My 91 year old Dad (who suffers from vascular dementia) has been living in AL for about a year and a half. I live and work in another state (500 miles away), but I’m able to visit him for a week each month, during which time we go back to his house and take little trips to his favorite spots, ball games, fishing, or to visit relatives out of town.
He had been having audio hallucinations (hearing voices) that would keep him awake and cause him to attempt to go outside, both at the AF and when I’m staying with him at the house. A few months ago, I took him to his physician (who checked for a UTI, which was negative), then prescribed a low dosage of Seroquel. This had almost no effect. We went back to his behavioral neurologist who increased the dosage to 50mg. The AL staff told me that it helped him a lot with the hallucinations, but he now sleeps more. I noticed the same thing when I've stayed with him on my last few visits. I think he would sleep all day if I didn’t wake him to take medicine, eat, or do activities/appointments. Once he’s up, he is alert, oriented, and able to do whatever we to do. He doesn’t seem groggy or drugged, and the hallucinations are much less frequent. Dad doesn't complain and says he's OK with sleeping.
Does anyone else have this experience with Seroquel? The doctor said it would probably make him drowsy, but this is more sleeping that I expected. I’m thinking it’s a good trade-off, because the “voices” were really bothering him and keeping him awake.
Or, it could be because he’s 91 year old heart patient and he’s just tired?
J/K. But not really.
Getting old is exhausting. Not everyone goes 'gently into that good night'...they are tired from simply living. They'e not happy or interested in anything--
My mother's last friend is in Hospice. When this woman dies, my mom will have zero friends. She's outlived everyone she knows. She's basically housebound now herself, and her options for socialization are nil. She doesn't WANT to go anywhere. She is happy with her tvs and her birds and working on puzzles. If she wanted to sleep all day everyday, I'd let her.
EVERYTHING hurts on her now. She's mobile, but barely so...creeping along so slowly....takes all day long to do 3 tiny loads of laundry. Why should we harangue her about getting up and out more? At 88....( and a HARD 88) she just wants to have her stuff around her and be peaceful.
BTW- Seroquel has a very long "after effect" of sleepiness into the next day. But it works very well to calm and to help sleep. a 50 mg dose is pretty small.
My mother 89, has vascular dementia which was not into the hardest or advanced phase until she fell and was in an out of hospital - psychosis worsening with behavioral changes in hospital and medications.
Seroquel was added and it seemed to stop most of the screaming etc - hallucinations still present...shes making no sense and its not doing much - she is in a twilight psychosis so I cannot give more feedback as it has been a wk on seroquel.
My heart goes out to you and your family
How fortunate you’ve found a treatment for the hallucinations.
Adjusting the dosage is best discussed with the prescribing physician.
I am repeatedly told by physicians and nurses that the rule of thumb with geriatric patients and medication is “dose low and go slow.”
So, whether we have added, increased,or decreased and eliminated a medication for my Mom, it has always been in small increments.
It has worked best for my mom to start below the desired dose, let her adjust to it for days to weeks, then gradually increase in the same way.
Same goes for lowering it or eliminating medications - incremental reductions in dosage over longer periods of time.
The only time we have stopped a medication immediately/entirely is when the side effects have been intolerable or dangerous.
Again, best to iscuss this with your dad’s physician.
All best to you.
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