Call the doc tomorrow. May be time to look into increasing seroquel or adding something else. My mom took 75 mg seroquel when at home and it usually worked quite well. Occasionally I would have to give her a bit more.
It may be time to start thinking about a facility for her and that is ok. You need to take care of you. When my mom moved to a facility a complete change of meds was necessary. As the disease progresses there will be different changes in meds.
Sunnygirl1, my father was in mid stages of alzheimer's and he was sometimes agitated and anxious..tried to escape sometimes..Luckily, he did not have any side effects from the depakote and has been on it over a year.
With the change of seasons turn on more lights in your house to keep it bright. What behaviors is she doing. My dad is in assisted living and he displays several behaviors like exit seeking, hitting and kicking the doors. Maybe the Seroquell needs to be taken late afternoon before the behaviors start?
My father also did not improve with seroquil. We had him examined by a geriatric psychiatrist who prescribed depakote( this is an anti seizure drug) and slowly increased him to a therapeutic level. It helped quite a bit for him to be calmer most of the day.
No, no, no. Making it brighter will only exacerbate the situation! Try dimming the lights, play classical music, or watch a program on t.v. which will make her laugh (increases endorphins). I've found with my husband the calmer the inside environment, the better it is. I would also question the meds she is taking. My husband takes none of those drugs and he is now 90. The side effects are most disturbing. Talk to her doctor about decreasing or stopping her meds and see if that helps. After all, there is no drug that will prevent dementia. My best to her and you being a caregiver. Life has a way of throwing us curves doesn't it? Best wishes!
I'd ask the doctor about a daily medication for anxiety. Not one that drags you down, but helps with the mood.
My cousin has taken Cymbalta daily for years. It's really helped her a lot. It's for depression, anxiety and pain. Without it she is extremely anxious and worried. It doesn't make her drowsy at all. Only lately have we had need to revisit it. She may need a higher dose or something to augment it, since she's starting searching Memory Care for her parents.
Meds work differently with different people, but, I'd inquire about the options.
LeahMo, what were your father's symptoms when the psychiatrist prescribed him depakote? Any bad side effects? I'm keeping my ears open, since, I'm having my cousin evaluated regarding her Cymbalta.
My mom's neurologist said medications like Seroquel or Zyprexa should not be given to dementia patients. He recommends Propranolol and Alprazolam for agitation and anxiety, along with an anti-depressant like Celexa. We have noticed a change for the better in our mom with these medications. She still has Sundowning episodes, but not every night.
I think people are different. My cousin was prescribed Alprazolam aka (Xanax), for when she had breakthrough anxiety, but, it stopped helping. Plus, that type of med is risky for people who are fall risk. She had multiple falls while taking it.
Some meds are given off label. The doctors try to find out what works and it's quite common. I've never read anything negative about Seroquel by the patient's family members. I suppose it's a matter of trying various meds to see what works.
My Mom would get agitated and call out in the middle of the night when she was in my home bedridden for the last several months of her life. I found that turning on a very low light lamp in her room helped a lot. She would wake and see she was safe in her bedroom. I used a 15 watt bulb on a table against the wall near the foot of her bed so it didn't shine right at her. Later hospice had her a small doses of anti anxiety drug but this made her sleep a lot. Soft classical music and TV that was low key, like retro shows from the 50s and 60s seemed to work when she wanted to watch TV.
It may be time to start thinking about a facility for her and that is ok. You need to take care of you. When my mom moved to a facility a complete change of meds was necessary. As the disease progresses there will be different changes in meds.
My cousin has taken Cymbalta daily for years. It's really helped her a lot. It's for depression, anxiety and pain. Without it she is extremely anxious and worried. It doesn't make her drowsy at all. Only lately have we had need to revisit it. She may need a higher dose or something to augment it, since she's starting searching Memory Care for her parents.
Meds work differently with different people, but, I'd inquire about the options.
Some meds are given off label. The doctors try to find out what works and it's quite common. I've never read anything negative about Seroquel by the patient's family members. I suppose it's a matter of trying various meds to see what works.
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