expect me to forget all about how badly he treated everyone in the house. THAT was before the dementia got bad enough that he had to be placed in a MC facility.

Now he claims the staff is doing things to his belongings and they arent feeding him real meals. Every time I see him he tells me more and more things about the staff and our family (none of the family even keep in contact with him) He is fairly nice when I visit, telling me "they" are lying about him bad mouthing me, then continues to tell the staff terrible things about me when I am gone. I suppose this is how it will be until the end. I just hope that we dont have 5 MORE years of this. He was put on a medication at the facility to help with this but so far I havent noticed any changes. The dosage was increased last week so I am crossing my fingers.

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Reply to laura9574

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I understand this is a lot for an adult child to manage. Medication like risperdone and Olanzepine have black box warnings about risks. My father was on both for a year before he died. Ask the doctor to prescribe him a regimen, once daily at bedtime for example. We had a geriatric psychiatrist and if you have access to one, this is their specialty. If not, primary care. Our experience was that the medication will need to be adjusted depending on the response. Start low dose and can always increase. A scheduled dose is much easier for the caregiver and the patient as you described. My 94 year old dad was definitely muted on the medication. The psychiatrist described it as “his light will be dimmed.” It was. It helped him cope with his awful situation and reduced agitation. Didn’t take it completely away. He stayed on low dose. The medication was helpful for us. It made him more subdued but it also dimmed his light, just like psychiatrist said. There is so much grief and loss in this journey. Just know you are not alone. I would weigh the potential benefits against the worry about risk. You can always stop the medication after 6-8 weeks if no benefit.

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Reply to Beethoven13

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I don't understand what you are saying about you being given a medication that could cause death. To be honest that makes no sense. ANYTHING can cause death if you use it wrong. So there's that. But there is currently no prescription medication I know of, being used for people, that "may cause death" in normal circumstances.

Please say more, and start with the name of this medication.

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Reply to AlvaDeer

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It might carry a black box warning but death would be a rare event. Or is it mentioning overdose? What is the med? Do you expect him to take one in a crisis? That med might need a few days to kick in.
As far as death, is he capable of killing someone? Does he have access to weapons? If yes, remove them or notify the police of his disposition. If he does cause harm, you as his caregiver might be implicated in an investigation to make matters worse.
There have been reports in the news that people act out in these delusions. For instance in 1997, my cousin was a victim of murder suicide based on her husband's health.

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Reply to MACinCT

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@MACinCT

I'm sorry that you and your family had such a tragedy.

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All medications come with a risk. Tylenol or aspirin comes with risks to people taking it.

The medication comes with directions for use. I am sure you have heard or seen the phrase: TAKE ONLY AS DIRECTED on every medication (prescription or over the counter) in the world.

So, give it to your father as directed. For even more piece of mind, call the doctor who prescribed it and ask how many times a day, week, month, is safe usage for this drug.

It sounds like your father should probably be in a memory care facility now.

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Reply to BurntCaregiver

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Find a doctor who specializes in Geriatric medicine and dementia. Regular doctors can be useless when a patient reaches a certain plateau in dementia.

What kind of doctor will prescribe a medication that can cause death. Talk with a pharmacist about this medication and what other medications would he recommend in place of this one.

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Reply to Scampie1

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No doctor, Scampie. Any medication can cause death if it is misued.

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What sort of medication would any doctor prescribe that can cause death if used too often???? Dad either needs a new doctor or a med he can take daily to calm him down.

My father (88) has dementia. He doesn't deny it. The problem is he has been getting more and more paranoid. What can I do?

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