My mom seems to be having more hallucinations, delusional behavior and at times, paranoia. I know this is part of the disease but not sure if more medication is the answer. Neuro suggested Seroquel--which I am familiar with from working inpatient treatment programs. I just am not sure we should go down that road...but the line may have been drawn as she is now stating that my step-son has set up cameras in our living room to watch her, etc. She does live with us full time...and I don't want to move her to ALF...but this may be the time. Thoughts on adding this medication?
How would you know if your mother could benefit from it or not? Alas, there is no way to determine that in advance. You'd have to try it and see.
If you decide to try it, ask the doctor what benefits you can expect to see if it works. Ask how long it should be before these benefits show up. And then monitor the results carefully. Ask to have it discontinued if you don't see a benefit is a reasonable length of time.
I thought there was a new drug recently approved for paranoia in Parkinson's. Did I get that wrong?
Important information
Never take Seroquel in larger amounts, or for longer than recommended by your doctor. High doses or long-term use can cause a serious movement disorder that may not be reversible. Symptoms of this disorder include tremors or other uncontrollable muscle movements.
Stop using Seroquel and call your doctor at once if you have the following symptoms: very stiff (rigid) muscles, high fever, sweating, confusion, fast or uneven heartbeats, tremors, uncontrolled muscle movements, feeling light-headed, blurred vision, eye pain, increased thirst and urination, excessive hunger, fruity breath odor, weakness, nausea and vomiting.
Seroquel is not approved for use in psychotic conditions related to dementia. It may increase the risk of death in older adults with dementia-related conditions.
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That said, you will have to weigh the risks against the benefits for your mom.
It didn't seem to do anything for my mother (95 yrs.-stage 6 Alz.)
Rather than keep increasing the dosage we switched her to risperdal which has allowed her to stay feisty but more approachable
My father had a terrible sensitivity to medications. It was not right for him. I feel terrible that so many of our parents have turned into lab rats. Doctors trying this and that and sometimes not knowing what works and what doesn't.
I hope you can find the right balance for your mom. I know the right meds can make a difference but its just getting there that is so hard sometimes.
The good news with Seroquel is that it doesn't take long to see the benefits. It's not like antidepressants.
I hope that find a med or treatment that has an acceptable risk level for you and helps keep your husband out of terror and from harming himself or anyone else.
There ARE things worse than sudden death.
Harming or killing a loved one springs to mind.
My dad has dementia. He used to say something is wrong with his brain, and had paranoia. I have him on 2000mg Coconut Oil every day and use homeopathic oral sprays when needed, Liddell's ANX or Bach's Rescue Remedy (online or health food stores).
He responds very well to them and he's a big guy (6', 188 lbs).
Prayers that you be guided to whatever is best for your mum.
There was always the option to discontinue meds. I chose not to. Mom's behaviors were manageable with the meds she was taking. If it isn't broken don't try to fix it, especially if it was going to effect mom negatively.
being on Risperidone his hallucinations stop. i thought he was doing so well i started to
take him off of them. with in one or two days he was having hallucinations again.Put him right back on them.
Now her drugs are administered and she is on the same original dose, 25 mg am, 50 mg pm. She has few delusions and few to no hallucinations. She does not seem so sleepy now. She has more muscle and leg cramps, but not sure there is a connection because she takes other meds too. She has greatly improved on the Seroquel and aricept.
I would research all the current medications your mother is taking. Simply google the name of the drug with a keyword of Hallucinations OR agitation OR confusion.
In my mother case, documented as not having Dementia and now known to have Sundowners after hospital visits during and after a UTI, we found the following drugs to show a propensity of Agitation, Confusion, and or Hallucinations:
Zofran
Pepsid
Toprol-XL
Isosorbide
Pravastatin
I switched TorpolXL to 1/2 dose if old metoprolol
Stopped Isosorbide per MD
Stopped Zofran
Stopped Pepcid
Stopped all statins.
Doctors argued over the statins, but she is 86 years old, so I felt that the chance the statins being partially to blame it was worth the chance. We also ADDED Mirtazapine which has helped her sleep and got her weight up from 82# to 100 in eight weeks. Also I found she is hydrating much more, which I also Questioned Mild Renal Impairment, as her old doctor has been watching this since 2001.
Within five days Mom was thanking me for stopping the madness she was experiencing! I will say that six weeks later she said she was occasionally experiencing vivid dreams so we switched the Aricept to morning dose and then eight weeks later tapered her off the medication, as she does not have dementia but does have Vascular Disease.
Coincidentally we also took her off Diltiaziem (also on the list of causing confusion) and added a night time dose of Procardia XL at night and moved the Aspirin to nighttime dose as they think her BP was spiking in her sleep causing micro strokes (TIA).
Seroquel is not approved by the FDA for Dementia patients!